Hello Westfield! It has been quite a while since my last update, but now that I have returned from deployment and the legislative season is in full swing, I thought it was about time I resumed my weekly column. There’s no way I can adequately cover the last 9 months, so let me just say that I am extremely grateful to be home and happy to be back at work in the State House.
A few weeks ago, the Members of the House received our committee assignments for this legislative session. I am pleased to announce that I have once again been named the Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, a position I held last session and find very rewarding. In addition to the Vice Chairmanship, I have been appointed to the Joint Committee on Financial Services, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, and finally, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, which, among other tasks, oversees the formation of the annual state budget.
Although we are only a few weeks into the session, the budget process has already begun in earnest. The first hearing of the Committee on Ways and Means was held on Tuesday at the State House, during which the Constitutional Officers were given a chance to testify about their budget needs in the upcoming fiscal year. As I often get many questions about it, I thought this week would be a good time for my annual breakdown of the budget process.
Step 1: To begin, back in January, Governor Baker released his version of the budget, recommending funding for every state agency and program for the upcoming fiscal year. This year, the Governor is proposing $42.7 billion in spending, a 1.5% increase from last year.
Step 2: The Governor’s proposal is sent to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, which holds a series of hearings across the Commonwealth for state officials and others to testify about their budget priorities for fiscal year 2020. After about a month of hearings, the House Committee on Ways and Means will release their own, modified version of the budget based on the testimony from these hearings.
Step 3: At the end of April, after looking over the new budget, individual House Members are given the opportunity to propose amendments to the House budget. This week is always a very busy time for our office while my staff and I work to make sure the concerns and needs of our constituents are addressed in the upcoming fiscal year. We do this by inserting new line items, increasing or decreasing funding for existing line items, or by inserting provisions in certain line items that set aside funding for a specific purpose.
Step 4: After submitting our own budget amendments and adding our names as a cosponsor to others’ amendments, the House Ways and Means Committee sorts through them all and groups them into “consolidated amendments,” or big amendments that encapsulate dozens of others. This is done for the sake of efficiency, as there are usually over 1,000 budget amendments filed every year in the House alone. The House then votes on whether to include these consolidated amendments or any other amendments that arise in the final House version of the budget. This usually takes about 3-5 days in total.
Step 5: The newly amended budget is then sent to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, which releases their version. Senators can add their two-cents by submitting budget amendments, as well. These amendments go through the same procedure as they did when in the House, becoming the final Senate budget bill.
Step 6: After the budget has made its way through the Governor’s office, the House, and the Senate, it lands in a Conference Committee, where the differences are hammered out by a select few Senators and Representatives from both parties. The Conference Committee report is then sent back to both Chambers for approval. This is a simple yes or no vote – amendments are not allowed on Conference Committee reports.
Step 7: If both Chambers vote to approve the report, the budget makes its way back to the Governor, who has 10 days to review it. During these ten days, he may approve or veto the entire budget as is, or veto or reduce particular line items. The House and Senate have the ability to override the Governor’s vetoes, though, requiring a two-thirds roll-call vote in each chamber.
Only after all these steps are completed, and potential veto-overrides voted on, is the budget finally enacted. It’s a long, tough process that takes around 9 months in total, but it is the only bill that must pass every year, and therefore, probably the most important task assigned to the legislature. I’m honored and excited to be on the committee overseeing this process and will make sure to keep you all updated on our progress over the next few months.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at (413) 572-3920 or [email protected] if you have questions about the budget or anything else happening in the State House. Have a wonderful week!
