Print
Share page with AddThis

Senate Budget Debate Includes CPA Amendment for $25 Million

Posted on: May 8, 2018 - 12:36pm

May 23, 2016: The Massachusetts Senate will begin debating the FY2017 state budget on Tuesday, May 24th as we move into the next step of the state budget process. During the House budget debate last month, Representative Kocot filed a successful amendment for up to $10 million to be transferred to the CPA Trust Fund from this year's state budget surplus. The Senate will be debating a similar amendment issued by Senator Cynthia Stone Creem calling for up to $25 million of the state's FY16 budget surplus, if available, to be transferred to the trust fund. The CPA amendment (OTH #58) is currently co-sponsored by 20 senators, and more could agree to co-sponsor before debate begins on Tuesday. Similar amendments were also filed by Senator Bruce Tarr and Senator Patrick O'Connor. We are grateful to all three senators who filed CPA amendments, and to the amendment co-sponsors, for their support of CPA.

The Coalition will be on hand at the State House during budget week, and we'll send along news on the CPA amendment immediately after the vote is taken at the end of the week.

What language was included in the Senator Creem's CPA Amendment?

Ms. Creem, Mr. Downing, Ms. Flanagan, Ms. Gobi, Ms. L'Italien, Mr. Eldridge, Ms. Lovely, Messrs. Moore, Humason, Lewis, McGee, Barrett and Brownsberger, Ms. O'Connor Ives, Messrs. Timilty, Keenan and Lesser, Ms. Chang-Diaz, Messrs. Brady, Welch and Wolf moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after section __, the following new section:-

"SECTION ___. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, prior to transferring the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds for fiscal year 2016 to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund under section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the comptroller shall transfer $25,000,000 to the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund established in section 9 of chapter 44B of the General Laws."

What's comes next in the budget process?

After the Senate approves a final, amended version of the bill, the budget will then progress into the Conference Committee. The House and Senate each appoint three members to this committee to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals. The conference committee then reports a final compromise bill to the House and Senate for a final vote of acceptance in each branch.