June 25, 2004

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of Article 63 of the Amendments to the Constitution, I am today signing House 4850, "An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2005 for the Maintenance of the Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions and Certain Activities for the Commonwealth, for Interest, Sinking Fund and Serial Bond Requirements and for Certain Permanent Improvements."

I commend you for completing this budget in a timely manner and without raising taxes. However, because I believe we need to reduce the use of Stabilization Fund reserves, I am vetoing $108.5 million to ensure that the Fiscal 2005 budget moves us closer to a level of government spending that is more sustainable over time.

It is encouraging to see that you focused additional resources on a number of priorities identified in my House 1A budget recommendation, including:

• $75 million to increase in aid to our cities and towns;
• $6.9 million for two new State Police classes;
• $5 million to increase rates paid to foster parents and $500,000 to increase foster care recruitment;
• $4 million to enhance DNA and forensic analysis at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the State Police Crime Lab;
• $2.7 million for development of a Counter Terrorism Unit at the State Police;
• $2.5 million to support increased pediatrician access to psychiatric services, minimizing inappropriate over-prescription of psychiatric drugs to mentally ill children; and
• $2 million for a pilot program to help homeless families transition to permanent housing.

I am also pleased to approve several increases in funding for critical education programs, including:

• $80 million to increase special education funding;
• $24.7 million to increase charter school reimbursement payments to school districts;
• $11.6 million to increase transportation funding for regional school districts;
• $4.5 million to increase payments in lieu of taxes to cities and towns; and

Together, we have taken significant steps forward in this budget, but there are still many more opportunities for reform. Specifically, we should merge the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Highway Department to eliminate unnecessary duplication of overhead costs, continue to increase access to meaningful public school choice through charter schools, enact far more substantive reforms to our pension laws, and reduce the 112 courthouses currently operating in the Commonwealth to a number more appropriate for a geographically small state in the modern age. Therefore:

• I am hereby reducing appropriation amounts in items of section 2 of House 4850 enumerated in Attachment A of this message by the amount and for the reasons set forth therein;
• I am striking wording in items of sections 2 and 2B of House 4850 also set forth in Attachment A, for the reasons set forth therein;
• I am striking in their entirety those sections of House 4850 itemized in Attachment B of this message for the reasons set forth in that attachment; and
• Pursuant to Article LVI, as amended by Article XC, Section 3 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, I am returning sections 15, 28, 35, 56, 68, 69, 69A, 104, 106, 113, 117, 121, 126, 208, 209, 239, 251, 264, 268, 269, 321, 324, 339, 355, 368, 372, 374, 381, and 424 with recommendations for amendment. My reasons for doing so and the recommended amendments are set forth in separate letters of even date which are hereby incorporated by reference and included with this message as Attachments C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, AA, BB, CC, DD and EE.

I hereby approve the remainder of this Act.

Respectfully submitted,

Mitt Romney's signature

Mitt Romney