The EJC’s legislative funding campaign for FY10 began strong with requests to hold onto the increase we secured for legal aid in the FY09 budget. A summary of the budget cycle follows:
- On January 28, 2009, Gov. Patrick's budget included a 6.3 percent - or $700,000 - reduction in civil legal aid funding for FY10 (line item 0321-1600, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation).
- On April 15, the House Ways and Means Committee recommended level funding - $11,070,424 - for MLAC in its FY10 budget. On May 1, the full House adopted this recommendation.
- On May 13, the Senate Ways and Means Committee recommended a 46 percent - or $5 million - reduction for MLAC in its FY10 budget. On May 19 the full Senate amended the MLAC line item by increasing it to $8 million.
- On June 18, the conference committee of the House and Senate recommended $9.5 million for the MLAC line item. The Governor now has 10 days to consider the budget. We are working with him to ensure the $9.5 million remains intact.
- On June 29, the Governor signed the FY10 state budget into law with the conference committee recommendation of $9.5 million for legal aid intact. This represents a major victory given the current, dour economic climate. Thank you to everyone who supported legal aid!
Click here to view the final FY10 Budget Fact Sheet. You can get involved in next year's campaign by signing up to receive our Action Alerts.
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