"MATT WILSON calls it an example of “civics in action.”After Gov. Maura Healey vetoed $1 million from the budget appropriation for a fund dedicated to expanding civics education in the state, a coalition of nonprofits, educators, and other groups focused on civics education sprang into action, meeting with legislative leaders and urging lawmakers to restore the funding.Last week, the Senate followed the House lead and overrode Healey’s veto. It means the state’s Civics Education Trust Fund, first established in 2018, will see an infusion of $2.5 million this year, a $500,000 bump from last year’s $2 million appropriation.“It really confirms for us the longtime support of civics education that legislators have shown over the last five years,” said Wilson, advocacy director for the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition."
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"OVER THE COURSE of two weeks, the Legislature overrode the majority of Gov. Maura Healey’s vetoes from her first budget, restoring about $80 million across 24 overrides targeting child care, early education, suicide prevention, and anti-poverty funding. Current revenue levels, plus the recently signed tax cut package, make the package of overrides fiscally sound, lawmakers said.The budget passed by lawmakers, House Ways and Means chair Aaron Michlewitz told representatives in late September, “was fiscally responsible, while also making sure we protected the programs our most vulnerable populations relied on.”Gov. Maura Healey used a light touch with the veto pen in her first budget cycle, but legislators in both chambers made quick work of several vetoes that had caused public consternation.The governor made 35 vetoes, slicing about $270 million in total spending from the $56 billion budget for fiscal year 2024. Most of the cuts, she said, left programs at necessary levels or removed redundancies. "
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| Legislature overrides 24 of 35 budget vetoes, restoring civics - "an example of 'civics in action'” |
