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To veto or not

Boston Globe Editorial
Wednesday, June 23, 2004

GOVERNOR Romney has the power to veto or reduce any of the thousands of items in the $24.8 billion budget approved by the Legislature. Some items are worth rejecting, but he ought to think strategically and retain the funding for several comparatively small but important accounts.

Among these is $20 million to provide pay raises for workers in such human service jobs as home care for the elderly and group homes for the mentally ill or retarded. These people deserve every cent for this important, hard, and shamefully underpaid work. A survey in 2002 found thousands of direct care workers made less than $9 an hour, and 40 percent could not afford health insurance. Low pay leads to high turnover, which can lead to compromised care for the most vulnerable residents.

The governor should also retain the full $9.64 million that the Legislature has provided the Department of Revenue for audits of tax returns. This item should yield far more in additional revenue than its cost. And he should retain the $28.37 million for the administration of the Department of Environmental Protection, so that it can adequately enforce laws protecting the air and water of Massachusetts.

The governor should keep $1 million for the John and Abigail Adams Arts Program to provide grants that recognize the link between the arts and the economy. And he should support the $600,000 needed to set up the Board of Early Education and Care, which would lay the foundation for a comprehensive system of pre-kindergarten education.

On to the vetoes: An outside section declaring a moratorium on new charter schools until July 2005 is unfair to students who have already enrolled in the five schools affected. The existing cap on charter schools is restriction enough on this effort at educational innovation. Another section that would discourage the state from doing business with companies that outsource work to foreign countries should be vetoed. The state contracting process is a poor tool to address globalization. Another section would unwisely reopen the deadline for fully funding the state's retiree pension system, now supposed to be completed by 2023. The 2023 deadline should be kept to solve this long-term fiscal problem. Another study is unnecessary.

Romney should veto an outside section that calls for a study of whether a governor's mansion should be sited at the Brookwood farm in Milton. This issue was settled 35 years ago, when the state decided not to use the Endicott mansion in Dedham for a governor's residence. If a governor from a distant community needs a housing allowance, the Legislature should provide it, but governors have no need of an official residence.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

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