With his recent veto of the Act Relative to Early Education and Care, Gov. Mitt Romney showed the limits of his commitment to Massachusetts’ young children and families.

The legislation in question is a thoughtful, thorough and visionary plan that lays out the essential elements of the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program, eventually making voluntary high-quality early education programs available to all preschool-aged children through a mix of private and public programs. It builds on the momentum generated last legislative session with the creation of the new board and consolidated Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care.

While we are both Democrats, this is not a partisan issue. This bill received unanimous approval in both the Senate and the House of Representatives this year. It is also not a red state/blue state conflict, especially given that universal early education is already available in Georgia, Oklahoma and Florida.

In a vague and short statement, the governor justified his veto by claiming that universal access to early education might prove to be too expensive. How the governor already knows this is puzzling given that final cost assessments are still being determined and, over the course of its implementation, the bill is subject to an annual appropriation — meaning it can only be funded in the future if the Legislature is satisfied that the program is progressing efficiently and effectively. The checks and balances are in place to ensure cost effectiveness in the future.

The Legislature has asked the well-respected, not-for profit, Strategies for Children, to analyze the costs associated with implementing and maintaining a universal pre-kindergarten program. To accomplish this, they have contracted with economists at Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies and have assembled data from across the commonwealth on this topic. We are eager for their final report this fall.

However, insofar as the actual dollars we will have to commit, the return on our investment promises to be substantial. We are not breaking new ground on this issue. Economists, bankers, public officials and business leaders across the country are increasingly talking about early childhood education and acting on the evidence — the key to business success and economic prosperity is investing wisely in human capital.

Already states such as Louisiana and Pennsylvania have included early childhood education as key strategies in their economic development plans. Furthermore, a number of influential business groups have come out in support of new investments in high-quality early childhood education. Business Week magazine identified universal preschool education as one of its 25 “Ideas for a Changing World.”

Several longitudinal studies have shown that high-quality programs for children as young as 3 can return more than $7 to society for every dollar initially invested in increased earning for participants and reduced costs for special education, welfare dependency and crime.

In crafting this legislation, we relied on the input of one of the most diverse coalitions ever assembled in the commonwealth for a public policy initiative. Leaders from business, early childhood, labor, health care, along with parents, grass-roots advocates and state policymakers have been joined together for more than six years, discussing the most thoughtful way to ensure that high-quality preschool education is available to every child, ages 3 to 5, in Massachusetts.

Unlike the governor, these groups understand that the nature of our economy has shifted to industries such as high-tech and biotech that require better-educated and more highly skilled employees. Preparing tomorrow’s work force and positioning Massachusetts for future economic growth requires making substantial proactive improvements in children’s early learning opportunities.

While Mr. Romney’s recent veto of this bill is a setback, we believe it is only a temporary one.

As legislators, we intend to reintroduce this bill in the next session and we look forward to working cooperatively with a new administration to pass it and bring high-quality early education opportunities to all of our young people.

State Sen. Robert A. Antonioni, D-Leominster, and state Rep. Patricia A. Haddad, D-Somerset, are co-chairmen of the Joint Committee on Education.