Lawyers e-Journal

Thursday, Jul. 9, 2009
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Legislative Alert

Call your Representative and Senator and ask them to override the Governor’s vetoes of trial court accounts

Last week Governor Deval L. Patrick signed the FY 10 budget. The governor approved more than $1 billion in new taxes and issued approximately $147 million in line item vetoes. Among the vetoes, were cuts to Trial Court accounts totaling $18.5 million, representing 5 percent of the total vetoes.

We recognize the dire economic situation the state is facing. It is in these difficult times that our fellow citizens rely most heavily on our justice system, which has already significantly reduced expenses, reducing staffing by 275 positions and making cuts in other areas. The FY10 budget slashes funding for the trial court. If these cuts were to stand, there will be delays in processing of cases, access to emergency petitions in family matters such as restraining orders and juvenile care and protection will be impeded, there will be an increase in pre-trial detainees which would exacerbate jail overcrowding and increase costs, the ability of the Trial Court to collect revenue for the commonwealth will be impacted and courthouses will need to be further consolidated through temporary relocations.  

Your Representative's phone number can be found at:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm

Your Senator's phone number can be found at:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenus.htm

If you are not sure who your legislators are, you can find out at:
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

For further information contact Martin Healy at [e-mail mhealy].
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