BOSTON — In a two-minute explanation of a $212 million spending bill, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Dempsey told House members yesterday that state officials have been carrying most of the planned spending on their balance sheets and said the budget's approval is "critical" to efforts to access money from the federal government.
Broadly sketching out the bill's details, Dempsey, D-Haverhill, said it included money for a State Police "deficiency," for "commonplace" settlements and judgments, to address the "needs of the comptroller" and for county sheriffs, who run the county jails and who Dempsey said are "apparently facing increased demands in a number of different counties."
Calling for the bill's passage, Dempsey said its appropriations were time-sensitive, including efforts to secure $186 million for seven hospitals systems that serve disproportionate numbers of publicly-funded and low-income patients, including Lawrence General Hospital.
Dempsey said 50 percent of the bill's appropriations are reimbursable from the federal government, with the bill carrying a net cost to the state of $108 million.
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