Thread: Legislators restore GOP sheriffs' funding

March 8, 2012

Legislators restore GOP sheriffs' funding

By Matt Murphy and Michael Norton State House News Service

BOSTON - The sheriffs of four Massachusetts counties, all Republicans, will soon see millions of dollars flowing into their coffers after the House yesterday joined the Senate in overriding six vetoes from Gov. Deval Patrick.

Republicans immediately celebrated the overrides as a victory over what they considered a "politically motivated" attack on the sheriffs' budgets, but Patrick parried by questioning the GOP's own commitment to fiscal discipline.

A $127 million fiscal 2012 spending bill signed by Patrick last month arrived on his desk with approximately $27.8 million for county sheriffs to cover the costs of overtime pay and collective bargaining agreements. Patrick vetoed $3 million of those funds, calling the allocations "unaffordable" and in excess of his own recommendations for the sheriffs, which added up to about $20 million.

The governor, however, let stand $4.8 million in additional appropriations tacked on by the Legislature to Patrick's initial spending bill for other sheriffs' offices, mostly Democrats.

He also left untouched boosted funding for Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins, a Republican.

Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate saw fit over the past two weeks to bring the governor's vetoes to the floor for override votes, rescuing the additional funding for the four Republican sheriffs with near unanimous votes in both branches.

House Minority Leader Brad Jones called the governor's veto a "politically motivated" way to send a message to those sheriffs that he was upset by their criticism of his opposition to Secure Communities - a federal program to identify and deport certain illegal immigrants.

"It is interesting that you hear this lofty rhetoric and happy talk from Gov. Patrick, but he is quite capable of playing politics like an old school Chicago pol," Jones told the State House News Service.

Jones said it's possible Cousins was not as vocal as the other Republican sheriffs on Secure Communities, and therefore was spared the governor's veto pen.

"Fortunately, the Speaker and Senate President thought better of playing politics with public safety, to their credit," Jones said.

Legislators restore GOP sheriffs' funding » Merrimack Valley » EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Patrick vetoed $3 million of those funds, calling the allocations "unaffordable" and in excess of his own recommendations for the sheriffs, which added up to about $20 million.

"Unaffordable?" Yea right... he can AFFORD everything and anything for his beloved illegal invaders, but NONE for the LAW? He Has got to go!

The same governor that support in-state tuition for illegals.