Fiscal Year 2014 State Budget

The EJC’s legislative funding campaign for FY14 will work to increase theMassachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) line item (0321-1600) by $3.5 million – from $12 million to $15.5 million. The increase is needed to prevent further cuts to civil legal aid programs and to serve a growing poverty population. Programs have been struggling to meet increased demand after income from their only major alernative funding source, the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)program, suffered a devastating 78 percent decline.

Below is a timeline of the budget process. For more information about the process, visitwww.malegislature.gov/budget.

Governor’s budget:

• Gov. Deval Patrick recommended $15.5 million for MLAC in his budget proposal, released Jan. 23.

House budget:

• The House Ways & Means Committee recommended $11 million for MLAC in its FY14 budget proposal on April 10.

• On April 24, an amendment increased the House’s MLAC appropriation to $13 million.

Senate budget:

• The Senate Ways and Means Committee Recommended $12 million for MLAC on May 15.

• The Senate passed its final budget with $13 million for MLAC.

Governor’s approval:

• Gov. Patrick signed the budget on July 12.

Download MLAC’s FY14 Budget Fact Sheet [PDF]