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The latest we have heard from Boston as of 4:30pm on Thursday July 17, 2003, is as follows:
1. On Wednesday July 16, the House voted 144-13 to restore $1 million to the elderly congregate housing line item.
2. On July 17, 2003, the House voted unanimously to restore $ 1 million to the home care case manager/administration line item.
3. We are hopeful that the House will override the Governor's veto to the Councils on Aging line item and restore the $590,000 which was cut from these essential services.
Attached below is a copy of the Press Release we have sent out.
Thanks,
Robert P. Dean
Executive Director
Elder Services of Berkshire County
House Overrides Governor’s Vetoes of Elder Programs
Press Release 7/17/03
It took House lawmakers on Beacon Hill just 17 days to restore more than $4.4 million to elderly services programs. Although final action in the Senate has not yet occurred, the House actions are likely to presage the final outcome. Here’s the recap:
On July 10th, the House voted unanimously to restore $2.4 million to the home care services account.
On July 16th, the House voted 144-13 to restore $1 million to the elderly congregate housing line item.
On July 17th, the House voted unanimously (149 - 0) to restore $1 million to the home care case managers account.
The House is expected to add a fourth override today to add $590,000 back to the local Councils on Aging line item.
Robert P. Dean, Executive Director of Elder Services, noted that the home care overrides were both unanimously adopted and were bipartisan in nature.
Dean said the $3.4 million placed back in the home care account would be sufficient to provide 860 frail seniors with home care services for a full year. It costs less than $11 per day to provide home care to this population of seniors.