Justice 4 Housing

Massachusetts Budget Vetoes Ripple Through Service Sectors

Reentry services, job training programs and rest homes could soon feel the impact of Gov. Maura Healey’s budget vetoes that were left intact after a chaotic end to formal lawmaking.

The House overturned some of Healey’s fiscal 2025 budget vetoes during last week’s formal sessions, but the Senate did not pursue any overrides of her line item reductions. Healey vetoed $317 million across 60 line items in the nearly $58 billion budget.

Lew Finfer, director of Massachusetts Action for Justice, said Monday he was worried about multiple vetoes, including Healey slashing $2.5 million from the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment grant program, which he said support dozens of reentry programs serving formerly incarcerated individuals. That leaves $7.5 million for the line item, which last fiscal year received $15 million.

Leslie Credle, executive director of the Boston nonprofit Justice 4 Housing that provides services like case management and family reunification for formerly incarcerated Bay Staters, said Healey’s veto is “not good.”

“A lot of organizations rely on that money for reentry work, and so that means that we don’t get to service as many participants as we would like to,” Credle said.