LGBT funding increased

LGBT advocates and their allies on Beacon Hill made some modest gains this week during House debates on the next fiscal year's budget.

Last month the House Ways and Means Committee released a budget proposal that included a modest $225,000 increase for HIV/AIDS funding and no increases for LGBT youth, elder, and domestic violence programs. But during the budget debate in the full House on April 29, state Rep. Liz Malia (D-Boston) and advocates successfully shepherded an amendment to add $20,000 to the LGBT Aging Project's state funding. And as Bay Windows went to press on April 30 advocates expected the House to pass an amendment containing several increases, including $500,000 for HIV/AIDS programs, $100,000 for LGBT youth programs, and $100,000 for LGBT domestic violence programs. The gains come in the midst of one of the toughest budget cycles of the past few years in which Ways and Means made more than $100 million in cuts to the budget.

Bill Conley, lobbyist for the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, said advocates and lawmakers must now decide what approach to take when the Senate begins its own budget debate later this year. The coalition of groups working on LGBT budget issues, including the Caucus, MassEquality, and the organizations receiving funding under the LGBT and HIV/AIDS budget items, had initially pushed for substantially higher funding increases for each of those areas, and he said they will have to decide how high they should aim in the Senate.

"We could re-ask for the same amounts that we asked the House but not received. ... We could ask the Senate to confirm the bumped up numbers [just passed by the House], and if they did we could avoid a conference committee and it would pretty much be a done deal," said Conley. Yet he said while the latter approach would involve less risk, he expected that many of the coalition partners would lean towards pushing for the higher figures because they feel the need for funding is so urgent.

The one question mark in the House budget is whether there will be an increase in the LGBT youth programs run by the Department of Education (DOE). As Bay Windows went to press the House had not yet taken up the DOE budget.

On April 29 lawmakers approved a $20,000 increase for the LGBT Aging Project, bumping the organization's total state funding up to $80,000 for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Dale Mitchell, president of the Aging Project board, said that while the new funds fell below advocates' initial goal of a $65,000 increase, he was grateful for the new funding. He said the new funds would allow the Aging Project to expand its efforts to train elder service providers across the state about the needs of LGBT elders.

"It's a small increase but politically significant. It signals the legislature's support for the LGBT community and aging issues in that regard," said Mitchell.

Mitchell praised Malia, the sponsor of the amendment to increase the Aging Project's funding, but he also singled out an unlikely ally: Rep. Paul Donato (D-Medford), one of the minority of lawmakers who unsuccessfully supported an amendment to ban same-sex marriage. On the evening of April 29, when a consolidated budget amendment covering all elder services funding emerged from the budget caucus with no additional funding for the Aging Project, Mitchell said Donato personally called Ways and Means Chair Robert DeLeo and asked him to add an increase for LGBT elder programs.

"Paul Donato, who was not one of our supporters during the marriage debate, went to the chairman of Ways and Means and asked for reconsideration. And because of Paul Donato's efforts supporting Liz Malia and the Aging Project we snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat," said Mitchell.

Donato credited Malia and Conley with reaching out to him and seeking his help to lobby for the increase to the Aging Project. He said that despite his opposition to same-sex marriage he is a strong believer in fairness for the gay and lesbian community,

"I don't think that my constituents or those who live in my district who are gay and lesbian will be surprised because although my position relative to same-sex marriage is [that] I don't personally believe in it, my constituents who know me well know I was and continue to be a supporter of domestic partnerships, civil unions, and the type of person who's not interested in people discriminating against gay and lesbian people," said Donato.

Matt McTighe, political director of MassEquality, said Donato has been a valuable ally throughout the budget debates.

"He supports this stuff. Yes, he wasn't with us on marriage, but that doesn't mean he's bad on all LGBT equality issues, and from early on, in all honesty, he's been helping us fight for all of this since early in the budget process," said McTighe.

Conley said Donato, Malia, Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D-Revere), who chairs the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Somerville), were all key players in generating last-minute calls to Ways and Means to push for the increase to the Aging Project.

On April 30 the House hammered out a consolidated amendment on Department of Public Health (DPH) budget items that included the new funding for HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and DPH's LGBT youth programs. Originally Ways and Means had level funded the latter two programs and offered a $225,000 increase to the state's $37.9 million HIV/AIDS budget. The consolidated amendment added an additional $500,000 to the AIDS line item above what Ways and Means proposed, and it also added $100,000 each to the domestic violence and LGBT youth programs. Conley said he expected the House to pass the amendment the evening of April 30 with little difficulty.

MassEquality Campaign Director Marc Solomon said that while the current and expected increases are not as high as he would like, they show a strong commitment by the legislature to LGBT equality.

"The problem was the dollars were so limited this year. ... While some of the organizations we worked with aren't gong to be totally happy, I think the fact we got these nice bumps shows the legislature recognizes the importance of this equality agenda," said Solomon.