This weekend, we dodged a bullet. The State Senate's Deficit Mitigation Plan proposed to sweep $5 million from the Community Investment Act (CIA) in an effort to close the current $500 million budget gap for FY10. Early Saturday morning the Senate approved the Plan (with the $5 million CIA rescission) on a 21 to 15 vote, three shy of a veto proof margin. Faced with the threat of a gubernatorial veto and the Senate's failure to achieve the 2/3 margin needed to override it, the House canceled its scheduled Saturday session. This means that, for the time being, CIA funding remains intact. Unfortunately, given the growing budget deficit - over $500 million in the current FY10 budget, $700 million in FY11, and more than $4 billion in the next biennium FY12-13 - another attempt to cut CIA cut is very likely.

Many thanks go to our supporters, and to all the open space, farmland, affordable housing, and historic preservation advocates from around the state who spoke out loudly Friday afternoon in support of CIA. On very short notice, an amazing volume of calls were generated into the Senate Democrats' office in opposition to the cut. This quick and strong grassroots effort will certainly benefit our future lobbying efforts on behalf of CIA. Well done!

Sadly, we fully expect that as the state fiscal crisis continues to play out in the future, the pressure to seize CIA funds will mount. We promise to remain vigilant, and alert you when you need to speak out again. We will also continue to work with DEP to ensure that they get their program funds out the door as soon as possible so the CIA funds won't be viewed as "unallocated revenue" that can be seized to balance the state's budget. Even if the worst happens, and some CIA funds are ultimately transferred to the General Fund for this fiscal year, your quick response will help us ensure that such rescissions do not become an annual occurrence!

Thank you again for speaking out in support of open space, wildlife habitat, and the Community Investment Act!

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