The House will vote Wednesday on a bill that would make up to $8 million available for family planning clinics in Massachusetts at risk of losing federal funding under a new Trump administration rule that cuts support for providers that offer abortion services.
The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday evening released its version of the legislation (H 74) that will move to the floor for debate on Wednesday, giving committee members until 10 a.m. to vote on whether to recommend the bill.
The bill would authorize the Executive Office of Administration to spend up to $8 million over the next 15 months "to ensure that changes in federal policy and funding levels do not adversely affect the health of the commonwealth's citizens or limit effective family planning."
The action in the Legislation has been spurred by President Donald Trump's push to cut funding through the Title X program to reproductive health care providers that perform abortions or make abortion referrals.
Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts said last year when the rule was proposed that 66,072 patients in Massachusetts received care in 2016 as a result of Title X funding, and that in 2017 Title X funding totaled over $6.1 million for 93 family planning and sexual health clinics across the state. In addition to Planned Parenthood, Action for Boston Community Development Inc., Health Imperatives Inc., Health Quarters Inc., and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health are direct grant recipients under Title X.
The bill being polled by Ways and Means specifically allocates up to $800,000 for the Department of Public Health, up to $428,500 for Action for Boston Community Development, and up to $375,750 for Health Imperatives.
The proposal as written, would require Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan to issue quarterly reports on all spending from this account, and it also states that money unspent at the end of fiscal 2019 would carry over for use in fiscal 2020 through June 30, 2020.
Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that there was "unanimity" between his office and legislative leaders that this step should be taken, and Senate President Karen Spilka said that if the bill passed the House on Wednesday, as expected, the Senate will vote on it Thursday.
