Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 29, § 9C

Whenever, in the opinion of the secretary of administration and finance, budgeted revenues as determined by the secretary from time to time during any fiscal year under section 5B will be insufficient to meet all of the expenditures authorized to be made from any budgetary fund, the secretary shall within 5 days notify in writing the governor and the house and senate committees on ways and means of the amount of such probable deficiency of revenue and the governor shall, within 15 days after such notification, reduce allotments under section 9B, and submit in writing a report stating the reason for and effect of such reductions, or submit to the general court specific proposals to raise additional revenues by a total amount equal to such deficiency. Any action challenging the legality of an allotment reduction under this section shall be commenced in the supreme judicial court for Suffolk county.

Whenever the governor reduces allotments under the preceding paragraph, the governor shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means in writing 15 days before any alterations to the original allotment reduction plan. Any alterations to the original allotment reduction plan that would seek to increase an allotment must provide an equal reduction in other allotments or propose to raise additional revenues to total the amount of the allotment increase.

As an alternative to the submission of such proposals to raise additional revenues and to the extent funds are available, the governor may recommend an appropriation equal to such deficiency from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund in the manner provided in section 2H.