Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Creem will head up the Senate's Post-Audit and Oversight Committee.
State Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton) has been appointed to head up the Senate Post-Audit and Oversight Committee for the current legislative session. “I am looking forward to this new opportunity to examine how well legislation is being implemented, to provide oversight of governance where needed, to investigate potential failings, and to explore where improvements are possible,” Creem said in a press release issued earlier this week. The Post-Audit Committee looks into state expenditures, customer protection issues and other areas that could provide added value to state and local government as well as Massachusetts residents, the press release said. Creem has served as co-chair of the Joint Committees on Criminal Justice, Revenue, …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Included as an amendment to a bigger jobs bill, the update would expand the bottle redemption law to include plastic bottles used for water and juice.
House and Senate leaders started debating Wednesday whether to include an expanded bottle deposit amendment in a bill designed to spur job creation. The bill was passed in the Senate Thursday and is now being hashed out in a conference committee comprised of member of both chambers. Gov. Deval Patrick has said that he supports it. But the House has fought passage of an expanded bottle bill, which Speaker Robert DeLeo and others in the House view as a tax. But Sen. Robert Hedlund disputes this view, saying that taxes can't be redeemed. The expansion to the 31-year-old law designed to promote recycling and reduce litter would add plastic bottles used for water, juices, iced tea and sports drinks to the list of containers subject to the 5-…
Saturday, February 18, 2012
The state Senate has passed a bill addressing utilities' emergency response, but is it enough?
Many Massachusetts residents spent days in the dark last year after two unusual weather events -- Tropical Storm Irene and an October snowstorm -- wiped out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Each time, residents joined local and state officials in expressing their disappointment and anger at utility companies who seemed uncommunicative and slow when it came to restoring services. Now, the Massachusetts Senate is taking steps to change the way utility companies respond during emergencies. According to a press release from the Office of Sen. Richard Ross (R-Wrentham), a bill passed by the Senate on Thursday would require public utility companies to do the following: - After a 24-hour assessment period, "provide twice-daily estimates …
