Good morning Westfield! I hope everyone is staying cool. It has been an exceptionally busy week and it’s not over yet. I am heading out to Boston for formal session today and tomorrow. With that in mind, I will keep this week’s update quick.
As I have mentioned, this legislative session wraps up this weekend on July 31st. This means we have quite a bit of ground to cover this weekend. We will be addressing the final overrides to the Governor’s budget vetoes, as well as taking up a few more bills before the close of session on Sunday.
I want to take a moment to mention a letter I sent to the Governor on Friday. It came to my attention that an amendment had been added to House bill 4424, An Act providing for the financing of certain improvements to municipal roads and bridges. This amendment would require the Commonwealth to apply for federal funding. This funding would be used to research the implementation of a vehicle miles traveled pilot program. This program would tax Massachusetts drivers based on the number of miles they travel.
This mileage tax would unfairly burden those of us that live in Western Massachusetts. With longer commutes and less access to public transportation, folks in the western part of the state would carry more of the burden of this potential new tax. In my letter to the governor I encouraged him to use his veto power to strike that section of this otherwise strong piece of legislation.
That is all for now Westfield! Have an enjoyable weekend! As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected] or my district office phone 413-572-3920
