View from the Hill - Sep '07

from the Office of State Rep. Robert S. Hargraves
[Includes information on some upcoming legislative proposals]

Congratulations to everyone who took the trouble to go out and vote in the September 4 special primary election for the Fifth Congressional District. The turnout was low, but I expect heightened interest and spirited campaigning as we approach the October 16 special election. So please mark your calendar!

Constituent activism, legislator initiative, executive action and current events have led to several proposals of broad importance to Massachusetts residents, among them:

• Switching automobile insurance from total state regulation to "managed competition" - There is controversy regarding the personal factors that companies would be allowed to consider when quoting rates, likely shift in cost burdens for urban vs. non-urban drivers, and whether or not the injection of competition would indeed result in more choice and lower cost for consumers.
• Establishing casino gambling - Are the potential revenue gains for the state and local treasuries, new jobs and more choice for the gambling public worth the collateral costs?
• Maintaining roads and bridges - Last month's Minneapolis bridge collapse highlighted crumbling infrastructure as a national problem. In reaction, Massachusetts agencies have evaluated the condition of the state's bridges, and the legislature is considering cost savings (e.g., by consolidating Mass Highway and the Turnpike Authority), revenue increases (by placing new tolls on certain roads, increasing existing tolls or increasing motor fuel taxes) and asset sales (by privatizing some existing toll roads). Said co-chairs of the Joint Transportation Committee at their recent hearing, "Everything's on the table."
• Figuring the cost of adequate education - MCAS attainment continues to rise, but so do the costs of primary and secondary education that meets state and federal mandates, say proponents of a Senate bill calling for study of the issue. Results of the study would drive dispensing billions of dollars in Chapter 70 aid.

Where do you stand on these issues? Please feel free to contact me about them and all others that matter to you.

It is a pleasure to turn from thorny issues to congratulations. Matt Gustafson of Townsend attained the rank of Eagle Scout with an amazing 39 merit badges under his belt. Pepperell's Kimball Fruit Farm dominated the Massachusetts Tomato Contest. The Town of Groton won a grant worth $134,350 for control of nonpoint sources of water pollution threatening the James Brook. Through Sterilite Corporation, Al Stone has offered a new library, a new senior center and a relocated, expanded highway department facility at no cost to the Town of Townsend. Outside the First Middlesex District but a valuable new neighbor, Evergreen Solar has broken ground on a Devens plant to manufacture solar panels.

It has been a good summer that brought such good news; a dry summer, but a good one.

I hope you'll save the evening of October 26 for our 14^th annual Hoedown, held at the Pepperell VFW Hall, 7:00 through 10:00 PM.