Michigander in Mass

Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:29:09 -0000
From: "carls617" 
Subject: Green Line Funding Amendment Passes!

I want to share some good news that happened this week at the 
Statehouse.

The House of Representatives Wednesday night approved my budget 
amendment to including funding for the environmental impact study 
for the Green Line Extension!  This is the critical next step to 
keep this project moving forward.  

It was a very difficult amendment to get included in the budget 
considering the extremely tight fiscal times facing the state 
budget.  I was very happy to be able to give my first speech on the 
floor of the House Chamber (known as a maiden speech) on the 
importance of the Green Line extension.  

I have received great feedback from colleagues who were alarmed to 
hear of the statistics from our community on pollution, public 
health hazards, and the lack of public transit, as well as the 
history of this particular project and the legal commitments the 
state has to Somerville & Medford.

For the full story on The Somerville News' website, go to 
http://somervillenews.typepad.com/the_somerville_news/2005/04/sciorti
no_makes.html

The budget still needs to be approved by the Senate & Governor, and 
I will be working with my colleagues in both branches to try to get 
this through.  

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at the Statehouse 
at (617) 722-2014, or csciortino@state.ma.us.

I will keep you updated as this moves through the rest of the budget 
process.

Carl Sciortino
State Representative