Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Letter in support of Public Safety of the Commonwealth's Natural Gas Infrastructure

In the wake of the gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, Governor Baker filed H.4979-An Act to ensure the safety and soundness of the Commonwealth's natural gas infrastructure. This legislation is based on one of the recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of its ongoing investigation. The bill was heard by the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy on December 11. I, along with 26 of my colleagues on a bi-partisan basis sent a letter to the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee that was copied to Senate President Spilka and House Speaker DeLeo requesting the bill to be voted out by the committee. I am pleased to report that the TUE committee heard our request and reported the bill favorable to the House Ways and Means committee. There are still several steps in the legislative process for the bill to travel, but with the strong support from numerous members of the House and Senate reflected by the letter, there is a good chance of the bill reaching Governor Baker's desk.




You can read H.4979 here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H4979




Below you can find a copy of the letter: