The bill would establish practices and procedures to require those legally in charge of running sewage overflow outlets to inform the public if and when raw sewage is entering their rivers and waterways, a term known as “combined sewage overflow.”
Pignatelli and Gobi were responsible for the passage of a $2.4 billion environmental bond bill, signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in August, which allocated $55 million in funds for river and wetland restoration programs across the Commonwealth.
The Massachusetts Senate has adopted Hinds' amendments to the fiscal year 2019 state budget to continue the efforts of the Berkshire FLYER Working Group to ensure a pilot train service connecting New York City to the Berkshires launches no later than 2020.
A report filed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in January found that rural districts across the Commonwealth face unique challenges that impact their ability to deliver quality services to their students.
The bill implements the recommendations of the bipartisan Foundation Budget Review Commission, which found that the foundation budget formula is drastically underestimating education costs.
Lyme disease cases continue to be high in southern Berkshire County, at a case rate of over 500 cases per 100,000 population. Berkshire County also has the second-highest rate in Massachusetts for the tick-borne coinfection anaplasmosis.
