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This story appeared on Page A9 of The
Standard-Times on July 15, 2005
SouthCoast comes out on top of first day of
budget overrides
By DAVID KIBBE, Standard-Times staff writer
BOSTON -- The state Legislature began overriding
Gov. Mitt Romney's budget vetoes yesterday,
restoring millions of dollars to accounts for teen
pregnancy prevention, substance abuse treatment and
nursing homes.
The Legislature overrode Romney's veto of $150,000
for the Coalition for Buzzards Bay, as well as a
separate veto of a study of invasive weeds in
Massachusetts water bodies, two issues that
SouthCoast lawmakers had pressed hard for in the
state budget.
The $150,000 is an important part of the
environmental organization's budget to monitor water
quality and natural resources in the Buzzards Bay,
said Rep. John F. Quinn, D-Dartmouth.
The delegation wrote a letter to Speaker Salvatore
F. DiMasi this week to fight for the money.
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay worked closely on the
response and cleanup following the 2003 oil spill in
the bay, and it played a major role in helping the
state Legislature draft protections on oil shipping
that passed last year. The Coast Guard is
challenging the regulations in federal court.
Quinn said Romney backed the oil shipping law,
making his veto of money for the coalition's water
monitoring efforts "bizarre."
"It's a major component to the updating and
monitoring of the water quality in Buzzards Bay,"
Quinn said.
The water monitoring program is operated in
partnership with the University of Massachusetts
School for Marine Science and Technology and
directly involves more than 130 volunteers who
monitor bay quality at more than 100 locations.
It is the largest coastal monitoring effort in
Massachusetts, and the primary source of long-term
data to assess the Buzzard Bay's 30 major harbors,
which stretch over 10 municipalities, from Westport
to Falmouth.
The $150,000 is also used to leverage more than
$450,000 in federal funds from the National Estuary
Program. The federal money provides technical
assistance and grants to Buzzards Bay cities and
towns to clean up pollution and restore bay
fisheries.
A letter urging the money's restoration was signed
by Reps. Quinn, Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford,
Susan Williams Gifford, R-Wareham, Matthew C.
Patrick, D-Falmouth, Michael J. Rodrigues,
D-Westport, Eric Turkington, D-Falmouth, Stephen R.
Canessa, D-New Bedford, Robert M. Koczera, D-New
Bedford, and William M. Straus, D-Mattapoisett.
Yesterday's overrides, which had to pass with at
least a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate,
included $45 million for Medicaid rate increases to
nursing homes, nearly $1 million for substance abuse
treatment, and more than $900,000 to prevent teenage
pregnancy.
The Legislature will return next week to take up
more overrides, including $4 million to market the
state to international tourists.
"If today is any indication, most of it is going our
way," said Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford.
"For a first day, it was a very rewarding day for
the SouthCoast."
Overall, Romney vetoed $110 million from the $24
billion budget the Legislature approved last month.
Many SouthCoast programs were not vetoed, making the
job of local lawmakers a little easier this year.
Canessa fought to have the study on invasive weeds
restored to the budget. Weeds have threatened water
quality in Lakeville, Freetown and communities
across the state. Sen. Joan M. Menard, D-Fall River,
supported the override in the Senate.
"Invasive weeds are destroying natural bodies of
water in communities across the commonwealth,
including cities and towns in Southeastern
Massachusetts," Canessa said. "Protecting our
drinking supply and natural bodies of water is
crucial, and this study is the first step towards
achieving that goal."
This story appeared on Page A9 of The
Standard-Times on July 15, 2005 |
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