Call to Action!
Help Save Our State's Environmental Regulations

January 22, 2004

Please contact your Senator TODAY and ask him/her to oppose the Cost-Benefit Analysis sections 14, 15, 16, 17, and 67, of the Economic Stimulus Bill.  Deep within the 100+ page Economic Incentives package (H.4328) passed at the end of last year, the Legislature included a section that would undermine environmental protection in our state. Language buried in that that bill could slow to a crawl-or even stop-the process used by environmental regulators to protect our air, water, and open spaces. 

These sections would require environmental agencies--but not most other agencies--to write "Regulatory Impact Statements" (cost benefit analyses) for all new regulations. These "Regulatory Impact Statements" are unnecessary, because state agencies already use a complex and exhaustive public process to craft their regulations. They would create more bureaucratic work for our environmental watchdogs, slowing to a crawl the already sluggish rulemaking process.

Governor Romney vetoed those sections in December 2003, with the following message:  "I am vetoing sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 67... which would prohibit any new rule or regulation from becoming effective unless it is accompanied by a regulatory impact statement. Although I believe that regulations should be subject to a comprehensive review &these sections would result in unnecessary and duplicative work for state agencies.... I believe that the current process would be severely impaired by these sections."

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please contact your State Senator TODAY and tell them you support Governor Romney's veto of these sections. 
The Senate Switchboard: (617) 722-1500. 
You can find their emails at: http://www.state.ma.us/legis/memmenus.htm

Please contact your State Representative. 
The House of Representatives Switchboard: (617) 722-2000.
You can find their emails at: http://www.state.ma.us/legis/memmenus.htm

Below is a sample letter if you wish to contact your senator regarding this matter.  This letter was distributed by several environmental organizations around the state to the legislature.

Dear Senator [name]:

As you may know, in December Governor Romney vetoed sections 14, 15, 16, 17, and 67 of the Economic Stimulus Bill (H4328), provisions which we believe would undermine environmental protection in Massachusetts with unnecessary bureaucracy and misdirected resources. We are grateful that with Senator Resor's leadership; her colleagues, Senators Barrios, Chandler, Creedon, Creem, Fargo, Moore, O'Leary, Pacheco, Rosenberg, Tolman, Tucker, Walsh, and Wilkerson have asked that the Senate uphold this veto. We would appreciate your adding your name to this list of Senators who have taken this position against an override.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address