Downing involved in several bills at State House

PITTSFIELD – State Senator Benjamin B. Downing was central in the passing of several key pieces of legislation in the past week.

Senator Downing joined his partners in the Massachusetts Senate in unanimously approving a $300 million bond bill to support municipal road and bridge projects in fiscal year 2014.

An Act Financing Improvements to the Commonwealth’s Transportation System authorizes the commonwealth to borrow $300 million to be distributed to cities and towns for local transportation improvement projects, a 50 percent improvement from the $200 million authorized for the Chapter 90 program in FY ’13.

Additionally, the bill requires all construction contracts funded by the act to include price adjustment clauses for gasoline, diesel, asphalt, concrete and steel.

A price adjustment clause requires an awarding authority to set a base price, tied to an index. Thereafter, the contract price is adjusted on a monthly basis, but only if the cost increases or decreases by more than five percent.

The Chapter 90 bond bill is now on the governor’s desk for final approval.

Good Samaritan Bill

Sen. Downing and the rest of the Senate unanimously passed the “Good Samaritan Bill” earlier in the week to ensure off-duty first responders who provide emergency care are not subject to lawsuits for helping those in need.

“As we watched tragedy unfold in Boston last month, we saw brave and dedicated off-duty first responders jump into action in an emergency situation,” said Sen. Downing. “Passage of this legislation will make sure that their heroism does not result in future legal action.”

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on May 30, 2013. Filed under News,State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry