E-vehicle rebate program gets lifeline

On Tuesday, the Legislature’s Transportation Committee heard testimony on several bills aimed at expanding use of electric cars. One proposal, backed by Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, and Lenny Mirra, R-West Newbury, would reauthorize the rebate program for low-emission and electric vehicle purchases up to $75,000 and create a new rebate offering a $400 discount on…

Chinese tariffs are taking a toll on Mass. lobster businesses, and lawmakers are speaking up

Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, of Gloucester, said in a June letter that the state’s lobstering industry “has become collateral damage in the Trump Administration’s trade war with China.” Ferrante has proposed a bill that would require state officials to prepare an annual strategic report for the state’s commercial fishing and shellfish industry. The evaluation would come…

Representative Ferrante Announces Availability of JOE-4-SUN Solar Credits

State Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester) today announced the availability of $300 in annual household electricity savings through JOE-4-SUN, the state’s largest Low-Income Community Shared Solar program. The initiative from Boston-based Citizens Energy Corporation, launched earlier this month, offers discount solar credits to about 2,000 low-income Massachusetts families each year. “This is a terrific new program…

$580K in budget earmarked for Cape Ann

The fiscal year 2020 budget also includes $580,000 in amendments authored by Tarr and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, to fund Cape Ann initiatives in public safety, water quality, economic development, marine genomics research, the Blue Economy, as well as community celebrations in Gloucester and Essex. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→

Investing in Opportunity

This week, I joined my colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass a balanced fiscal year 2020 budget that invests heavily in education, economic development, and local aid, strengthens Cape Ann’s local economy and celebrates its history. The funding in this year’s budget for Cape Ann is reflective of our area’s people, our…