Please write in support of S.1315

Please write in support of S.1315 (Senator Susan Moran’s bill):

“An Act relative to municipal equity in Steamship Authority operations”

See: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S1315/BillHistory

Written testimony may be submitted by email to Kirsten.Centrella@mahouse.gov.

Text in bold below is the new text to be inserted into the Steamship Authority’s Enabling Act that Senator Moran’s bill proposes.

Section 3.

The Authority shall elect one of the members as vice-chairman and as secretary and shall also elect a treasurer who need not be a member of the Authority. The votes of the members of the Authority shall be weighted such that the county of Dukes County member’s vote shall count as thirty-five percent (35%) of the whole; the Nantucket member’s vote shall count as thirty-five percent (35%) of the whole; and the Barnstable, Falmouth and New Bedford members’ votes shall each count as ten percent (10%) of the whole, to the end that the votes of the county of Dukes County and Nantucket members, if cast on the same side of any motion placed before the Authority, shall pass or defeat that motion. A vote of greater than fifty percent (50%), including a vote from a town whose vote is weighted under fifteen per cent (15%), of the weighted vote shall be necessary for any action taken by the Authority. Members whose combined votes count as more than fifty percent (50%) of the whole shall constitute a quorum. No vacancy in the membership of the Authority shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the Authority. 

See also past bill: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2361

If you are in agreement with the amendment, please consider writing a letter of support for Senate bill 1315 to:
Kirsten.Centrella@mahouse.gov

Please consider including one or more of the points below in your letter:

Mainland port towns must have a voice.

Barnstable, Falmouth, and New Bedford have no voice on the SSA Board (10% of the vote is not a voice in comparison with the 70% vote the two islands have).

Barnstable, Falmouth, and New Bedford residents are disenfranchised from decision-making concerning the SSA’s impact on Falmouth.

The SSA has become a destructive organization for its mainland port towns.

The SSA’s freight monopoly has forced a zero-sum game on Barnstable, Falmouth and New Bedford.

Mainland port towns must have more of a home rule voice to remain healthy.

As oral testimony opportunities may be minimal, written testimony on the bill is likely the most significant contribution we can each make.

Thank you for your support!