The Office of State Representative Mike Connolly is pleased to announce the adoption of an amendment to secure $500,000 in bond funds to help mitigate I-93 air pollution in Somerville.

The amendment (#123, "Pollution Mitigation — Somerville") was filed by Rep. Connolly and co-sponsored by Somerville Reps. Denise Provost and Christine Barber; it was adopted (as part of "Consolidated Amendment #A" to H.4018, An Act providing for capital facility repairs and improvements for the Commonwealth) during the final formal session of 2017. The legislation now moves to the Senate for further consideration, and from there, it will go to the Governor for approval.

"As the new State Representative for East Somerville, I am particularly focused on the need to mitigate the impact of air pollution from Interstate 93," said Rep. Connolly. "That's why I'm proud to announce the adoption of this amendment to create a funding opportunity to help address I-93 pollution, and I want to express my thanks to my Somerville House colleagues Rep. Provost and Rep. Barber, as well as the entire membership for supporting me with this district priority," Rep. Connolly added.

Earlier this year, Rep. Connolly worked with Somerville colleagues to help secure $65,000 in the FY18 state budget to address I-93 air pollution. More recently, Rep. Connolly and his staff have been engaged in an effort to initiate a Health Impact Assessment to better inform elected officials and residents who are working to advance policies to mitigate exposure to roadway pollution.