By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer
—
Starting her second term as a member of the state House of Representatives, Ann-Margaret Ferrante has been given a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee which handles the distribution of revenue.
Ferrante also retained her seats on two other panels, the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and the Joint Committee on Natural Resources, the Environment and Agriculture.
She was named a vice chair of the Natural Resources Committee.
The appointments of Democrats — including Ferrante, who represents Gloucester, Rockport and Essex — were announced by House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
On the Republican side, Rep. Brad Hill, the Ipswich Republican and Minority Whip who represents Manchester, will be the ranking minority member of the Joint Committee on Steering Policy and Scheduling, according to the release by his office. Hill has only that one committee assignment.
To join the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Ferrante gave up her seat on the Joint Labor Committee.
She said the combination was ideal for the representative from Cape Ann which provides a home to the oldest fishing industry in the nation in the only port still dedicated primarily, if not wholly, to commercial fishing.
In her first term, Ferrante worked behind the scenes with Sen. Bruce Tarr to organize the House and Senate leadership into an alliance behind the fishing industry that helped spark a national investigation into excessive law enforcement practices.
The House and Senate leaders, along with fishing port lawmakers sent a letter to the Congressional delegation asking for a probe of vindictively motivated actions against fishermen.
When the congressional delegation joined the movement, fisheries administrator Jane Lubchenco asked the Commerce Department's Inspector General to undertake a national study of fisheries police activities.
That led to the replacement of the national chief of federal fisheries law enforcement, and heads of the agents and legal arms of the agency that were based in Gloucester.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
