DATE: November 12, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Candace Ouillette Gaumond @ (413) 599-4785
COMMITTEE ON COURT FUNDING TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING
Springfield - State Representative Gale D. Candaras, (D-Wilbraham) announced today that she will hold a public hearing of the special House of Representatives Subcommittee On The Allocation and Adequacy of Court Resources on Friday, November 21, 2003. The hearing will take place from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Room D of the Blake Law Center at Western New England College. All concerned parties are encouraged to attend and participate in the free, public hearing sponsored by the Western New England College Institute for Legislative and Governmental Affairs.
Last July, Speaker of the House Thomas M. Finneran appointed Representative Gale D. Candaras as the Chair of the Subcommittee. Candaras, a Division Leader on Finneran’s team has been critical of the funding levels of western Massachusetts Courts. She has also fought for the $2.7 million rehabilitation of the Springfield Housing and Juvenile Courts, presently underway.
The Speaker charged Candaras’ Subcommittee with the task of examining:
• the fiscal practices and policies of the judiciary to allocate, manage,
and spend appropriations;
• the process to develop, create, and administer the budget for the judiciary;
and
• the practice and policies for the implementation of technology, including
planning, usage, and spending.
After concluding its public hearings, the Subcommittee is expected to present recommendations for the consideration of the full House membership during the winter session and in the fiscal year 2005 budget debate. The Subcommittee members are: Rep. Candaras (Chair), House Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Eugene O'Flaherty, House Majority Leader Rep. Salvatore DiMasi, Rep. James Leary, Rep. Colleen Garry, Rep. Joseph Driscoll, Rep. John Quinn, Rep. Harold Naughton, Rep. David Torrisi, Rep. Scott Brown, and Rep. Thomas George.
Light refreshments will be served. For additional information, please call
the District Office of Representative Candaras at (413) 599-4785