REPRESENTATIVE
PETER J. LARKIN

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State Representative Peter J. Larkin is a Democrat from Pittsfield who represents the 3rd Berkshire District. Representative Larkin is in his fourth term in the Massachusetts Legislature, and is presently the House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation. He formerly served as the House Chairman of Criminal Justice as well as serving on the Committees on Ways and Means, Commerce and Labor, Insurance, and Taxation. In 1995 Representative Larkin was appointed Finance Chairman of the Commission which studied the need for new convention centers and sports facilities in the greater Boston, Worcester and Springfield areas. Most recently, he was appointed House Chairman of the Special Joint Committee Relative to Utility Restructuring, which has just completed its study and report with recommendation for restructuring and deregulating the electric utility industry.

Representative Larkin's legislative priorities include facilitating and encouraging economic development in the Commonwealth and specifically in Berkshire County through brownfield reclamation. When an industry or corporation is able to reuse a former industrial site they therefore alleviate the strain on our open green spaces for future industrial and economic growth. He recently was successful in sponsoring legislation, known as the "brownfields initiative", which passed at the end of the 1996 legislative session, that will allow for a pilot program which will bring about expedited cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites around the Commonwealth. This priority coincides with his priorities for education reform, environmental protection, and the improvement of state and county-wide crime prevention programs. Representative Larkin is an advocate for and created several initiatives within Pittsfield to address teen pregnancy prevention and opportunities for the youth of Pittsfield. Currently Representative Larkin is looking toward policy reform and further initiatives to improve the adoption process within the Commonwealth. As Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, Representative Larkin was directly responsible for legislative oversight of our criminal sentencing laws. During that time he put forth legislation which will revise the sentencing structure in the Commonwealth looking toward intermediate sanctions to address rehabilitation of the criminal through alternative sentencing measures and is currently overseeing this legislation through the process of enactment.

Since 1984, Peter Larkin has been a member of the Pittsfield Democratic City Committee, having served as the Vice-Chair of Ward 6 and the Secretary of Ward 5. He is a member of the United Way of the Berkshire County and the Central Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, and he also sits on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Democratic Leadership Council. He has been honored by the National Commission Against Drunk Driving and was commended last year by the Alliance for Young Families for his efforts in establishing the Berkshire County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, now in its third year of existence in Berkshire County as a Coalition and in the Public Schools.

In addition to his civic and political responsibilities, Representative Larkin is the Vice-President of Fahey Beverage Company, Inc., his family-owned beer, wine, and soft drink distributing company located in Pittsfield. He graduated from St. Joseph's High School in Pittsfield and St. Bonaventure University cum laude.

E-Mail Address: Rep.PeterLarkin@state.ma.us

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