WILLIAMS ONLY SENATOR TO RECEIVE 100 PERCENT RANKING
PENNSYLVANIA LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS RELEASES SCORECARD

HARRISBURG, SEPT. 14 – State Sen. Connie Williams said she was honored to receive a 100 percent rating from the Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters for January to July 2005.

“What we do today to protect the environment, by preserving open space, cleaning up and safeguarding water supplies, and reclaiming former industrial sites and mines, will be the basis for future efforts,” Williams said. “No one can take for granted any of our natural resources. As a legislature, I think it is one of our most important jobs. If we don’t pass laws that safeguard our valuable natural resources, we have failed.”

Williams, who was the only Pennsylvania Senator to receive a 100 percent rating, noted that it can be difficult to balance the needs of the people – from business development to developing the most efficient and safe transportation system – with efforts to preserve open space.

“Pennsylvania’s economy and the people and businesses in the state must continue to advance so that we can compete both nationally and internationally,” Williams said. “Over the years, open space has been the primary ingredient necessary for growth – more businesses, more roads, more residential communities. Today, I think there is a much more deliberate thought process on all levels of government when it comes to growth. Everyone looks for ways to maximize available space, with an eye toward protecting the open space that remains.”

In scoring the Senate, the Pennsylvania League of Conservation Voters looked at how members voted on three controversial issues – final passage of H.B. 2 (Growing Greener II); final passage of H.B. 3 (the bill that outlined how environmental funds would be spent); and H.B. 1646 (ACRE bill, which many environmental organizations felt limited local governments’ ability to control factory farming). Williams was the only Senator to vote against the ACRE bill.

“I came to Harrisburg to represent the needs of my constituents and to be their voice,” Williams said.