2007  End of Session Report

Greetings ! I’m glad to be back home from the 2007 legislative session. I’m enjoying the work and the great people to work with- and now I’m sure enjoying being back home, full time.
There are an amazing number of good hearted, hard-working people in the legislature. We work well together, to keep up with each concern and committee, so our votes are well informed.
Thanks to the Windham County delegation for being so welcoming and generous with their time, showing me the ropes around the statehouse and the legislative process. We’re expected to carry a full load, right away-by leadership and constituents-as well it should be. Their able tutelage has made my first session productive and predictable. I’m especially grateful to district-mate, David Deen for sharing his 10 terms of experience. David’s the “Deen of the House”-especially when it comes to rules and procedures-and his weekly class on this has been a great help to myself and all the freshmen.
I appreciate my assignments to House Human Services, The Sexual Harassment Complaint Committee, Chair of the Windham County Caucus and most recently to Vt.Supreme Court Justice Paul Reiber’s Task Force on Mental Illness/Co-Occurring Disorders in Corrections.
I feel we got a LOT of good work done at the statehouse. These are some of the highlights. It’s an honor to serve you and if you’d like more details-or you’d like us to pay more attention to something, feel free to contact me- until then, take care, - Mike

Climate change and
Economic Opportunity

The climate change bill passed by the legislature will save money for Vermont businesses and homeowners and create jobs. It invests in renewable technologies for Vermont businesses that will help turn Vermont into a center of economic growth. In the process, it helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
To fund the bill’s all-fuels energy efficiency, the legislature would end the special treatment Vermont Yankee receives when paying property taxes. Currently, the owner of Vermont Yankee, a conglomerate based in Louisiana called Entergy, has been singled out for special treatment when paying property taxes. Last year, Entergy paid a half million dollars less in property taxes than it did five years ago. Wouldn’t you like to be paying less in property taxes than you were 5 years ago? That’s one reason your taxes are higher-you’re subsidizing a Louisiana company’s tax bill. We don’t think that’s fair and want to correct a mistake. This bill asks Entergy to pay their fair share, but still maintains a preferential property tax rate for Vermont Yankee. Entergy would be treated the same as other electric generators, like wind.
This bill will ensure that Vermonters, not just Entergy, will save money. By expanding that work to include all fuels, not just electricity, this bill will put money in the pockets of Vermonters. It will create an estimated 200 jobs in Vermont’s growing renewable energy industry. And it will take an important step towards a more secure and affordable energy future for Vermont. That future is critical to a vibrant economy.
Update. Unfortunately, the governor disagreed with us, vetoed H.520 and the veto stood. We will revisit both issues next year, and we’re confident we’ll pass legislation that is fair and provides for a cleaner, greener future.

Protecting Our Water

Vermont faces several challenges in protecting our water: adequate funding for the Fish and Wildlife Department, safe groundwater, phosphorous pollution in Lake Champlain and protection of our rivers from stormwater.
Lake Champlain continues to be polluted by excessive amounts of phosphorous. The legislature
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Protecting Water -continued
addressed this problem through two pieces of legislation-a ban on dishwasher detergents that
contain phosphorous and we called on the Agency of Natural Resources to reopen the watershed clean up plan known as the Lake Champlain TMDL. Legislation also passed, that gave the state universal jurisdiction over all, in ground , septic
systems and potable water supplies. This will ensure all systems are built to the highest standards to prevent unintended runoff. The new law allows for increased flexibility for the use of - innovative in-ground systems to meet the challenges of hard –to- perk land.
The legislature also provided money to ANR through the budget, to begin the process of mapping our most precious resource, our groundwater that 60% of Vermonters rely on for their drinking water.
Lastly the legislature passed a bill that contains several imaginative ideas for increasing funding for the Fish and Wildlife Department. This bill will be the focus of public input between now and the next session of the legislature, with the hope that the legislature will pass a bill next year. The problem here is that license sales, the historic funding source for the Fish and Wildlife Department, have been declining nation wide and here in Vermont. More broad-based funding is needed if we are to have a strong Fish and Wildlife Department.-from. Rep. David Deen –Chair-Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources

Affordable Health Care for All

Catamount Health is the compromise plan worked out last year to bridge the gap between the governor’s insistence on reform coming from within the current structure and the Democratic push for a single payer-universal plan.
We’re moving forward with Catamount BUT, we’re also planning to implement a universal , single payer plan in 2012 if it doesn’t meet the desired outcomes.
What that means is we’re building a new structure for health care coverage in Vermont. It will address the concerns of inclusiveness, quality and cost control.
What we’ve done so far is pour the foundation and start the first floor of this new structure. Then, we’ll continue adding more floors until everyone is covered. If that happens with existing insurance companies, fine. If not, we have Plan B waiting to step in.
Phase One of implementation starts in October.
This will allow those who have been without any health insurance for the past 12 months to sign up and avail themselves of health care coverage.
Catamount Health will provide a comprehensive set of health services, with the premium depending on income. To find out if you qualify go to www.hcr.vt.gov or call 1-800-250-8427.
Next session the legislature will turn more attention to how to make insurance more affordable for those who currently have insurance but are paying too much.
Prescription Drugs S.115, An Act Relating to Increasing Transparency in Prescription Drug Pricing and Information, directly addresses the fastest rising health care spending sector, prescription drugs. On average, each Vermonter spends $1,000 on prescriptions annually, of which 38% is out-of-pocket.
S.115 regulates Pharmacy Benefit Managers, drug marketing, prescription drug data mining, and will lower prescription drug costs. It includes a Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Fee that raises over half a million dollars to fund its cost containment provisions. These include: academic detailing, generic status notification, and a Generic Sample Pilot Program. All told, the opportunities for savings are in the tens of millions of dollars. Transparency, consumer protection, cost containment, prescriber privacy, and evidence-based prescribing are the guiding principles of S.115. This bill is another important step in overall health care reform.



We’re concerned about the high cost of everything, from gas prices that remain at historic highs to rising costs in everything else from housing to healthcare. These are the same costs that are driving up the cost of education/property taxes.
We’re committed to maintain the high quality education our schools currently provide and look at a more fair way paying for our schools.
In this session we looked at some of the immediate and long term ways we can address school costs.
The task was made more difficult by the fact that we expect more of our schools today and many of the cost drivers, such as health care, special education, and energy costs are not easily controlled at a local level. In addition to the cost containment measures contained in the education spending bill, other provisions included in the bill are: maintaining high spending thresholds at 125% of average per pupil spending; look at both high and low spending special education districts and helping high spending districts identify alternatives; reducing the homestead adjustment from $10,000 to $8,000; and reducing the homestead property tax from $1.10 to $0.87 for 2008 only.
There will be a number of studies before the session begins in January, including: a study of the reasons schools exceed the excess spending threshold and a recommendation for criteria for exempting school districts from the consequences of exceeding the threshold; a study of the effects of cost drivers on education spending; and a requirement for the Commissioner of Education to submit a report to the house and senate committees on education that describes insights on governance derived from recent statewide forums.
Pre-K Bill Passes- We also passed an innovative and landmark bill to provide more pre-K opportunities for Vermont children and improve school readiness. (See my website for details)

Campaign Finance Reform
When Vermont enacted its comprehensive campaign finance law in 1997, the legislature compiled an extensive record documenting the influence of money in Vermont politics, exploring issues that go to the heart of democracy. Act 64, Vermont Campaign Finance Law, was adopted out of concern over the escalating arms race in campaign fundraising and spending that undermined public confidence in government. Candidates and elected officials were required to spend more time and attention on fundraising instead of listening and better serving their constituents. However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Vermont’s campaign finance laws meant the legislature needed to act to reestablish some limits on contribution amounts.
Contribution limits promote accountability and public trust and encourage candidates to reach out to a broad base of supporters. Contribution limits promote public confidence that elected individuals will be accountable to voters rather than to wealthy donors. Only three states do not have contribution limits. Many states limit aggregate amounts of contributions during a given time period. An interesting point to note, only once, in the Vermont case from last year, has the Supreme Court invalidated contribution limits. Vermont’s limits were the lowest in the nation.
In determining contribution limits and overall campaign finance reform, the legislature set reasonable contribution limits, supported by testimony and evidence, which uphold First Amendment rights and adhere to the Constitution.
FYI- This is another bill the governor has vetoed.
By One vote, his veto stood. We are clear Vermonter’s want clean elections with limits, so money can’t buy elections. Hence, we’ll push this legislation - and clean elections- again.

Vermont Telecommunications Authority

Because of Vermont’s small and rural population, it is difficult to get modern broadband Internet connections to every home, and equally tough getting cellular phone signals to every corner of the state. This winter, the legislature formed the Vermont Telecommunication Authority whose task will be to bring full coverage of high-speed internet service and cell phone signals within the reach of every Vermont home and business by the end of the year 2010.
The Authority will be run by a Board of Directors, and will have access to $40 million in bonding ability. It will use the money as incentives to make serving the more remote towns more attractive, and by building as many as 120 new towers on which providers can locate their transmission equipment. It will also help to construct needed fiber-optic lines to bring the signals within reach of the towers.



Working Vermonters
This year we passed legislation to assist three different groups of working Vermonters: members of the Vermont National Guard, tipped wage workers, and fire fighters.
Members of the Vermont National Guard will now be assured of 15 days leave from their regular employment for the purpose of attending guard training and drills. All permanent employees are entitled to return to their employment following call up from the Vermont National Guard. Pay and death benefits equivalent to federal guidelines are now authorized for those members of the guard who are called up on state duty. The legislature also increased tuition benefits for Vermont National Guard members attending UVM.
An estimated 4,000 Vermonters serve as tipped wage workers in our hotels, motels, and restaurants. The House has passed legislation that increases the threshold used to consider who is a “tipped worker” from the current $30 per month in tipped wages (the level established in 1957) to $120 per month. We also added a cost of living increase to the current $3.65 basic tipped employee minimum wage beginning in January 2008.
Obtaining workers’ compensation will become easier for Vermont fire fighters who contract cancer as a result of fire fighting. This benefit will be provided to fire fighters who pass an initial cancer free screening, have been non-smokers for at least 10 years, have worked for at least five years as a fire fighter, and are under the age of 65. The claim must be made within 10 years of exposure must result from certain specific cancers that have a direct link to fire fighting. The fire fighter is presumed eligible if the above conditions are present. Employers have the right to refute or contest the claim.
Workforce Training and Development Vermonters believe in education for its own inherent value, but we invest in it because it is the path to productive and meaningful jobs and careers. This year, the legislature passed important legislation that supports education and training for all Vermonters -- youth at risk, students in academic and technical education, college bound youth, and adults of all ages seeking to transition into new jobs and careers. H. 433, An Act Relating to the Next Generation Initiative of Workforce Development, provides increased grant and scholarship aid for college tuition, loan repayment in the health care field, new internship and career awareness activities for high school and college students, and job-specific training for recent graduates and adults. Vermont’s economy depends on an excellent education and training infrastructure. The legislature’s work this session created opportunities for Vermonters to prepare themselves for meaningful work and careers.




Agriculture
The centerpiece of the legislature’s work on agriculture was the Agriculture Viability Act, a bill that will help ensure the continued viability of Vermont’s agricultural industry. The primary goals of the bill are to foster the development of a diversified agricultural sector, maintain the state’s prominence as a major milk producer in the region, and ensure the continued stewardship of the land with respect for the environment. The bill contains several important provisions for Vermont agriculture, including a “buy local” system for food and dairy products purchased annually by the state and state-funded entities, and ensures that schools purchase food and dairy products grown or produced in Vermont when available. The bill also addresses the shortage of slaughter facilities by authorizing the use of mobile slaughter establishments on farms or agricultural fairgrounds and extending current law that allows farmers to slaughter, without inspection, fewer than a thousand birds for sale to individuals or at farmers’ markets, with Agency of Agriculture guidelines.
The legislature also passed a bill that establishes a procedure for organizing and funding mosquito control in the state’s three mosquito control districts in addition to boosting dairy prices.
Farm to School The Farm to School bill codifies into statute an extraordinary program that brings together the community, the classroom and the school cafeteria. It provides hands on resources such as equipment, training and materials, which enable innovative connections between local farmers, their products and local schools. It connects Vermont school children to their food source and expands their knowledge and awareness of our rural economy. H. 91 names the farm to school grants for Representative Rosemary (Rozo) McLaughlin, who died in the fall of 2006. Her desire to bring good nutrition to local schools and to help Vermont farmers expand their markets led Rozo with the able help of Rep. Mitzi Johnson to develop the concept of the farm to school and she worked tirelessly to bring these groups together to make an idea a reality. Her hard work, advocacy, and diligence make it right and fitting that we name this signature legislation for her.


House Human Services

Advance Directives Registry
The Vermont Advance Directive Registry became available on February 2, 2007. The Registry web page is online at www.healthvermont.gov/vadr and provides instructions for completing and registering advance directives.
Services for transition age youth - Provides for youth in foster care to choose to continue receiving state services (such as health care, training, special assistance) beyond the day they turn 18. The previous law “pushed them off a cliff” the day they turned 18, and for many theis lack of services pushed these youth into trouble. Next year we will look for ways to address the transition needs of youth with functional developmental disabilities and youth with severe emotional disturbances.
Helping Families Out of Poverty.
HHSC also spent considerable time rewriting our program for Helping Families Out of Poverty.
With new federal guidelines that continue to further limit the options available to help young families (usually single mothers) survive and hopefully, rise up out of poverty, we worked to find ways that meet the new more narrow federal guidelines and still provide the supports young families need to empower them and help their challenge of moving out of poverty.
We also helped move forward an effort led by Sen. Racine to comprehensively look at Childhood Poverty in Vermont.
Unfortunately, the last 5 years have seen Childhood Poverty rates in Vermont rise faster than in any other state. We hope to provide clear, accurate articulation of the problem and generate widespread support for addressing this .
VSH-We also looked at the current plans for a new State Psychiatric Hospital (VSH)to replace the old- which was declared unfit by federal regulators. We disagreed with the Governor’s plan to create a $100 Million unit at Fletcher Allen Hospital and want to look at a model that will provide services across the state, at lesser costs.



For more information on this or other legislation, please contact us and/or check out the information on the Legislature’s web site:
www.leg.state.vt.us
All bills are posted on this site along with considerable other information pertaining to your legislature.

Statehouse Reports:   

  Week of 4-15-07

Activity in the Vermont House seems to be nearing its peak –which I’m told is a sign that we are turning the corner and adjournment is starting to show up on the horizon. (Like the old joke about being someplace that isn’t the end of the world, but one can see it from there)
The week was filled with machinations attendant to this process and significant legislation moving forward.
The Education and Ways And Means Committees have been working hard to address the multiple concerns within education…maintaining quality, equitably paying for it, and slowing the growth of spending.
House Human Services Committee (on which I participate) presented it’s bill on reconfiguring TANF(Temporary Aid to needy families) based on new more limited federal guidelines. It’s been the paramount concern of our committee and it was ably reported out by Rep. Sandy Haas and then passed Third reading, by the House on Friday.

Interesting overview is in party structure and actions…
Republicans have been calling for increasing the role of government and undermining sound fiscal practices while Democrats have arguing for fiscal responsibility and resisting the urge to enlarge governments reach into the lives of Vermonters.
Case in point is House Appropriations reducing the size of government by cutting 9 of the Governor’s media-spinners to save $750,000 and the Republicans wanting to increase spending guidelines…e.g. The budget we currently passed increases spending by only 1(one) percent and the Republicans want to raise that by 3(three) percent.
Alongside that, the Governor seems keen on spending $100 Million dollars on a new state psychiatric hospital in Burlington...when there seem to be several other solutions that would spread those services around the state for far less money.
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser…
and so it goes (with all due respect and homage to the recently departed Kurt Vonnegut)

State House  Update     Week of  3-20,2007

It was not a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, and it was not a quite week at the Vermont Statehouse.