2010 END OF SESSON REPORT

 

 

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

 

This year the legislative session ended with a sound compromise to address the compelling budget questions and differences between the legislature and the administration. Some of you brought me ideas for new legislation and I am proud that a few became law.   These are a few of the many Richmond residents who contacted me and the results of our combined efforts.

 

1)      Mary Streeter worked to draft a bill which I sponsored to license radiologist assistants in the state.  We were able to get this legislation included in the professional regulation bill and it was signed into law.

2)      Gary Grzywna wanted the weight for trucks on the interstate increased for his business. This bill passed in the first weeks of the session.

3)      Michael Mulcahy testified in the healthcare committee on the Autism insurance reform bill.  I had the opportunity to be the lead person in the house on this initiative which also became law.

4)      Margaret Buxton contacted me at Town Meeting about a bill to improve the governance of the Vermont Dental board by adding a dental assistant and that also is now law.

5)      Don George (and team at Blue Cross Blue Shield) have worked diligently to advance the Vermont Blueprint for Health primary and preventive care initiative and Vermont Healthcare Reform.  The house and senate passed a significant piece of legislation S.88 which includes the expansion of the Blueprint.

6)      Ann Earle, Gary Beckwith and hundreds of others were tireless in their efforts to educate others about Vermont Yankee. The senate vote sent a strong message to close Vermont Yankee in 2012 and the time is now to focus on renewable energy.

 

 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you. I ask for your vote as I campaign for re-election! Please contact me anytime at home 434-4250.

 

 

About Taxes

The Vermont Legislature made good on Speaker Shap Smith’s pledge not to raise any broad-based taxes.  Our state faced a 150 million dollar budget gap in January, yet the budget was balanced without any increases in sales, income or property taxes—a significant accomplishment! 

Earlier this year, the Douglas administration had forecast a two-cent increase in base property tax rates.  The legislature was able to avoid the predicted tax hike, saving property tax payers 20 million dollars across the state.  And, on the income tax side, lawmakers continued our two-year plan to reduce top marginal income tax rates.

To help spur business investment and job growth in Vermont, we also agreed to allow the full federal production deduction and substantially increase capital gains exemptions.  The estate tax exemption also climbed by more than a third to $2,750,000.  These actions will help Vermont families keep more of their hard-earned money and help our economy bounce back faster.

 

Unemployment Insurance

After much negotiation, the administration and the legislature came to an agreement on unemployment insurance (UI).  If we had done nothing, Vermont would have continued to borrow about $4 million dollars every week from the federal government to meet our unemployment insurance benefits obligation.  In eight years, we’d have borrowed $312 million and spent $103 million in interest.  An additional piece of good news is that Vermont’s unemployment rate is currently down to 6.5% and is projected to continue to decline further.

 

Texting

Pretty nearly everybody agrees texting should be banned while driving. The Senate passed a bill which specifically made it illegal for any person to engage in texting while operating a moving motor vehicle on a highway. Texting is defined as “the reading or the manual composing or sending of electronic communications including text messages, instant messages, or e-mails using a portable electronic device.” This does not include use of global positioning or navigation system. Penalties for texting are $100.00 for the first offense and two points on your license, and $250.00 and five points for the second offense and any subsequent offense. This ban applies to all drivers.

Additional provisions were added, to protect our young drivers. We banned the use of any portable electronic device while operating a moving vehicle for drivers under 18.  Additionally, while wearing a safety belt is the law for everybody, now police may stop a car driven by someone under 18 if it appears the driver is not wearing a seatbelt.

 

Big Trucks On The Interstate

This bill passed quickly through both bodies and was signed by the governor within the first weeks of this session. Senate bill 93 is a one-year federal pilot program that allows large trucks to carry up to 90,000 pounds on Vermont’s interstate highways.  Previously, trucks were limited to 80,000 pounds on the highways and therefore those with heavier loads traveled on state roads, often through the center of our small towns.  The increase in weight will allow truckers to carry bigger loads and thus make fewer trips. And it will make our small towns safer by keeping the most heavily loaded trucks out of town centers. It also keeps the town roads in better shape. It is a win- win situation for Vermont. We hope the pilot will continue into permanent law.

 

Caring for Our Lakes, Rivers, and Streams

This year, the legislature passed a combination bill designed to protect one of the state’s most important capital assets: our waterways.  This bill addresses pollution control measures for Lake Champlain and the other waters of the state. The problem is phosphorus which finds its way into our lakes and streams from runoff across our increasingly developed lands and from agricultural runoff. 

Some of these steps were identified to clean up the lake, including such simple things as keeping livestock out of streams, tightening rules for altering streams, maximizing funds for farms to implement conservation practices.

 

Caring for Vermonters

The legislature worked very hard to protect and improve services for Vermonters, especially children, seniors and Vermonters with disabilities that need some help to live safely and with dignity.

We passed legislation that will help children who come into the foster care system find permanent homes with a grandparent or other relative.  

 The legislature passed a bill updating our seasonal fuel assistance and crisis fuel assistance program eligibility. This program provides needy Vermonters with assistance for purchasing essential home heating fuel.

 

E-waste

Vermont’s legislature acted to protect the environment from a growing problem and help Vermonters save money: S.77, an Act Relating to the Disposal of Electronic Waste. This is a “producer responsibility” bill that addresses the fastest-growing and most hazardous portion of the waste stream. Effective next January, the bill will ban the disposal in landfills of all electronic devices, such as computers, monitors, TVs, printers, and other detritus of modern life. These products contain lead, mercury, and other hazardous substances that pose a threat to human health and the environment if improperly discarded.

 

Clean Air and Wood Boilers

Another major pollutant in Vermont is the smoke from the older generation of outdoor wood boilers. Unfortunately, many of the owners of these boilers depend on them for heat and can’t afford to replace them. We addressed this problem through S.239, an Act Relating to Retiring Outdoor Wood Fired Boilers that do not meet the 2008 emission standard for particulate matter. Using the five-year settlement funds of $360,000 per year that Vermont received from the air pollution case against American Electric Service Corporation, we will enable Vermonters who own these older boilers to buy new heating units that meet current emissions requirements. This voluntary retirement of high-emission units will be administered by the Agency of Natural Resources.

 

Education

The house passed four education bills that focus on educational quality and safety. They will strengthen our communities now and in the future: Independent colleges will develop harassment policies (H.648), schools will have greater access to funds for nutritional programs (H.408), a PreK-16 council was charged with increasing college aspirations and completion rates (H.709), and separation agreements with former employees would no longer be permitted to hide conduct that could jeopardize the safety of a minor or vulnerable adult (H.730). In addition, children with learning disabilities will be able to participate in graduation activities with their peers without losing access to continued educational opportunities.

 

Autism Insurance Reform
Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a medical condition which is diagnosed by a medical doctor and will now be covered by health insurance for children who are between 18 months and 6 years of age.  Studies show that for a some children with ASD, early intervention can result in half of them being able to attend first grade indistinguishable from their peers.  Those results coupled with the fact that special education for children in Vermont with ASD is $48,000 per year as compared to non special education costs of $14,789 made a compelling case for this bill. This legislation gives hope that children with ASD will get on a path to becoming productive, happy individuals who are independent.  At the same time the savings to the state can be significant over time by decreasing the demand on special education.

 

 

Judicial Restructuring:  Access to Justice and Savings Achieved

Last year, we informed the Judiciary that it would need to deliver $1 million in savings in the FY 11 budget.  This year we delivered those savings together with a “unified judiciary” that has been in the works for 36 years.

Our judicial restructuring bill consolidates the existing Family, district, superior, environmental and probate courts in to a single Unified Superior Court with family, criminal, civil, environmental and probate divisions.  We have statutorily required that courts will continue to operate in all 14 of our counties.  And we consolidate all court staff as state employees under the management of the court administrator.This important government efficiency measure saves $1 million in the general fund AND an additional $1.2 million in property taxes (through county budget savings); it allows the court to “buy-back” most (but not all) of the existing court closures.  Most importantly, it gives the Supreme Court the tools it needs to manage the entire judicial system efficiently.

 

 

Supporting Our National Guard

The House and Senate have passed the Military Parents’ Rights Act, which protects the parental rights of military members when they are absent from their children’s lives due to orders.  The bill expedites court processes and custody hearings, requires the non-deploying parent to facilitate contact between the child and deployed parent, and stipulates that a permanent loss of custody cannot be based solely on deployment.

It is important to the legislature that deployed Guard members be able to focus on completing their mission and returning safely to their families and communities.  If you have a loved one deployed overseas and need financial or resource assistance, please call the Vermont Veteran and Family Outreach 24-hour hotline: (888) 607-8773.

 

Moving the Primary Election date

Federal law requires that states send out absentee ballots 45 days before an election to overseas voters.  Because we have a number of Vermont Guard soldiers serving overseas, the Primary date was changed to protect our soldiers’ ability to exercise their right to vote.  With our largest deployment of soldiers since World War II the legislature felt it appropriate to move the primary election to the 4^th Tuesday in August. 

 

You can find more information on teacher retirement, the livestock advisory council, challenges for change, transportation, natural resources, economic development and healthcare at www.anneobrien.org

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ANNE INTERVIEWED ON  Under The Golden Dome

Creating Jobs & Stimulating Vermont’s Economy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can’t depend only on Washington and the federal stimulus package to see our way through this recession. Vermont is going to see its way through this storm. We will do that by working together creating jobs in the short-term, and building our infrastructure for long-term growth.

In the short term Vermont needs to create jobs. We have heard great ideas to create jobs and stimulate economic development. We are looking at innovative training programs, statewide broadband and affordable housing. Businesses know that childcare is critical to working families. Great jobs can be created in weatherization, energy efficiency, green jobs, EC-Fiber, forestry and biomass, and tourism. Among all those ideas, here is a quick look at just three of the bills.

Vermonters spend over $2 billion annually importing out-of-state food. If we can find ways to buy more foods locally, we will create thousands of jobs and generate millions of commerce in our communities. H.231, the Farm-to-Plate bill, will do just that by identifying where the challenges are in the links between farmers and consumers. We hear about gaps in storage capacity, slaughter facilities, marketing support and distribution networks. Once those weak links are indentified grants and technical assistance will build the missing infrastructure.

Co-ops are innovative business models that are great for employee ownership, cooperation, sustaining jobs, and encourage a pro-social business mission. But it’s often hard for a Co-op to raise money since it relies on members. In February the House passed a solution with H.109. It calls for a new form of business called Limited Co-ops that will allow Co-ops to attract outside investors as a way to raise equity, but still retain control for the non-investors.

Vermont can generate new business income by allowing the creation of what we are calling e-Corporations. Vermont made national headlines last year when a House-initiated program was created to allow for incorporation of businesses that exist without having physical locations. Our next step is to create clear regulations that enable companies to build software platforms that will enable future e-companies to take advantage of this new opportunity.

If you have ideas for jobs creation in Richmond please contact me!  I am working on a project with Tom Hard and The VYCC to get the East Barn renovated to become a satillite technical center which focus’s on natural resources, agriculture and food.

 

At my Thursday March 19 meeting at the Richmond Library Community Room we will do a short agenda item with brainstorming the types of jobs we might entice to come to Richmond!  Please join us!

 

RICHMOND VISITORS TO MONTPELIER HONORED AS EAGLE SCOUTS

On Friday February 13, the Eagle Scouts descended on the statehouse and spent the day.  Richmond Scouts came with their parents and scoutmaster George Patenaude.  I met them at the Capital Plaza where they were being honored at a luncheon.  What wonderful young men!

 

 

Please print and pass this information to anyone who may not have internet access.

Contact me at any time!

Anne