Friday, May 1, 2015
Though the body rejected most of the last-minute cuts Gov. Peter Shumlin proposed Thursday morning, some will likely reemerge in the next week or two as the Senate and House resolve differences between their respective bills in conference committee. Just one administration suggestion, to realize $1.3 million in savings from a pharmacy benefits program, was approved by the Senate.
Shumlin spent much of the week denouncing the Senate's plan to cap mortgage interest deductions at $12,000; eliminate deductions for out-of-state charitable contributions; extend the 6 percent sales tax to soda, candy and bottled water; and impose a 5 percent excise tax on satellite television providers.
On Friday morning, two powerful senators managed to scale back two of those taxes.
Tags: Senate Finance Committee , sales tax , candy , satellite television , Image , Web Only
Since his formal entry into the race Thursday at noon, more than 100,000 people have signed on to his mailing list, the campaign said.
That news was overshadowed by the revelation that Shelburne-based Vermont Teddy Bear Company has introduced a new ursine product in his honor: the Bernie Bear. The gray-suited, bespectacled bear, replete with "iconic, unruly hair," can be yours for just $79.99.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Vermont Teddy Bear , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
“It’s insulting to the process,” complained one top Dem.
The Senate had been scheduled to debate its $1.47 billion general fund budget Thursday morning. But late Wednesday, the administration delivered word that it would produce millions more in budget savings ideas.
That left some wondering why the governor waited so long.
“In the time I’ve been in the legislature, it’s never happened: to come in and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got some suggestions for you,’ after the committee has passed its budget,” said Sen. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia), who chairs the Appropriations Committee.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Four were transported for medical attention, and another person was lightly injured, said David Roberts, a deputy chief with the Burlington Fire Department.
Hans van Wees, the hotel's general manager, had just headed into his office off the lobby when the ceiling fell. He arrived at the scene quickly. "Everybody was fully conscious, standing up," he said. Within five minutes, he said, emergency medical responders arrived.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
But after a story appeared in Seven Days Wednesday morning about the proposal — and an example of potentially unethical behavior — the committee's chair said she had changed her mind about creating such a panel.
"We can't do it now because of you," Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham) told the story's author on her way into a noon caucus meeting. "If we did it now, it would look like it was in reaction to your article, and it isn't."
White said she still planned to turn her committee's proposal over to the Senate Rules Committee, which must approve it before it goes to the Senate floor.
"I don't know that they'll even have time to do it this year," she said of the Rules Committee.
Tags: John Campbell , Jeanette White , ethics committee , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Gov. Peter Shumlin plans to appoint independent counsel to investigate whether Attorney General Bill Sorrell broke the law.
"It’s clear that there is broad consensus from members of the legislature, and the attorney general himself, that it makes sense to have these allegations reviewed independently, and the governor agrees," Shumlin spokesman Scott Coriell said Tuesday evening.
The governor’s announcement came just hours after the AG made a dramatic Statehouse appearance before the Senate Committee on Government Operations. A week after shrugging off accusations that he violated campaign finance laws, a chastened Sorrell reversed course and told the committee he would welcome a formal review.
“I can’t investigate myself. I realize the need for an independent inquiry,” he told the committee Tuesday afternoon. “And despite the cost considerations, I believe that an inquiry should be conducted by a respected, outside, impartial attorney who will analyze the law and the facts and either clear my name or take further action to see that justice is served.”
Tags: Bill Sorrell , campaign finance , Peter Shumlin , Brady Toensing , Image , Web Only
Sanders plans to release a statement Thursday confirming that he'll seek the presidency in 2016, Kinzel reported. He'll hold a formal campaign announcement in Vermont "several weeks" later.
Spokesman Michael Briggs would neither confirm nor deny the report Tuesday afternoon. He noted that Sanders has previously said he would reveal his intentions by the end of the month.
"We'll have something to say later this week," Briggs said.
Sanders, the nation's longest serving independent in Congress, would face off against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who announced her candidacy two weeks ago.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , president , 2016 , Presidential Campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Monday, April 27, 2015
The trade association, which represents the nation's top soda producers and bottlers, spent far more on lobbying legislators last quarter than any other entity in Vermont, according to filings due to the secretary of state's office on Saturday.
Of the $513,000 the ABA spent in Vermont, more than $378,000 went to advertising aimed at turning public sentiment against the beverage tax, which appears unlikely to pass. The organization spent nearly $42,000 on polling, nearly $23,000 on phone-banking and $16,000 on lobbyist pay. Not included in the half-million-dollar total is another $25,000 that an allied organization, the Beverage Association of Vermont, spent retaining MMR, one of the top lobbying firms in Montpelier.
In total, according to the secretary of state's new, searchable database, 399 companies, nonprofits and trade associations paid 422 people to lobby the legislature during the first three months of the year. Some of those registered lobbyists worked for the 18 lobbying firms based in the state, while others were employed full time by the entities for which they advocated.
Last quarter, those who employ registered lobbyists in the Statehouse reported paying them nearly $3.1 million. They spent another $719,000 on advertising and related activities — and more than $18,000 on gifts, such as free meals and receptions for legislators.
Tags: Lobbying , Vermont , soda tax , American Beverage Association , Vermont State Dental Society , Every Town for Gun Safety , Gun Sense Vermont , Image , Web Only
Friday, April 24, 2015
Sorrell, the state's top law enforcement officer, has refused to appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations that he took official action in exchange for campaign contributions and violated other campaign finance laws. The AG has denied the allegations and called it a waste of taxpayer money to investigate them.
Democratic, Republican and Progressive members of the Senate Committee on Government Operations say the situation has prompted them to question whether it's appropriate for an elected official to enforce his own compliance with the law.
"The fact that the attorney general is charged with investigating him or herself is clearly ridiculous," says Sen. Anthony Pollina (P/D-Washington), a member of the committee. "And then the idea that the attorney general should decide not to investigate him or herself because he doesn't believe there's any wrongdoing is really absurd."
The committee has invited Sorrell to testify next Tuesday on the idea and other changes it's considering to campaign finance laws. Other invitees include Vermont Republican Party vice chairman Brady Toensing, who filed a complaint against Sorrell last Sunday, as well as Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and his 2014 opponent, Dean Corren.
Tags: Bill Sorrell , Dean Corren , Jeanette White , Joe Benning , Anthony Pollina , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Johnson updated the House Appropriations Committee Thursday morning on the status of negotiations between the administration and the Vermont State Employees Association to achieve $10.8 million in labor savings requested by the governor in January.
The administration expects to cut $2 million by reducing the number of temporary workers it hires and trimming pay increases to exempt employees and other managers. It hopes to save another $2.5 million by encouraging those already eligible to retire to do so later this year, as VTDigger's Elizabeth Hewitt first reported.
That leaves $6.3 million to be found.
Johnson told the committee he expects to eliminate 300 positions through retirements, vacancies and involuntary reductions-in-force. But, he said, "I think that the RIFs are gonna ultimately be a relatively small part of that."
Tags: Peter Shumlin , Vermont State Employees Association , Justin Johnson , RIFs , Image , Web Only