Wednesday, April 22, 2015
But when the late-session proposal came up for a vote Wednesday afternoon, his colleagues made quick work of it.
After less than an hour of discussion, the Senate voted 18 to 11 to scrap a provision that currently allows parents to opt their children out of mandatory vaccinations for purely philosophical reasons. If signed into law, the amendment would still allow children to attend public schools if they qualified for a medical or religious exemption.
Whether the House follows suit in the final weeks of the session remains unclear. Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) and Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg), who chairs the House Committee on Health Care, said Wednesday they have yet to decide how to proceed.
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Monday, April 20, 2015
So has the Vermont Agency of Transportation. A two-year, $11 million construction project has thrown such a wrench in the traffic pattern that the agency — for the first time ever — has a tow truck standing by during rush hour. Just in case.
“It’s a challenge,” said Kevin Marshia, deputy chief engineer for the agency. "It's a pretty unique project."
The configuration can look like an accident waiting to happen. One did occur early Friday afternoon. A northbound driver who was fiddling with his oxygen tank and driving faster than the speed limit flipped his car into the median, according to state police. Nobody was hurt. State police said the driver is likely to be ticketed.
Tags: Vermont Agency of Transportation , Interstate 89 , Waterbury , roadwork , Image , Web Only
In a letter and accompanying complaint, Charlotte attorney Brady Toensing alleged four counts of misconduct related to the nine-term Democrat's campaign fundraising and spending. The allegations range from failure to properly report campaign expenditures to improper solicitation and receipt of donations in exchange for official action.
In the letter, Toensing accused Sorrell of "long-term and chronic flouting of Vermont's campaign finance laws." Because the AG serves as the state's chief law-enforcement officer, he wrote, Sorrell has "been able to act with impunity," despite engaging in conduct that "constitutes clear violations of Vermont law."
He concluded: "Appointment of an independent counsel is necessary to restore and maintain the integrity of your office."
Sorrell, who could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning, has previously denied wrongdoing related to the allegations, most of which stem from recent reporting by Seven Days.
Tags: Bill Sorrell , Brady Toensing , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Eighteen months after its launch, Vermont Health Connect continues to suffer from serious technological, operational and security problems, according to a new report released Thursday by state Auditor Doug Hoffer.
In a long-awaited look at the federally mandated health insurance exchange, Hoffer sounded a pessimistic note about the state's progress complying with recommendations made by its own consultants.
"While the State has taken steps to correct problems, gaps in VHC’s functionality have been patched by manual and time-consuming processes that have caused hardship for Vermonters," he wrote in an introductory letter.
Much hinges upon whether Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration can meet two fast-approaching, self-imposed deadlines, Hoffer wrote. Last month, the governor promised the system would be able to automatically process changes to account information by May and smoothly reenroll users by October. If the administration fails to meet either target, Shumlin said at the time, he would replace the state-based system with the federal exchange or a state-federal hybrid.
"Although the State has developed a high-level plan to correct IT shortcomings in 2015, significant obstacles and challenges remain to the successful implementation of the plan," Hoffer wrote. "The schedule for the [May] release is aggressive and the State does not yet have a defined scope of work or a contract with Optum, its current vendor, for a second major release in the fall."
Tags: Vermont Health Connect , Doug Hoffer , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Nineteen months before he faces reelection, Vermont's senior senator on Wednesday reported raising $416,000 in the first quarter of the year. That's more than he's taken in since the July 2010 reporting period, shortly before his last reelection.
It's also more than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a potential presidential candidate, raised. Sanders accepted $241,000 last quarter, he reported Wednesday to the Federal Election Commission. That's not exactly chump change for a guy who doesn't face reelection until 2018, but it's less than the $719,000 he raised in the quarter ending last June.
The third member of Vermont's congressional delegation, Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), took in just $37,530 last quarter.
All of these figures come with an important caveat: They cover only the congressmen's reelection campaign accounts. All three control separate political action committees through which they also raise and spend money, but reports for those entities aren't due until July.
Tags: Senator , Patrick Leahy , Bernie Sanders , Peter Welch , fundraising , campaign finance , presidential campaign , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 13, 2015
The Democratic AG approached Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham) last Tuesday in the Statehouse cafeteria and urged her to update regulations governing public financing of state elections. Sorrell specifically requested greater flexibility in assessing penalties against those charged with running afoul of the statute.
"He said, 'Look, we're following the law exactly as it's written. You might want to think about changing the law, because [we're] getting a lot of flack,'" says White, who chairs the Senate Committee on Government Operations.
White says her committee expects to take testimony on the idea Tuesday, though she's hesitant to intervene in a matter currently being litigated.
Tags: Bill Sorrell , Dean Corren , Jeanette White , Peter Shumlin , Phil Scott , campaign finance , public financing , Image , Web Only
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Those include economic inequality, unemployment, climate change and campaign finance, he said.
"I hope that Secretary Clinton will speak out on these and other important issues in the days and weeks ahead," Sanders said in a written statement released after Clinton formally entered the race.
The Vermont independent, who has been mulling a presidential campaign of his own, still hasn't decided whether to run, according to spokesman Michael Briggs.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Hillary Clinton , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
Friday, April 10, 2015
That was a sign of progress in the governor's search for $10.8 million in personnel savings to balance next year's budget. But as for the other $8.8 million?
The administration made a new push Thursday, asking the state employees’ union to agree to furloughs, wage freezes and other changes.
Keep looking elsewhere, said Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees' Association. “We’ve been very, very clear. We’re not opening the contract," he said. "I don’t know how many more times we can say it. The support is just not there.”
Tags: Vermont Stat Employees Association , Peter Shumlin , budget cuts , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 6, 2015
The "new" council features 10 returning members, plus independent Adam Roof and Progressive Sarah Giannoni. As expected, Progressive Councilor Jane Knodell was elected president of the council. After the March 3 election, she quickly secured seven votes, and Democrats decided it didn't make sense to challenge her. In the end, every councilor voted for Knodell, who replaces Democrat Joan Shannon in that seat.
Elected to a second term in March, Mayor Miro Weinberger began his State of the City address on a familiar theme by recapping the “dramatic financial improvements” he oversaw during his first term. Among other signs of “progress and momentum,” he pointed to bike path upgrades, the opening of Burlington’s fourth hotel (the Hilton Garden), and the success of tech companies like Ello and Dealer.com.
Unlike Gov. Peter Shumlin, who's taken to single-theme inaugural speeches, the Democratic mayor touched on a myriad of topics. He identified three broad goals: addressing longer-term financial issues, modernizing city government and expanding opportunity for all residents. High on Weinberger's priority list, he said, is tackling Burlington's underfunded pension fund, collecting and analyzing more city data, and building more housing.
Much of Weinberger's speech focused on plans already in the works, which were also discussed in detail during the months leading up to his reelection. For instance, he mentioned his early learning initiative, housing plan, diversity and equity plan, and his soon-to-be-unveiled 10-year capital plan.
Tags: Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , city council , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 2, 2015
As their colleagues debated a water quality bill on the House floor, committee members retreated to their room at 6 p.m. to sign off on a plan that would raise $18 million next year and $22 million the year after. It would do so primarily by creating a new, half-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
The vote was six to four, with one member absent. Committee members expect to approve the underlying bill, H. 481, on Thursday.
Rep. Carolyn Branagan (R-Georgia) summed up her frustration with the subject as the committee clerk called the roll: "I want to get rid of this thing," she said before casting her own vote. "Yes."
Wednesday's vote signaled a defeat for Gov. Peter Shumlin, who in his January budget address proposed raising $90 million for his own health care priorities by creating a 0.7 percent payroll tax. Like most legislators, members of the Ways and Means committee panned the plan and instead explored taxing everything from bottled water to candy to food sold in vending machines.
In the end, the committee opted for a package of taxes targeting sugary drinks, diet soda, dietary supplements, cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Tags: Vermont House , sugar-sweetened beverage tax , health care , Image , Web Only