Friday, May 4, 2018
The funding plan, crafted in the House Ways and Means Committee, would collect an estimated $4.55 million annually from the rooms and meals tax increase and an additional $1.94 million from unclaimed bottle deposits.
The House approved the bill, S. 260, in a 92 to 48 vote.
Ways and Means Committee chair Janet Ancel (D-Calais) said her panel added the funding mechanisms to spur action by the state on clean water funding — an issue that’s been the topic of multiple studies since the Vermont Clean Water Act passed in 2015.
“The studies have been helpful … but at some point rubber hits the road,” Ancel said. “It typically hits the road in the House Ways and Means committee.”
Tags: clean water , environment , water quality , Lake Champlain , Lake Carmi , tax , Phil Scott , Cynthia Browning , Heidi Scheuermann , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
The bond would advance a proposal to bury power lines, widen sidewalks, plant street trees, create a dedicated bike lane, and overhaul water and sewer infrastructure on a three-quarter mile stretch of Main. The section begins at a railroad bridge just north of the Winooski traffic circle and continues uphill to Tigan Street, just before Exit 16 of Interstate 89.
The idea is to make the heavily trafficked corridor more pedestrian-friendly and vibrant, with features that are similar to the ones on the lower stretch of Main.
Approval of the bond would be a "yellow light" for the Main Street reconstruction project, according to city manager Jessie Baker. It would allow the city council to apply for grants and explore funding in greater detail before making a final decision.
Tags: Winooski , redevelopment , Main Street , Jessie Baker , bond vote , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 26, 2018
House Ways and Means Committee chair Janet Ancel (D-Calais) said the “clock is ticking” on the legislative session, which is expected to last two more weeks. Committee members voiced concern and frustration that the administration has hinted at a comprehensive proposal but provided few details.
“I’d like to know if there is going to be a proposal … to use one-time money,” Ancel told Samsom. “Where would it come from, and how would it be replaced? Those are all things that would affect tax rates.”
Tags: tax , Kaj Samsom , Janet Ancel , Kurt Wright , George Till , education funding , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The bill would have expanded the power of the commissioner of the Department of Health to regulate products that pose a risk of exposing children to toxic chemicals. The commissioner, who is appointed by the governor, would have been able to require health labeling on products or even ban their sale.
The House's vote to override the veto failed to get approval from two thirds of the representatives present, as required by the state's constitution. Ninety-four representatives voted in favor of the bill and 53 voted against it.
One of those standing with the Republican governor was Rep. David Ainsworth (R-South Royalton), who had been out sick. He returned to the chamber to help the GOP's cause, casting his first votes of the session.
Tags: Phil Scott , Don Turner , David Ainsworth , Fred Baser , William Canfield , Martha Feltus , James Harrison , Richard Lawrence , Terry Norris , toxics , consumer protection , veto , Department of Health , Image , Web Only
Deputy Corrections Commissioner Mike Touchette told the Vermont House Corrections and Institutions Committee in January that the investigation would be complete in short order.
“We are very near the conclusion of our — Vermont’s — administrative review, clinical review [of Brown’s death,]” Touchette told the committee on January 19.
Tags: Corrections , Mike Touchette , Camp Hill , Pennsylvania , interstate compact , Roger Brown , Herbert Rodgers , Timothy Adams , Alice Emmons , Matthew Valerio , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Finance Commissioner Adam Greshin said the plan does not include a tax increase, because districts that beat the target would get a tax break, meaning the state wouldn't be taking in more money overall — even though some Vermonters would pay more.
“What the proposal does is, it levels the average statewide property tax,” Greshin told the House Education Committee Tuesday.
Tags: taxes , education , staff-student ratio , education funding , Dave Sharpe , Dylan Giambatista , Phil Scott , Adam Greshin , Brad James , Rebecca Holcombe , Agency of Education , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 23, 2018
State Police Capt. Kevin Lane told the House Judiciary Committee Friday that the agency stopped using the technology because of state rules put into place in 2016 and the potential cost of replacing the devices as they reach the end of their useful lifespan.
“Looking at replacements was expensive, and some of the reporting requirements when the law changed were very challenging to meet,” Lane said.
Tags: privacy , law enforcement , ALPRs , license plate scanners , license plate readers , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 16, 2018
That's more than five times what the senator raised during the same period last year, but it's less than the $1.29 million he collected in the second quarter of 2017 and the $1.95 million he raised in the third quarter of that year.
Sanders, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1990 and the Senate in 2006, has not said whether he will seek reelection this November. No other contenders had filed reports with the FEC as of Monday afternoon.
The vast majority of Sanders' donations this year came from individual contributors, though the campaign accepted $10,000 from labor and environmental political action committees, such as the Climate Champions PAC and the National Nurses United PAC.
During the same three-month period, Sanders spent nearly $533,000. That left him, at the end of March, with nearly $6.9 million in his Senate reelection fund. But Sanders, who has declined to say whether he would mount a second presidential campaign in 2020, isn't using the money simply to stump in Vermont.
Tags: Senator , political donations , fundraising , Bernie Sanders , Peter Welch , Patrick Leahy , congress , Federal Elections Commission , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 12, 2018
The Clean Energy Development Fund is a state-administered initiative within the Department of Public Service that offers financial incentives for homes, businesses and other institutions to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
Andy Perchlik, the fund's manager, said that it has focused primarily on “advanced wood heating” in recent years. Unlike old-fashioned wood stoves and early pellet stoves, according to Perchlik, such systems have the convenience and technological sophistication of fossil fuel-powered heating systems but run on wood fuel that can be purchased locally.
The Scott administration’s proposal to remove $500,000 from the fund would effectively end that work, Perchlik said.
Tags: renewable energy , wood heat , heating oil , climate change , Phil Scott , Adam Greshin , Andy Perchlik , Department of Public Service , budget , Clean Energy Development Fund , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Gun rights supporters shouted down Vermont’s Republican governor Wednesday as he signed a trio of gun-control bills into law, transforming the state from one of the most gun-friendly in the nation to one of the least.
Standing on the steps of the Statehouse, Gov. Phil Scott told a crowd of hundreds that it was incumbent upon the state to combat the epidemic of mass shootings that has swept the country in recent years.
“That’s why today we choose action over inaction — doing something over doing nothing — knowing there will always be more work to do,” he said. “But today we choose to try.”
Scott assured his audience that the legislation would not infringe upon Vermonters’ right to bear arms. “What it does not do is take away your guns,” he said. “Period.”
Tags: guns , high-capacity magazines , universal background checks , Phil Scott , Image , Slideshow , Web Only