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Sure, Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled a $5.3 billion budget proposal Thursday. And he disclosed the $1.6 billion price tag of his single-payer health care plan. And his transportation secretary outlined a $28 million new gas tax. 

But the question on many people's minds at the Statehouse was this:

What the hell is a "break-open ticket?"

For those who don't hang out at the local American Legion hall Saturday nights, break-open tickets are little scratch-off, lottery-like cards sold by nonprofit organizations. And believe it or not, Vermonters buy somewhere between 135 and 224 million of them a year, the Shumlin administration says.

In his budget address to a joint session of the legislature Thursday, Shumlin proposed slapping a ten percent tax on the tickets, which he said would raise $17 million for low-income heating assistance, home weatherization and clean energy development. 

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(Pictured at left, Ashe investigating a sample break-open ticket provided by the Department of Liquor Control at a Senate Finance Committee meeting Thursday afternoon.)

That the governor managed to identify a $17 million source of revenue half the Statehouse had never heard of provided legislators a brief moment of levity as they stared down a budgeting process filled with bleak choices.

Beyond break-open tickets, Shumlin's third budget address exposed two great contradictions in his professed approach to governing:

This just in from Senate Majority Leader Philip Baruth (D-Chittenden): He's abandoning an attempt to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Vermont.

In a statement emailed to Seven Days Sunday evening, Baruth says he's planning to withdraw a gun control bill he introduced in the Senate just last Tuesday. 

The move comes a day after roughly 250 gun rights activists rallied at the Statehouse in opposition to Baruth's bill and other measures to restrict access to firearms.

In a three-paragraph statement, Baruth wrote that it's "painfully clear to me now that little support exists in the Vermont Statehouse for this sort of bill" and that he feared the legislation "may already be overshadowing measures with greater consensus."

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"I have reservations about it — and they're pretty strong," Smith said. 

The proposal, which Shumlin first outlined in his second inaugural address last Thursday, was panned earlier this week by a group of Progressive and Democratic lawmakers. But until now, Smith has kept quiet about his reaction.

"The governor and I are in agreement that it's important to put more money into child care subsidies and that it certainly will help young families — particularly single moms — in their effort to get into the workforce," Smith said. "My question is should it be taken away from a program that encourages people to go back to work and makes work make more sense for a lot of people."

Shumlin and his Secretary of Human Services, Doug Racine, have proposed spending $17 million to expand the availability of child-care subsidies and raise the rates the state pays to child-care providers. The program currently serves 5900 families and 8400 children and could reach 900 additional families if its funding is increased, VTDigger.org reported Thursday.

That's a goal Smith and other lawmakers share — but they're concerned about Shumlin's plan to finance it: namely to cut the state's match to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit by $17 million. That $25 million program provides a tax break — and often a lump-sum payment — to some 44,000 low-income Vermonters. The average tax credit recipient could lose $376 a year, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reported earlier this week.

Updated with comment from Gov. Peter Shumlin

Former representative Eldred French of Shrewsbury has been selected to replace Bill Carris in the Vermont Senate, Seven Days has learned.

First elected to the House in 2008, French lost a close reelection race last year to fellow incumbent Rep. Dennis Devereux (R-Mount Holly) after decennial redistricting merged portions of their two House districts into one.

"One window closes and another door opens," French, a Democrat, said Friday morning. "I did not want to go out the way I did, so this opportunity is great for me."

A month after winning reelection to a two-year term representing Rutland County, former Democratic majority leader Bill Carris announced his resignation from the Senate in December, citing health reasons. Two weeks ago, Rutland County Democrats selected a list of three potential replacements — French, former senator Cheryl Hooker and former senate candidate Bob Baird — from which Gov. Peter Shumlin could choose.

Shumlin informed French of his decision Thursday and plans to make a formal announcement later Friday. A Shumlin spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Thanks to a disruption in the space-time continuum, the Cedar Creek Room of the Statehouse was briefly transported to Bizarro World Thursday morning.

At the podium stood a crew of mostly House Republicans calling for new campaign finance disclosure rules meant to make it easier for voters to know who's funding political campaigns, political action committees and so-called "super PACs."

Their recommendations closely mirrored those offered up in recent months by several liberal groups, including the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and Vermont Priorities.

"This is all about transparency and disclosure. Disclosure, disclosure, disclosure," said Rep. Tom Koch (R-Barre). "The people of this state have a right to know who was contributing to campaigns — how much, how the money is being spent. What they do with that information is their business."

Republican candidates, you'll remember, benefited from a million dollars in campaign expenditures made by the conservative Vermonters First super PAC during the 2012 election.

After a public backlash that may have contributed to many of those candidates losing, the GOP appears to be trying to get out in front of the issue.

News and politics stories in this week's issue of Seven Days...

• In this week's cover story, Ken Picard takes a deep dive into the state auditor's race between Republican Vince Illuzzi and Democrat/Progressive Doug Hoffer — a battle between the "King of the Kingdom" and the "Data Man."
• What's up with Burlington Telecom? Three years after its troubles first surfaced, the municipally-owned, deep-in-debt utility is still stuck on pause, writes Kevin J. Kelley.
• Kathryn Flagg writes about Burlington's big plans for its King Street neighborhood — without leaving its low-income residents behind.
• This week in Fair Game: Gov. Peter Shumlin talks a big game against corporate money in politics, but he's lining his campaign coffers with cash from special-interest groups. Plus, updates on super PAC backer Lenore Broughton, an Obama fundraiser with James Taylor in Vermont and more changes for the Burlington Free Press.

Last week marked the fourth anniversary of the death of former Seven Days political columnist Peter Freyne. Coverage of Vermont's political scene hasn't been the same without Inside Track, not least because of Freyne's infamous roll call of nicknames for the state's movers and shakers. Below, we've listed 19 monikers Freyne coined — see how many you can correctly guess and find out your score at the end.

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But on Thursday, as Peter Shumlin took his second oath of office as Vermont's 81st governor, the Putney native adopted a new objective for his sophomore term: "to take a good education system and make it the best."

On the most traditional of days in Vermont civic life, Shumlin broke the mold of inaugural addresses — typically a potpourri of policy proposals — preferring instead to focus entirely on education. In a 38-minute speech — punctuated by plenty of applause but few standing ovations — he told assembled dignitaries that improvements in teaching and learning are essential to the state's future.

Shumlin's argument was not so much that education is vital for intellectual fulfillment or even personal advancement. Instead, his was a collectivist vision emphasizing the economic necessity of a skilled and highly trained workforce.

Businesses throughout Vermont, he said, are demanding one.

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Just minutes after Gov. Peter Shumlin delivered his second inaugural address Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott briefly convened the Senate to name the new leaders, putting an end to weeks of speculation among political insiders.

"The appointments are some of the most creative we've seen in years in the Senate," said Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell (D-Windsor) in a press briefing shortly after the announcements were made. He was joined by Scott and Sen. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle), who collectively made up the "Committee on Committees," charged with assigning colleagues to the 11 panels.

(Mazza, Scott and Campbell are pictured above, l to r.)

Among the biggest changes?

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"This may seem surprising to some. However, I have been promised nothing more and nothing less than a fair and normal process, and a focused and productive Senate," Snelling (pictured at right) said from the Senate floor. "Many positive changes are in place to create the predictability that will ensure that. And I'm grateful that we can begin our work today with a clear understanding of our responsibilities."

Snelling's move cleared the way for Campbell, who was first elected president pro tem two years ago, to unanimously win reelection.

In brief remarks to the chamber, he compared Vermont's collegial legislature favorably to the U.S. Congress, arguing that in Montpelier — unlike Washington — elected representatives refuse to let partisanship get in the way.

"What matters is that we do the job — do something that's right for Vermonters," Campbell said. "More importantly, that we keep in mind that we have to look out for our most vulnerable of our population: the elderly, the disabled, the children. And I can say that in my 12 years here we have done that."