Tuesday, April 11, 2017
“I don’t know how on Earth we can do anything,” said Sen. Jeanette White (D-Windham), a leading advocate of legalization.
With the legislative session expected to end in about three weeks, some Senate committees, including Judiciary, are shutting down for the year to focus on budget bills.
Even if the House voted out its legalization bill in the next week, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) said its chances of passing in his chamber are virtually nil. “It’s hard to see that happening,” he said.
Tags: Cannabeat , Jeanette White , marijuana legalization , Tim Ashe , Tristan Toleno , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 10, 2017
During his 29 years as president of the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association, Harrison earned a reputation as a skillful lobbyist. Nicknamed "The Hammer," he spent recent years vigorously opposing such legislative initiatives as paid sick leave, sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and mandatory labeling of genetically modified food.
Harrison retired last year at age 63, but his departure from the Statehouse has proved short-lived.
The Chittenden Republican confirmed Monday night that Scott had called him earlier that evening to offer him the seat representing the Rutland-Windsor-1 district. A spokeswoman for Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment. News of Harrison's appointment was first reported by the Vermont Press Bureau.
Tags: Phil Scott , Jim Harrison , Job Tate , Vermont Legislature , Image , Web Only
Many of them would prefer to shift a greater portion of the tax burden to the wealthy while sparing budget cuts to state programs. They’d also like to see more focus on climate change.
But with federal budget cuts looming, they’ve been swallowing hard and going along with a more conservative approach to state spending.
On Monday, four Vermont House members made polite, tentative steps toward maybe eventually advancing progressive policies that would tackle both taxation and climate change. Perhaps next year — or just sometime.
“What they have in common is they are all things to start a conversation,” said Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas (D-Bradford), who proposed phasing out the state sales tax in favor of a carbon pollution tax. “It’s how can we change our tax structure to achieve more of what we want.”
Tags: climate change , 350.org , carbon tax , Diana Gonzalez , Johannah Donovan , Sarah Copeland Hanzas , Martin LaLonde , Jeff Bartley , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 6, 2017
The House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee isn’t opposed to the merger but objected to having no control over how it would happen, said chair Helen Head (D-South Burlington).
“We’re sincere in looking at the possibility of a merger,” Head said. “The timing of this executive order didn’t allow for that thoughtful process.”
Under the executive order process, legislators had a choice to either accept Scott’s plan as is, or not — but not to alter the plan.
Head’s committee is considering legislation that would create a working group to report back by January on how the two entities could be merged. The panel delayed action on that Thursday.
The committee voted 6-4 to reject the executive order, with the full House expected to follow suit next week. The legislature has until April 14 for either the full House or Senate to act on the order. Otherwise, it would automatically take effect April 17.
Scott expressed disappointment. "I don't know why they wouldn't [approve it]," he said. A merger would combine the state's two smallest departments, and Scott had proposed they could share warehouse space and marketing.
Tags: Vermont Department of Liquor Control , Vermont Lottery Commission , Phil Scott , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
At his weekly press conference in his ceremonial Statehouse office, Vermont's Republican governor made clear he believed that undocumented immigrants convicted of a crime should be deported. He was less clear about what he meant by the word "crime."
The subject came up when WCAX-TV reporter Kyle Midura questioned Scott about public records revealed in this week's Seven Days. The story showed that, in 2016, the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles regularly shared information with federal immigration enforcement officials about suspected undocumented immigrants. It also described an incident last September when the Vermont State Police arrested a Honduran national for drunk driving and then turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
What ensued at the press conference was a surreal display. Scott declined to address the question that was asked — instead providing an answer that ended up confusing himself.
“Do you see a distinction between state police reporting someone suspected of drunk driving at more than two times the legal limit to [federal authorities] and someone who is simply applying for a license here in the state?” Midura asked. Three years ago, the state enacted a law allowing undocumented immigrants to legally seek a driver's license without granting the recipient legal immigration status.
Tags: Phil Scott , deportation , undocumented immigrants , ACLU , Vermont Human Rights Commission , Image , Web Only
Menard, who began her three-decade DOC career as a correctional officer, had been serving as acting commissioner since Scott took office in January. Former governor Peter Shumlin named her commissioner in October 2015.
Menard supervises an agency that has more than 1,000 employees and a $157 million budget.
Tags: Lisa Menard , Phil Scott , prison , GEO Group , Department of Corrections , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
The Human Services Committee heard a steady stream of cautionary tales about legalizing marijuana that ranged from not now — to not ever. “I absolutely don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Margo Austin, a student assistant program counselor at Burlington High School.
Yet the panel’s chair, Rep. Ann Pugh (D-South Burlington) had already declared that a majority of the committee’s 11 members support the bill. She declined to reveal if, or when, a vote or further testimony will take place.
The bill is H.170, and would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana but would not allow retail sale of the drug. The proposed legislation is similar to what’s in effect in Washington, D.C.
The committee is tasked — after House leaders last week feared that they lacked the votes to pass the bill in the full chamber — with studying marijuana prevention efforts in Vermont and also investigating if legalization would affect use among youths. If that information resolves the concerns of some uncertain members, the bill could go back to the floor for a vote, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) has said.
Tags: Ann Pugh , Cannabeat , Colorado , drug prevention , marijuana legalization , Vermont legislature , Washington , Image , Web Only
Friday, March 31, 2017
The House Human Services Committee expects to discuss the bill next week, according to committee chair Ann Pugh (D-South Burlington). The panel will focus on youth drug prevention programs and the impact legalization could have on young people, she said.
Lawmakers pulled the bill, H.170, from the House floor this week and sent it to the Human Services Committee this week because it lacked the votes to pass. The legislation would allow possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, two plants and four seedlings. It would not legalize sale of the drug.
The bill's sidelining led many to conclude the legislation was dead for the year. Pugh's comments suggest that might not be the case.
Tags: Ann Pugh , Cannabeat , marijuana legalization , Mitzi Johnson , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Thursday, March 30, 2017
A $5.8 billion proposed state budget won near unanimous backing, with a 143-1 vote. Beforehand, Republican House members gathered for a press conference and declared that they liked the plan produced by a chamber led by a Democratic majority.
“Today is the first step in the right direction,” said House Minority Leader Don Turner (R-Milton).
And a tax bill that raises no new taxes passed 138-0. “That was a first for me,” Rep. Sam Young (D-Glover) tweeted afterwards, referring to the unanimous vote.
Turner said it was a first for him, too. He didn’t think he’d ever before voted in favor of a tax bill during his 12 years in the legislature.
Tags: state budget , taxes , Phil Scott , Vermont House , Kitty Toll , Janet Ancel , Warren van Wyck , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
While the Vermont legislature has been moving forward on a number of fronts, two of the left’s top priorities — marijuana and raising the minimum wage — have run aground. A third, paid family leave, is in danger of following suit. On top of that, House budget writers have tried their darnedest not to raise taxes or fees — even at the cost of some painful belt-tightening.
Progressive/Democratic Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman sees a missed opportunity to capitalize on political momentum.
“In the land of Bernie, I would hope that we would be a leader on many of these working-class issues,” he says, referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “Voters are tired of establishment politics, and they’re looking for results in their day-to-day lives.”
James Haslam, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Rights & Democracy, agrees.
“It really seems like the new leadership in our state is not coming in with the appetite to take on big things,” he says. “I understand the excuses people make, but we need action.”
Tags: Bernie Sanders , cannabis related , David Zuckerman , James Haslam , Josh Wronski , Mitzi Johnson , Phil Scott , Senator , Tim Ashe , Image , Web Only