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
The gun restrictions present significant legal questions that make them unlikely to pass the legislature, said Rep. Donna Sweaney (D-Windsor), chair of the House Government Operations Committee.
“I have a feeling Burlington would spend a lot of time in court if these pass,” Sweaney said.
Her committee is scheduled to hear from legislative lawyers Thursday morning about the three gun-related charter changes, but the committee's agenda includes no other meetings on the subject, signaling that no further action is planned. Vermont municipal charter changes are subject to legislative approval.
Tags: gun-control , charter changes , Vermont legislature , Burlington , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 27, 2015
According to the retirement-incentive plan laid out Monday by Administration Secretary Justin Johnson, the state would allow up to 300 state workers to take the bait. He told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the state has 915 employees who are eligible to retire but have chosen to keep working. The incentive would be based on the number of years worked, and would be capped at $15,000, Johnson said.
Tags: VSEA , Vermont legislature , retirement , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
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
Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Sears (D-Bennington) was blunt that he wanted to avoid prolonging a difficult debate. “It’s a very emotional, very difficult issue,” Sears said. “I think people would just as soon move on.”
Gov. Peter Shumlin signaled Thursday that he’s likely to sign the bill, S. 141, though he didn’t firmly commit.
“The governor recognizes that the bill is a shadow of the original proposal he objected to and now goes a long way toward meeting reasonable concerns on both sides of this debate. But as usual, he will review the final bill after we have received it,” Shumlin spokesman Scott Coriell said in a written statement.
Tags: gun control , Peter Shumlin , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
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
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.
Tags: vaccination , philosophical exemption , Image , Web Only
The close vote, coming late in the legislative session, is an indication of the bill’s uncertain future. A wary Senate would have to waive its rules to advance the bill.
“We would love to pass it this year. Do I think that’s a stretch? Yes, it is,” said Lindsay DesLauriers, state director of the Main Street Alliance, who lobbied for the bill. “That would be an incredible turn of events.”
Supporters seized the opportunity Wednesday to sell the idea that everybody’s better off if people don’t go to work sick.
Tags: Vermont legislature , paid sick leave , labor , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Asked at a Statehouse press conference what he would do if Vermont Health Connect still can't automatically process changes in users' account information by his self-established deadline of May 31, Shumlin responded, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Pressed for a more specific answer, he said, “I’m going to find a high building.”
Tags: Peter Shumlin , suicide , mental health , Image , Web Only