|
Montpelier Notes, An occasional
email for Pownal and Woodford residents. If you
would prefer not to receive these notes please reply to
botzow@sover.net and I'll remove you
from the list. If you would like to be added please let me know at the same
address. I do not give your email address to others. --Bill Botzow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June
11, 2006
Hello
All,
I
hope everyone is finding ways to stay dry and cheerful considering the
unusual wet spell we’ve been experiencing. I’m glad to be home and have the
garden planted, a few art projects underway, and many more opportunities to
see everybody around town.
The
Community Visit process has been especially gratifying. The last
wrap-up visit with thye Vermont Council on Rural
Development was well attended and the action groups are well under way. I
hope to attend as many meetings as possible and hope you will join in
whenever you can.
Here’s
the latest I have on the next meetings of the action groups.
Outdoor
Recreation – Monday
June 12, 6 PM, Town Office in Pownal Center.
This meeting will bring together the Pownal
Recreation Implementation Committee, the Pownal
Recreation Committee, the Outdoor Recreation taskforce group of Pownal Community Meeting process with the goal of the
groups understanding their respective efforts. Ken Norris, Interim Chair.
Communications
and Community Identity
– Wednesday June 21, 6:30 PM. Jim Boutin’s house
on Old Military Road.
Jim Boutin, Chair.
Mobile
Homes and Affordable Housing – Wednesday June 21, 6:30 PM Pownal
Rescue Squad Building, Pownal village. Pam Bolus,
Chair
Economic
Development –
Wednesday June 21, 6:30 PM, Pownal
Center Firehouse, Pownal
Center. Clint
Hutchins, Chair
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
End
of Session Report When
the legislature adjourned May 10, it was the earliest adjournment in many
years. Even with fewer total work days, this was an exceptionally busy
session with many accomplishments. After the legislature finishes its work
each year, I’ve written a summary report on our work and distributed copies
to town offices and local stores as well as by email. Here’s my report for
2006 in an expanded version. I will have a paper copy around to stores and
town offices in a few days. Many of the articles that follow are edited
from reports drafted by my colleagues in the House. Please let me know if
you would like more information on any of the issues that I discuss or if
you would like me to send you a copy of the bill as passed.
The
Budget for July 2006 to June 2007
The
FY2007 budget responsibly funds our priorities. The legislature responded
to Vermonters’ concerns about property taxes and opposed budget proposals
that would increase property tax pressure.
Money
does not go to the Transportation Fund from the Education Fund and the
Education Fund does not undertake new General Fund obligations such as
teachers’ retirement. The budget looks to Vermont’s
future by focusing on affordable housing, investing in Vermont’s future leaders, making our
communities safer, and investing in rural economic development.
This
budget makes significant investments in higher education. For the fourth
year in a row, the legislature increased funding for higher education.
Funding for higher education took several forms:
- A 4 % percent increase in base funding for
The University of Vermont (UVM), Vermont State Colleges (VSC) and the
Vermont Student Assistance Corp (VSAC);
- $3 million, for one year only, for
initiatives that address the anticipated decline in the proportion of
Vermonters who are in the workforce;
- $5 million to existing scholarship programs
of UVM, VSC and VSAC for one year only;
- $5 million set aside pending recommendations
regarding how best to encourage young Vermonters to remain in Vermont for
their working lives.
To
support affordable housing, the budget increased the base funding for
Vermont Housing and Conservation (VHCB) by 4.5% and added an additional $1M
for this year only. If revenues from the property transfer tax exceed
forecast, as expected, VHCB will receive an additional $3.5 million.
To
support the needs of children and youth the legislature voted a 2 percent
increase in child care subsidies for licensed and registered day care
providers. Additional investments were made in adoption services, homeless
youth, teen centers and mentoring.
Agriculture
and rural economic development received additional funding in several
areas. The 2+2 Farms Scholarship Program was fully funded. $240,000 was
appropriated for a Farms-to-School initiative to connect farmers to schools
and to improve school nutrition. The Vermont Training Program, which helps
businesses train and retrain workers, received a funding increase of
$100,000 and the Tourism and Marketing budget was increased by $450,000.
Community
Safety was addressed in several appropriations. Special Investigative Units
were funded at $363,000, allowing new units to start up in a number of
counties. The Network Against Domestic Violence funding was increased by
16.5% and funds were provided for five new state trooper positions.
To
support the needs of elderly Vermonters, nursing home rates were increased
on a one-time basis to provide stability while a study is conducted to
determine the number of beds needed in each geographic region of Vermont. Also,
funding for Vermont’s
Area Agencies on Aging was increased by $1 million, Adult Day Centers
received an additional $260,000 and attendant care rates were increased by
$1/hour.
Teachers’
retirement has presented a particular challenge in recent years. The method
for calculating the yearly appropriation was changed and the fund was
re-amortized. An additional $12.8M is appropriated to make the required
payment into the fund.
Capital
Bonding & Construction
This
year the Institutions Committee received
requests for $116
million with only $45 million of spending allowed through bonded money. An
additional $8 million appropriated from the General Fund helps meet
statewide needs.
Most
important to Pownal, the Capital Bill includes
the dollars needed to keep the wastewater project on track and on time. The
bill provides for $800,000 plus $140,000 for interest payments in new
funding to back up federal obligations and requests and authorizes all of
the state grants needed for FY07 contracts. The bill also supports
municipal projects, with $1.1 million for community grants for historic
preservation, historic barns, cultural facilities, recreational and
educational facilities, broadband, and human services proposals. Another
$100,000 continues the dry hydrant grant program which helps rural fire
departments. The bill also invests in a work camp and transitional housing
to better support the corrections system.
Vermont’s
Energy Future
One
of our priorities this session was to prepare Vermont for a safe, clean, reliable, and
affordable energy future. Contracts for two thirds of Vermont's electric supply expire in the
coming decade and we must address our energy future. The legislature passed
five major energy-related bills building on 2005 initiatives.
Legislation
focused on promoting renewable power generation, setting standards for
efficient buildings, establishing energy efficiency standards for
appliances, working with other northeastern states to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and clarifying the legislature’s authority to determine if Vermont
Yankee will operate beyond its current license. This year’s bills include:
The
Energy Security and Reliability Act - promotes renewable power generation, sets standards
for efficient buildings, engages the public in a dialog about energy
resources, directs the Public Service Board to study the feasibility of a
low income electric assistance program, and sets up a granting structure
and process for the Clean Energy Fund established last year.
Appliance
Standards - joins Vermont with
neighboring states in establishing energy efficiency standards for certain
appliances, such as residential furnaces and boilers, metal halide lamp
fixtures, and external AC to DC power supplies.
Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative - directs Vermont
to work with other northeastern states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It sets up a system that charges fossil fuel electric generators a
pollution fee, and directs 100% of this money for the benefit of consumers
by investing it in clean and cost effective renewable energy technologies.
Vermont Yankee – clarifies the legislature’s
authority to determine if Vermont Yankee will operate beyond its current
license that expires in March 2012 and creates a process where Vermonters
and the Legislature can make a well informed, educated policy decision
regarding the use of nuclear power in meeting Vermont's energy future.
Climate
Change Action Plan –
establishes goals for the reduction of greenhouse gasses produced in Vermont to 25% below
1990 levels by 2012 and 50% by 2028. The measure establishes a framework
for creating a statewide action plan for reducing Vermont’s contribution to global
warming.
Vermont’s
Roads, Bridges and Rail
We
are faced with tremendous pressure on all our
transportation infrastructure. Traffic on Vermont roads has increased 75 percent
since 1990. Even with the increased spending in our budget, the 10% of our
roads rated "in very poor condition" will increase to 40% in four
years. 25% of Vermont’s
bridges need new decks because of their age. We need to re-deck bridges now
to avoid reconstruction of the entire bridge. Bringing our rail system up
to interstate standards to carry more weight and accommodating
double-decker containers will keep heavy trucks (250 trucks for every
freight train) off highways easing further deterioration of roads.
The
Transportation Bill for FY 2007 addresses these transportation needs and
provides funds to match new federal dollars secured by Senator Jeffords.
Overall, Vermont
will receive $300 million dollars in new federal aid over 6 years. $100
million new transportation dollars will go into the Vermont economy next year, creating
well-paying jobs. To meet the state.matching
requirement, the transportation budget raises fees, but does not raise
taxes. We limited the Transportation Fund transfer to the General Fund to
only supporting state police and public safety. This change saves 7.6M for
transportation needs.
Also,
the bill helps property taxes by increasing support for local roads. The
bill adds $1M for town bridges and $1M for Class 2 roads while increasing
the maximum grant to towns from $150,000 to $175,000. The bill increases
the amount available for loans to towns from the Municipal Equipment Loan
Fund to $110,000, reserves $200,000 in enhancement grants for salt and sand
sheds, and increases funding for the Town Highway Emergency Fund by
$500,000.
School
Funding and Property Taxes
The
legislature reduced pressure on property taxes in the School Funding
Simplification Act (H.880). The bill reduces the base education tax rates,
simplifies aspects of school funding law and requires further work on
reducing reliance on property taxes for education funding.
Reduction
of tax rates: Because
property values have been rising, Act 68’s education tax rates create
excess revenue in the Education Fund. In response, the legislature has
lowered the base education tax rates by 8 cents in the past few years.
H.880 continues that reduction with an additional 7 cents to .95 (or 1.8%
of income, down from 2.0%) for residents and 1.44 for non-residential
property. For residents, the base rates for both school taxes and school
taxes adjusted for income are higher when voters increase spending per
pupil.
Simplification:
Vermonters who pay
their school taxes based on income receive a prebate
check which lowers their tax. The legislature voted to
reduce the paperwork of the current prebate
system. Starting in the fall of 2007, Vermonters will receive their school
tax adjustment as a discount on their property tax bill, rather than as a
separate prebate check. Measures were taken to
assure confidentiality of taxpayers’ incomes.
Studying
future improvements:
H.880 asks for an analysis of whether to more directly pay for schools
using income tax rather than an income-adjusted property tax. and for a study of the relative burdens on residential
and non-residential taxpayers.
Education
Legislation
New
legislation helps school personnel receive training related to suicide
prevention, allergies and life threatening illness and strengthens
nutrition education training for teachers and food service personnel. We
streamlined the paperwork associated with home schooling and make it easier
for two or more school districts to begin discussions regarding
consolidation or share programs and personnel. Also, we improved the process
for overseeing training, licensing and professional standards for
educators. The legislature also called for an early education study that
better understands how early education services are provided in different
parts of the state. The legislature also created a "Next Generation
Initiative" Commission which will develop recommendations to the
legislature that would encourage Vermont
youth to live and work in Vermont
after they graduate.
Agriculture
and the Rural Economy
The
legislature’s work on rural economic development focused on five broad
goals: ensuring a diverse agricultural base, making housing more
affordable, improving rural infrastructure,
enhancing downtowns and improving the quality of our workforce. We passed
legislation that promotes the use of Vermont
agriculture products in schools, encourages development of agricultural
energy and fuel, supports ag education, aims to
reduce the burden of dairy hauling costs on Vermont farmers, and encourages
development in downtowns and village centers. The FY07 budget allocates
significant resources for farms and agricultural development, supports
increased soil quality and crop production, cleans up phosphorous pollution
and assists livestock farming.
Economic
Development Initiatives
The
legislature passed several bills to strengthen economic growth and
workforce education, enhance our working landscape, and prevent sprawl. We
revamped economic planning with a more open and inclusive Commission on the
Future of Economic Development The commission will develop a five-year plan
promoting economic policy and recommend legislation. We established the
Vermont Seed Capital Program which authorizes an increase in Vermont capital invested in new Vermont firms. Tax Increment Financing
District (TIF) legislation was improved The legislature and enhanced. A TIF
enables a municipality to build infrastructure such as roads or septic
systems that support compact growth. Legislation also supports employee
ownership possibilities and workforce development. The Human Resources
Investment Council will play a primary role in creating an integrated
workforce education and training system. Improvements to broadband access
include grants to communities for wireless broadband, mapping to identify
which communities have high speed internet access and which ones need it
and economic planning to expand broadband statewide. Also new legislation
helps control petroleum price gouging. The Governor will be able to declare
a marketing emergency, giving the Attorney General authority to investigate
rapidly changing prices. New law creates the Vermont Employment Growth
Incentive (VEGI) program, which improves Vermont’s tax credit program. The former
system often did not achieve promised job growth. New measures provide for
better accountability and better control of releasing tax credit awards.
Progress
Towards Affordable Health Care
The
Health Care Affordability Act (H.861) takes a substantial first step
towards controlling the skyrocketing costs of health care for Vermonters.
The bill improves Vermont’s
health care system to better care for those with chronic diseases and it
makes health care coverage available and affordable to uninsured Vermonters
through Catamount Health. A public-private partnership will offer Catamount
Health, modeled on the average Vermonters’ benefits, with premiums based on
ability to pay. Catamount Health will reduce pressure on insured
Vermonters’ premiums by reducing the cost-shift. Funding for the program
will come from individual premiums, federal matching funds, an increase in
the tobacco tax and a dollar a day employer assessment per FTE for those
employers with over eight FTE employees who don’t contribute to their
employees’ health care.
Other
reforms simplify administrative procedures for hospitals and health care
professionals lessening administrative costs. Increased Medicaid
reimbursement shores up primary care. Prevention is emphasized through
healthy lifestyle discounts, free basic immunizations for all Vermonters
and a coordinated prevention grant program
Recognizing
our Veterans
The
legislature passed several initiatives to recognize and assist veterans. We
restored mental health counseling for veterans returning from overseas. A
second Vermont
service officer was added to the Veterans Affairs Office to help veterans
successfully transition back to civilian life. We created a sixty-day
extension for a National Guard member whose professional license expires
while overseas. We said that properly executed military wills and military powers
of attorney are valid under Vermont
law. And we clarified the conditions for awarding the Vermont Distinguished
Service Medal and Vermont
veterans’ medals.
Corrections
Vermont’s Correctional System faces many
challenges. Prisons are overcrowded and corrections staff is overwhelmed.
Fifteen years ago Corrections spending was 4 percent of our statewide
budget; this year, it is 10 percent. Fifteen years ago, corrections,
spending was one half of higher education spending. Last year, for
every dollar spent on corrections, higher education received 80 cents.
The
legislature took steps to address some of those problems. We invested in
alternatives to incarceration by expanding the testing of electronic
bracelets, to better monitor offenders who are returned to the community.
We invested in a work camp so that offenders can learn job skills, take
responsibility and follow a schedule. We also established new transitional
housing to help offenders when they leave prison. Also, the legislature
joined the other 49 states in outlawing sexual acts between correctional
staff and inmates or offenders under the supervision of the Department of
Corrections.
Preventing
Sexual Violence
The
legislature passed comprehensive provisions to protect Vermonters from
violent sex offenders. The Sexual Violence Prevention Act (H.856) calls for
mandatory sentencing, enhances sentencing and expands treatment of sexually
violent offenders. It expands Special Investigation Units to all of Vermont. H.856 also
gives the Department of Corrections lifetime supervision over high-risk
offenders. New "indeterminate sentences" will cause sex offenders
to be imprisoned for up to life unless they successfully complete treatment
and the DOC determines that they pose a low risk of re-offense. can order detailed pre-sentencing investigations and
evaluations of sex offenders. A new Sentencing Commission will
comprehensively review all Vermont
sentences and their application. Communities will be notified when
dangerous offenders are about to be released and the on-line sex offender
registry will be expanded to include re-offenders. To make sure that the
most dangerous and violent offenders are incarcerated, the legislation
expands electronic bracelet monitoring for some non-violent offenders.
Same-day
Voter Registration
In
the last days of the legislative session a bill allowing voters to register
on election day was set aside because it became unclear whether passage of
the bill would enable Vermont
to replace our current confusing motor-voter procedures. Also, many town
clerks asked for more time to implement the new statewide voter checklist.
This bill will probably be reconsidered in the future.
Open
Government
In
H.615 the legislature established that Vermont is "open records"
state giving people access to public records, unless there is a specific
exception. In 2005, a superior court decided that a broad reason to
withhold records, deliberative process, was allowed in Vermont. The legislators acted to make
sure that access to records not be misused or overused, and decided that
neither the legislature nor state agencies could use this new reason to
withhold records.
Abenaki Recognition
The
state now recognizes the 1,700 Abenaki people and
Native American people who live in Vermont
as a minority population. This act establishes the Vermont Commission on
Native American Affairs. The commission’s seven members will come from
recommendations by the Missisquoi Abenaki, and other Vermont Abenaki
and Native American regional tribal councils and communities. The
commission will help recognize the historic and cultural contributions of
Native Americans to Vermont,
protect and strengthen their heritage, and address state policy, programs,
and actions. Among the benefits the commission can extend to the Abenaki people are scholarships and the sale of crafts
labeled as American Indian.
Groundwater
Protection
Several
groundwater aquifers in Vermont
may be at substantial risk due to rapid development, The Groundwater
Protection Act (H.294) offers short and long term protections for this
shared resource. Short-term, significant new large extractions (including
above-ground spring water used for bottling of drinking water) will go
through an interim permitting process. already
familiar to businesses. The bill also establishes a comprehensive
groundwater study mapping groundwater resources, and recommending whether
or not Vermont
declare groundwater a public trust resource.
Stormwater Management
The
Stormwater Management (H.817), bill helps
property owners meet two objectives, stopping pollution-causing runoff that
leads to the impairment of our lakes and streams; and second, complying
with the legal requirements of state stormwater
laws and the Federal Clean Water Act. The law also addresses accountability
for new and expired stormwater permits and
establishes a pilot project to repair and re-permit certain stormwater systems. The pilot,
will facilitate the acquisition of critical information about stormwater systems in Vermont’s watersheds and what
engineering is required to re-permit these systems. Also it will establish
what costs are involved, who will pay these costs; and how the state and
municipalities will assist landowners in a re-permitting process. Another
provision adjusts an unintended consequence, farmland taken out of
production as part of a developer’s mitigation requirements. Mitigation
will now target farmland buffers that reduce runoff from cropped fields.
Workers
Legislation
In
the first year of the biennium, the Vermont
legislature increased the minimum wage and tied it to the annual cost of
living. We also prohibited firing or other disciplinary action of a worker
who releases information about his or her wages to a co-worker. Teachers’
unions, like other unions, now have the opportunity to negotiate an agency
fee in the collective bargaining process. In the Safe Staffing and Quality
Patient Care bill, hospital patients and their families gain access to
information about nurse staffing levels. The information will be posted on
hospital units, included in state report cards on hospitals, and supplied
by hospitals as requested by the public. Vermont’s volunteer and professional
firefighters are now eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they
suffer the onset of heart injury or disease within 72 hours of fighting a
fire. Two changes in the Vermont Labor Relations Board will affect many
state employees, state college workers, and UVM. The VLB board will
increased from five to six members with a balance of labor, management, and
neutral members
Prescription
Drug Abuse Prevention
About
half of the drug abuse problems in Vermont
are due to prescription drugs. For many Vermonters, what starts as a
genuine need to reduce pain, turns into a drug
dependence. To help doctors and pharmacists know how much addictive
medications are being prescribed to a patient, we have set up a monitoring
program that will give doctors vital information in a timely manner. With
this program, when a patient asks for pain relief, a doctor will be able to
gain assurance that the patient is not also getting pain relief medications
from other doctors. If the doctor finds that the patient does have a drug
dependence problem, the doctor will be able to refer the patient to drug
treatment. The bill includes privacy protections to make sure that the data
collected will be used to help Vermonters who have health care needs get
the best help possible from health care professionals.
Affordable
Housing
In
2005, the median purchase price for a home in Vermont rose to $182,000, a 10 percent
increase from 2004 and an 87 percent increase since 1996. The average fair
market rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment in Vermont is now $723 a month, according
to the federal government. These steep rises in housing costs are hurting
our economy, families, and communities. The legislature made progress on
affordable housing in a number of ways.
- We increased funding for affordable housing
while preserving our rural heritage through the Vermont Housing and
Conservation Board. Population increases and economic pressures
threaten farms and our rural landscape.
- The legislature passed the Growth Centers
Act (S.142), which encourages development, including affordable
housing, in downtowns and village centers rather than in agricultural
and natural areas.
- Tax Increment Financing District (TIF)
legislation was revamped and improved. The TIF is a financing
mechanism that enables a municipality to build infrastructure that
will support compact growth, including affordable housing.
- The legislature made it easier through Act
116 for Vermont's 17,000 mobile home residents to collectively
purchase a mobile home park when it is put up for sale. Mobile homes
are a critical source of affordable housing for Vermonters, yet it is
often difficult for mobile home residents to initiate the process for
park ownership. This bill offers better access to affordable financing
to Vermonters living on leased land.
- The legislature expanded tax credits that
encourage private investment in affordable housing.
- The legislature directed the Joint Fiscal
Office and the Legislative Council to review all state housing funding
and incentives, and the Department of Housing to develop a housing
budget and investment plan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graduations
and Moving Up ceremonies
This
time of year our communities take great pride in honoring students as they
take the next step in life. Last week I enjoyed speaking at the Career Development Center
celebration honoring its students and also enjoyed the Future Farmers of
America Awards ceremony. This coming week:
- Pownal Elementary School will celebrate graduation at 6 PM,
Wednesday June 14th in the school gym.
- Woodford Hollow
School will celebrate "Moving-Up Day" on
Friday June 16th at 9 PM.
- Mt. Anthony
Middle School’s Eighth Grade Celebration will be June 15th
at 6 PM
- Mt. Anthony High School Graduation will be
Friday June 16th at 6 PM.
Congratulations
to all our students!
Stay
in touch,
Bill
Rep.
Bill Botzow
1225
South Stream Road
Bennington, VT 05201
802 447-7717
botzow@sover.net
115
State Street
State House
Montpelier, VT 05633-5201
Tel: 1-800-322-5616 (VT only)
Fax: 802 828-2424
bbotzow@leg.state.vt.us
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|