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March, 2008 Waterbury/Duxbury Exit 10: “Town Meeting Round Up” It was wonderful to see so many of you at Town Meeting, and to know that this year’s election had among the highest participation in Vermont history. We are presenting an edited version of our Town Meeting Report below for those who did not receive a copy. This week we also hosted a troop of Girl Scouts for their visit to the State House. It is always a treat to have young people visit the “People’s House” and realize how accessible our state government is. It is also important for us to be reminded of the importance of their needs, and for them to understand the importance of their participation in the process of governance. A Challenging Budget The legislature is committed to building a budget that helps Vermonters meet the rising costs of basic necessities such as home heating, housing, getting to work, health insurance, and childcare. We will try to do this in a way that does not put greater pressure on property taxes, and does not shift costs to those who pay for health insurance. Meeting these goals will be difficult in this tough budget year. The draft budget proposed by the administration significantly under-funds hospitals, reduces payments to physicians, and increases premiums for many who receive their health care through state programs. These measures will result in shifting costs to Vermonters who have health insurance. The governor’s budget also cuts about $6 million to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund, reducing investment in affordable housing and farms conservation. Transportation funding to towns was also reduced, forcing towns to reply on the local property tax to pay for a great percentage of road and bridge repair. These are just a few of the challenges facing the budget writing Appropriations Committee this year. The House will look for ways to avoid shifting costs onto the local property tax or shifting health care costs to those with insurance. Transportation Vermont’s roads and bridges are facing a perfect storm of dramatically aging infrastructure, skyrocketing construction costs, and declining revenues. The legislature is grappling with how to fund our significant transportation needs in a difficult budget year. Vermont has 438 bridges (16% of the total) that are rated as structurally deficient. This ranks Vermont as 44th in the nation, or 8th from the bottom, in terms of percentage of structurally deficient bridges. A long term plan to address these serious problems is needed. The goals for this year are to: advance discussion around real economic stimulus through bonding for transportation; reduce the transportation fund transfer to the general fund; and increase funding for town bridge and highway programs in order to reduce pressure on property taxes. Energy Substantial progress has been made on the energy front this session with passage of S.209 -- the Energy Efficiency and Affordability Act. Given that Vermonters are spending over $800 million more on fossil fuels today than just four years ago, this is good news. S.209 advances innovation, energy independence, economic development, and job creation. S. 209 encourages in-state renewable energy generation by expanding net-metering, growing farm methane projects, increasing goals for energy production through Vermont's farms and forests, and increasing goals for electric utilities' use of renewable energy. It expands weatherization services to low income Vermonters, and allows Efficiency Vermont to expand their work beyond just electricity and provide comprehensive efficiency services for all fuels. It also establishes new programs, managed by the Department of Public Service that will offer efficiency services for Vermont businesses and household of all incomes. Health Care Even in this tight budget year, the Legislature understands that taking the next steps in health care reform must be a high priority. Too many Vermonters still don’t have health care coverage and many more struggle to afford the coverage they have. Although Vermont has good quality care, there is more that we can do to improve the overall health of our citizens. The House Health Care Committee’s two overarching priorities this year are to maintain our new health insurance product, Catamount Health, and, if possible, find ways to allow more people access to this insurance. The committee is also exploring the other recommendations of the Health Care Reform Commission, and will likely produce a bill that will contain a number of these recommendations For information on Catamount Health or the Vermont Health Access Program, please call 1-800-250-8427. Campaign Finance Reform The Campaign Finance Reform bill, S.278, places reasonable limits on the influence of money in Vermont’s political races. Following guidelines spelled out in a recent Supreme Court decision, it establishes reasonable campaign contribution limits to political races for the Vermont legislature, governorship, and for other statewide offices. Contribution limits promote accountability and public trust because they encourage candidates to reach out to a broad base of supporters. They ensure that elected representatives will be accountable to voters rather than wealthy donors. We believe that passage of this bill will strengthen the democratic process in the state and take strong steps towards ensuring the voices of all Vermonters are part of the process, rather than just those of wealthy donors. The Housing Bill All Vermonters should have a safe and affordable place to call home. This is the goal of the Legislature’s housing bill. This bill focuses on the demand for new affordable housing at all income levels while ensuring that growth remains in character with our traditional rural landscape. Unlike the Governor’s housing proposal, our version focuses growth in ways to avoid sprawl, builds housing affordable for average Vermonters, and does not divert school taxes to fund housing development. School Breakfast Children who are hungry can’t learn. The House Education Committee has approved a bill that would make breakfasts free for those students who qualify for reduced breakfasts and lunches. Although it is a difficult budget year, we are hopeful we will be able to afford to give this boost to our Vermont children. As always, we enjoy hearing from you. Feel free to contact us at the addresses below. Sincerely, Robert Dostis DETAIL Sue Minter |
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