The 2014 legislative
session is finally over, and I am fairly pleased with what we accomplished over
the last four months. Here is a recap of
what was accomplished and what opportunities I believe we missed. I wrote about some of this legislation in
previous articles in more detail, and I provide links to those articles in the text below.
The Economy
The $655M Transportation bill marks a heavy investment in Vermont’s transportation infrastructure with
support for better roads, safer bridges, and expanded rail without tax
increases. Downtown development was
encouraged by loosening Act 250 regulations in designated development centers
while discouraging sprawl. A
comprehensive Economic Development bill, S.220, was passed to encourage
businesses to be established, to grow, or to stay in Vermont in the face of
economic adversity. It provides up to $3M
in lending for entrepreneurial and agricultural investment, establishes a “Made
in Vermont” program to increase exports, improves intellectual property
safeguards for business, and improves consumer protection from unauthorized
lenders.
Working Vermonters
The Minimum Wage bill,
H.552, raises the minimum wage in Vermont from $8.73 today in four steps from
$9.15 in 2015, to $10.50 in 2018. Low-earning
Vermonters looking to get ahead will be helped by H.790, which addresses the
so-called benefits cliff, i.e. the disincentive that occurs when people
receiving public benefits go to work and have their benefits reduced by more
than their increased earnings. H.790 increases the amount of earned income that
will be disregarded from $200/month to $250 for families in Reach Up. Reach Ahead is the program that provides a
continued food benefit to help families sustain themselves after getting off
Reach Up. This bill makes the benefit amount in Reach Ahead somewhat smaller
but continues it for a longer period of time keeping a family eligible for a
full child care subsidy for an additional year, a very important factor in
being able to hold a job. On the other
hand, the House failed to pass the Paid Sick Days bill, H.208, which would have
guaranteed up to 6 paid sick days or the equivalent time off for all
employees.
Energy and Conservation
The renewable energy
sector was given a boost with the expansion of net metering limits. Vermont is a leader in green jobs per capita
and this bill, H.702, insures that the sector will continue to grow at least
until 2017 when the federal tax credits end.
In the meantime, the cost of solar generation continues to decline
making systems more affordable for the average homeowner. S.202 made air-to-air and geothermal heat
pumps eligible for efficiency credits, recognizing that thermal energy savings
will result in reduced green house gas emissions while saving money for
homeowners. It also provided incentives
to recycle construction and demolition debris in order to divert these
materials from our landfills. A first in the nation battery recycling
stewardship program was established by H.695 with the cooperation of the
battery industry, and when it takes effect in 2016 it will help keep some of
the 10 million batteries sold in Vermont each year out of our landfills.
Water Quality
The value of our lakes
and streams to Vermont’s economy, health and quality of life was the subject of
two major bills, the Shorelands Protection bill, H.526, which passed and goes
into effect on July 1, and the Water Quality bill, H.586, which died in the
Senate. The Shorelands bill seeks to
regulate development along the shores of our smaller lakes as well as Lake
Champlain to reduce runoff which fosters algae growth and to create more robust
fish habitat. The Water Quality bill
addressed issues related to factors throughout watersheds that contribute to
phosphorous levels in Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River. Although H.586 did not pass this year, these
problems will have to be addressed next year to comply with EPA Clean Water
standards.
Agriculture
With overwhelming
support from most Vermonters the GMO Labeling bill, H.112, was passed and
signed into law. This bill supports the
right of consumers to know what is in their food. Local farmers who produce and sell raw milk
will now be able to deliver it to their customers at Farmers’ Markets. There are still strict regulations to ensure
that quality, safety and a direct relationship to the customer are maintained.
Health and Safety
Highway safety will be enhanced with the
passage of H.62, which bans the use of hand-held electronic devices while
driving except under certain circumstances.
Victims of Lyme disease now have expanded opportunities for treatment
with the authorization through H.123 for physicians to use additional treatment
protocols. S.234 provides for
reimbursement of the use of telecommunications for remote monitoring of
Medicaid patients’ health, helping to reduce Medicaid costs. Children’s safety and health were improved
through two bills. The Child Safety Act, S.239, which requires manufacturers of
products sold to or used by children to notify the Department of Health if
their product contains chemicals that can harm children. H.217 bans smoking in a vehicle when a young
child is in the vehicle and requires that if smoking occurs on the premises of
a child care facility during times children are not present that the provider
notifies families that their child will be exposed to an environment in which
tobacco products are used. It also makes
it illegal to sell products containing liquid nicotine (e-cigarettes) in
Vermont unless it is in child-resistant packaging. Noticeably absent this session was the report
from the Shumlin administration providing detailed information about plans to
fund Green Mountain Care. If details cannot be provided early in the 2015
session, the implementation of GMC by the target date of 2017 will be in
jeopardy. And finally, I had introduced
a bill four years ago to license precious metal dealers and require them to
keep good records of their transactions for the purpose of shutting down
avenues for the fencing of stolen goods. After passing a weaker bill two years
ago, and with the help of legislators in both the House and Senate as well as
law enforcement, we passed S.308 this year, which puts those requirements
firmly in place and authorizes the Department of Public Safety to enforce them.
Education
Educational issues consumed a significant amount of energy during
this session with mixed results. On the positive side, opportunities were
expanded at both ends of the age spectrum.
The Universal Pre-K Education bill, H.270, provides up to ten hours of
pre-Kindergarten education to every 3 or 4 year old who enrolls in a qualified program,
creates a simplified payment system, and clarifies oversight in order to give
the best chance for success to every child. Research has shown that children
who aren’t able to access high-quality early education for whatever reason are
more likely to challenge the resources of our education system throughout their
K-12 experience. At the other end of the
spectrum Vermont’s great high school graduation rate is not reflected in the
number of students that go on to post-secondary education. The Economic Development bill, S.220,
provides for up to two semesters of free college education in the state college
system for Vermont students who satisfy certain academic and post-graduation
residency criteria. The legislature was
less successful in addressing the costs of K-12 education. The Education Governance bill, H.883, which
would reduce the number of school districts statewide through consolidation,
stalled in the Senate. The financing
formula passed by the House was further modified by the Senate which resulted
in a higher property tax rate than anyone wanted. The discussion of the financing issue along
with the large number of school budgets that were voted down has increased the
importance of revising the financing system next year to reduce the burden on
property taxes.
