The first week of a legislative session features a joint
session of the House and Senate called to hear the Governor address the state
of the State. Amid the formal ceremony
in the chamber of the House where the members of the Senate sat in their
special seats near the podium, distinguished guests sat in additional chairs in
the center of the well of the House, and other special guests sat among the
members of the House and in the balcony, Governor Shumlin gave the last state
of the State address of his six year tenure.
He made note of many accomplishments including a renewable
energy policy that has grown thousands of new jobs while holding down electric
rates, a strong and successful response to tropical storm Irene, success in
getting 16,000 Vermonters health insurance they didn't have before, refocusing
the criminal justice system from incarceration to rehabilitation, and expanding
access to higher education for Vermont students through various innovative
programs. On a lighter note, he touted the successes of the micro-brew, cheese
and local food movements.
Looking to the future he focused on the economy, education
and marijuana legalization among other things.
He said he is looking forward to signing the Paid Sick Leave bill, which
passed the House last year, is expected to pass the Senate early this session.
He announced a $1 million grant from the Enterprise Fund to Global Foundries to
make 100 temporary jobs permanent. And he
called for quickly postponing or repealing the caps on education spending
enacted in Act 46 last year. This approach is in contrast to the direction
proposed by members of the House to raise the cap by 0.9%.
I was pleased to see that the Governor stipulated five
criteria before he would sign any legislation legalizing recreational
marijuana: 1) the market must keep it out of the hands of kids, 2) it must be
taxed low enough to prevent a black market, 3) revenues must be used to expand
addiction programs, 4) there must be a way to detect driving under the
influence, and 4) it should include a ban on the sale of edible marijuana
products. These criteria are necessary
but, in my opinion, there should also be a detailed analysis of the experiences
of Colorado and Washington regarding the increased usage, especially by
teenagers, and the additional costs to society as a result of DUI, marijuana
tourism, and the use of other drugs accompanying marijuana use.
The Governor's focus on addressing the opiate crisis remains
unabated. He harshly criticized the FDA
for approving stronger pain killers and the use of Oxycontin for children and
denounced the pharmaceutical industry for transforming “compassionate pain
management” into “pain for profit.” He
proposed limiting prescriptions for opiate pain medications after minor
procedures to 10 doses at a time, increasing the periodic drug take-back
events, and expanding the use of the prescription drug monitoring database to
physicians and pharmacies in nearby states to reduce cross-border abuse.
Finally, I am proud that he continues to support accepting
refugees from the civil war in Syria who pass the extensive and lengthy
background checks by UNHCR and our own State Department. As this past Sunday's Doonesbury strip noted,
why should a potential terrorist go the refugee route when it is easier to just
get a tourist visa? Our country must
continue to show compassion to those genuinely seeking shelter from terrorists
rather than creating a fortress mentality.
After all, we are “the land of the free and the home of the BRAVE,” are
we not?
