As I drove to Montpelier last week, I felt excited by the
prospect of the changes that would be taking place in Vermont's government,
changes that would offer new challenges as well as new opportunities. The 2016
election produced a sweeping change of leadership in Montpelier from the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor to the House and Senate leadership. Both House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President
Pro Tempore John Campbell decided not to run for re-election to their
respective seats. With the election of Lt. Governor Phil Scott as Governor, and
Senator David Zuckerman as Lt. Governor, the state of Vermont is in new hands.
The change extended to the Legislature with the election of Representative
Mitzi Johnson (D-North Hero) as Speaker of the House and Chittenden County
Senator Tim Ashe (D/P) as President Pro Tempore. Johnson previously
served as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
The first week of the 2017 legislative session was filled
with the pomp and circumstance of the departure of the old administration of
Governor Peter Shumlin and the inauguration of the new administration of
Governor Phil Scott. But before those
events took place, the House and Senate had to convene and elect their own
leadership.
In her acceptance speech Speaker Johnson reminded us that
“The campaign process tends to herd us toward simple sound bites-like those
that you see on campaign literature - but the answers are not as simple.” She
admonished us to “take time to understand the problem we’re trying to solve.”
Johnson raised the challenge for the Legislature to address the problems of the
uneven distribution of jobs throughout the state despite having one of the
lowest unemployment rates in the country; building ladders out of poverty that
do not come with built-in disincentives; climate change that poses challenges
to our agriculture, public health, tourism base and ecology as well our state
infrastructure and budget; and the many challenges of building a strong,
healthy future, in a way we can afford. She asked the House to evaluate state
government and prioritize what Vermonters most need, "so that we may
preserve the long-term health and wellness of our state", and she committed
to working with the administration to achieve this goal.
The following day newly elected Governor Phil Scott was
sworn in and, in his inaugural speech, laid out his vision of the future he
hopes we would build together. He said
he would ask every state agency to work toward three goals: improve economic
opportunity, make Vermont more affordable, and protect the most vulnerable
Vermonters. These are goals we can all agree on as we start our work this year.
Speaker Johnson also announced some significant changes to
the work of House committees. First,
there were many changes to committee assignments as 33 new legislators joined
our ranks. Some committees had a larger
turnover than others and a balance of veteran legislators and freshmen had to
take place on all committees. Several
committees saw significant changes to their responsibilities. In particular, the Natural Resources and
Energy committee, on which I served for the last six years, was totally
reorganized. Responsibility for natural resources, land management and Act 250
was reassigned to the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources committee. Forestry
oversight was moved to the Agriculture and Forests committee, and a brand new
committee – Energy and Technology – was formed to take over responsibilities for
energy, telecommunications, and IT infrastructure, including the IT systems of
state government.
I will be serving along with seven other veteran
Representatives on this new committee. I am looking forward to continue working
on energy policy while learning more about how we can expand high-speed
broadband throughout the state. Both energy and telecom are key components to
economic development in Chittenden County and beyond. Since no single committee had oversight of
Vermont's many complex computer systems, our committee will be taking a deep
look into the various systems, how they interact, the software platforms they
are built on, what they cost, and the security measures used to protect vital
data and the systems themselves.
As the session develops, I will continue to keep you
informed about the work my colleagues and I are doing. I also invite you to let
me know your concerns and opinions. I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or
by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).
