2008 Legislative Report

Dear friends and neighbors,

This report highlights a few of the many actions of the 2008 legislative session. The decisions and investments we make today are about the future we are building for future generations in Vermont. In addition to balancing the state budget, we made substantial progress in housing, transportation, child protection, and the environment. Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions about these or any other legislative initiatives. It is an honor to serve as your State Representative.

PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Legislature delivered a strong agenda in 2008 to protect our environment. We addressed water use and quality, land conservation, mercury pollution, and energy efficiency.

Groundwater is now protected from unlimited withdrawals by commercial interests. Storm water regulation has been strengthened and property owners’ related title interests have been further protected. Lake Champlain clean-up efforts have been strengthened and made more accountable. Mercury waste, which can leach into and poison groundwater, is reduced in our solid waste facilities.

The Current Use program was improved, allowing for the enrollment of conservation lands and keeping intact our working landscape of farms and forests.

Creation of an “all fuels” energy efficiency utility will help Vermonters save energy, save money, and reduce the amount of carbon we send into the atmosphere.

VERMONT’S ECONOMY

Workforce Development

We increased funding to the Next Generation Fund which supports college scholarships, workforce training, high school and college internships, and programs to increase career awareness of our students and to decrease dropout rates.

Vermont businesses report that they have openings for good jobs – but that the pool of applicants for these openings is often too small and regularly lacks the skills and experience needed - not only for the jobs of today, but more critically, for the jobs of tomorrow. We are told that this has become a serious impediment to our businesses’ success and ability to sustain and grow. At the same time, parents tell us that their graduates are leaving the state to find work. And we hear from hundreds of existing workers that they would like to improve their skills and move out of multiple part-time jobs into better paying and more satisfying work. The Legislature responded to this disconnect by increasing funding to workforce training programs that train and retrain workers at all levels – from those just starting out, to those at higher levels who must re-train to keep up with the skill-needs of the changing economy.

Economic Stimulus

In the final weeks of the session, the Legislature was faced with somber predictions about the state of our economy. The Joint Committee on Economic Recovery and Opportunity was created. This committee met night and day and identified a series of initiatives that were jointly agreed upon with the Governor. These included:

Workforce training. An additional one million dollars to re-train Vermonters for better paying jobs – and to meet our employers’ needs.
Affordable housing. An additional $700,000 to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. Short-term credit to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to reduce interest rates for affordable housing.
Energy efficiency. An additional $500,000 for the Weatherization Program, to help create good paying jobs and reduce Vermonter’s fuel bills.
Low and no-interest loans for manufacturers in high unemployment areas.
Sales tax holiday July 12 & 13 for personal use on purchases of $2,000 or less. The holiday for Energy Star qualified appliances runs from July 12 through July 20.

SAFE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING

My committee worked hard to encourage the building of affordable housing for working Vermonters and ensure that existing housing will be safe for our families and children.

Areas that are state designated downtowns, village centers, new town centers, and growth centers may apply to become Vermont Neighborhoods. Housing developed within Vermont Neighborhoods is subject to local zoning decisions and exempt from Act 250 review. This new program is designed to protect the rural character of our state and ensure traditional settlement patterns, continuing the smart growth principles that have guided our policy over the last few years. Dense development of four or more units per acre in existing centers will be promoted.

We made changes in our mobile home statutes, opening the way for much more affordable financing for almost ten percent of Vermont’s housing stock. Increased housing tax credits and reductions in the property transfer tax are included for some low and moderate income homebuyers. At least twenty percent of the homes built under the Vermont Neighborhoods program must be moderately priced.

We took steps to preserve existing housing, protect our children from the dangers of lead exposure in housing, and encourage lead screening for all one and two-year olds. At the time of sale, homes are required to have smoke detectors that quickly detect deadly, smoldering fires. We are moving Vermont toward a statewide rental housing inspection system by 2011.

We focused on homeless veterans, fostering collaboration among local volunteers and state and national officials working to address this growing problem.

The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) has been our state’s primary vehicle for funding permanently affordable housing for over twenty years. The Legislature maintained its commitment to VHCB funding in next year’s budget.

PROTECTING VERMONT’S CHILDREN

Vermont’s future depends on having strong, healthy children and families and this year in particular the Legislature took action to provide added support and protection for them.

In this day and age parents should not have to worry about the toxic chemicals in the toys their young children play with. The Legislature worked to protect Vermont’s children from toxins and chemicals such as lead and phthalates. We updated the 1996 lead in housing law to minimize children’s exposure to lead in housing and child care facilities and also limited the allowable amount of lead in toys, jewelry, and other products used by children under twelve. Legislation passed seeks to reduce the risk to children’s health posed by toxic chemicals in infants’ toys and other childcare products by prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of toys and other products aimed at children under age three.

The Legislature also worked hard to protect children from abuse and neglect and to help families when they are not able to provide a safe environment for their children. We completely revamped and updated the laws directing how the state handles children who either commit delinquent acts or who are abused or so badly neglected the state must step in to protect them. The Department for Children and Families will now have several different ways to respond to reports of child abuse or neglect in order to work with families in a more positive way when possible. The Child Protection Registry, used by employers to screen potential employees who would be working with children or with vulnerable populations, will be tiered to acknowledge that acts of child abuse or neglect have different levels of severity and require different consequences.

ROADS AND BRIDGES

Vermont’s roads and bridges are facing a perfect storm of rapidly aging infrastructure, skyrocketing construction costs, and declining revenues. Working under tough budget constraints, we recommended strategic investments in road and bridge repair and laid the foundation to address the ongoing funding crisis for transportation.

As part of the economic stimulus package passed by the Legislature, an additional $10 million will become available for roads and bridge repair in fiscal year 2009, contingent upon approval by the state debt affordability committee. In addition, a long term program for transportation funding will become a part of the budget-setting process for next year.

The legislature also worked hard to ensure that funds for local road and bridge repair remain secure in spite of a $4.8 million reduction in transportation revenues, thus holding town transportation programs harmless to budget cuts. Reducing funds for local transportation programs places additional pressure on the municipal property tax. The Legislature successfully fought back efforts to further burden local property tax payers in this way.

Investing in transportation funding now saves us money in the future. During this time of increasing economic uncertainty, it is critical that we get back to the basics and invest in our infrastructure as a strategy for real economic stimulus. Fixing our roads and bridges will create good paying jobs, pump money into local economies, and ensure that Vermont's products get to their markets.

PRISON REFORM: SAVE MONEY, IMPROVE COMMUNITY SAFETY

Vermont has a low and declining rate of crime, yet we continue to lock up more and more people, many for non-violent offenses. Despite the countless studies that demonstrate more cost-effective ways to deal with crime, Vermonters still needlessly spend tens of millions of dollars in added costs each year. That is why the legislature took action that will make our communities safer and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

The new legislation, called Justice Reinvestment, provides alternatives to incarceration by investing in drug and alcohol treatment programs, transitional housing, and community-based solutions. It aims to reduce recidivism -- known as repeat customers to the prison system -- and is estimated to save, in reduced prison costs alone, $50-$200 million.

This report highlights a few of the many actions of the 2008 legislative session. The decisions and investments we make today are all about the future we are building for future generations in Vermont. In addition to balancing the state budget, we made substantial progress in housing, renewable energy, transportation, and prison reform. Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions about these or any other legislative initiatives.

Paid for by the Helen Head Campaign, Francis X. Murray, Treasurer 65 East Terrace, South Burlington, Vermont 05403