End of Session Review - May 2009
The 2009 Vermont Legislative session ended on Saturday evening May 9th. This was the most productive session that I have been privileged to be a part of during my seven years as a state representative.
As I write this column, the fate of the fiscal year 2010 budget is still in doubt. The Legislature devoted a significant amount of time to developing the budget, which affects revenue and spending for the period of July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. Governor Douglas now says he will veto the budget and is calling the Legislature back into session on June 2nd. At that time, the Legislature may veto or reconsider the budget.
I will write about the final budget in a future column, focusing now on some of the other key decisions made in our 14½ week session. There are several important changes in laws affecting civil rights, the environment, health, public safety, transportation, business, and agriculture.
The biggest spotlight belonged to the marriage equality bill, which passed the House by a wide margin. After the bill was vetoed by the governor, the House overrode the veto. This is probably not news to readers, since the bill’s progress was widely reported in the media. We enjoyed the largest attendance in the history of our South Burlington Legislative Forum in March, where the marriage equality bill was the primary focus of discussion. Several hundred citizens contacted me by phone, email, or letter about this bill.
Under the energy bill (H.446), the Public Service Board will create a “standard offer” for community-sized renewable energy projects. This will jump-start the development of renewable energy and lead to the creation of in-state jobs in engineering, manufacturing, distribution and installation. My committee recommended passage of S.27, a bill that allows Vermont’s growing wineries and distilleries to host events and go to farmers’ markets to offer samples and sell their beverages. Other business-friendly legislation is the economic development bill (H.313), which includes a seed capital fund for business development. Significantly for many South Burlington residents, H.313 also extended until 2012 the interim stormwater program and the title protection for home owners in stormwater impaired watersheds.
Quite a number of residents were interested in a bill that called for a moratorium on the use of chloramines, the disinfectant used by the Champlain Water District. While the House and Senate did not agree to a moratorium, H.80 requires that an engineering study be conducted on chloramines and alternatives to chloramines.
Residents of Country Park, Grand Way Commons, and others will be interested to hear that the House passed restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving. Under H.147, drivers under age 18 would be banned from using cell phones or other electronic devices, while adults would have to use hands-free phones. If you are interested in seeing H.147 pass, call your Senators to urge their support next year.
The Legislature is required to pass charter changes approved by municipalities before they can become law. The charter change passed by South Burlington voters in March was supported by your South Burlington delegation and passed the House and Senate. The delegation also sponsored several resolutions that honored our city and residents. I was pleased to introduce to the Vermont House visiting SB High School teacher Marion Voorheis. Marion was honored for her designation as Vermont’s AP Teacher of the Year by the Siemens Foundation.
Three other pieces of legislation received major media focus before passing the House and Senate: the Vermont Yankee decommissioning bill (H.436), the sex offender bill (S.13), and the sex offender registry and “sexting” bill (S.125).
Space does not allow review of all the pieces of legislation passed this year. For greater review and lively discussion, please come to our South Burlington Legislative Forum on Monday, June 1, at 7:00 at the Community Library. Meanwhile, if you have questions or concerns about issues before the Vermont House this year, please do not hesitate to call me at 862-2267 or email me at helen@helenhead.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Budget Review - June 2009
On June 2, the Legislature reconvened at the request of the governor, who had just vetoed the fiscal year 2010 budget. Legislative leaders and the administration had been unable to reach a budget compromise despite an intense week of meetings and negotiations. With the end of the 2009 fiscal year (June 30) looming, resolution was needed quickly in order to continue the operation of state government. Over the course of the two-day special session, we overrode the governor’s veto and passed a budget “companion” bill. The budget companion bill addressed many of the issues the governor had identified as concerns with the budget he vetoed.
As always, the state budget was the main issue facing the Legislature this year. It was especially challenging due to the collapse of the economy and the resulting reduction in state revenues of $338 million since January 2008. The state had already made over $100 million in cuts and adjustments to services and spending. The Legislature's budget for FY 2010 reduces General Fund obligations by $80 million and spending of state dollars is reduced by 5% from FY2009. Federal stimulus money was used to fund the increased demand on state services, including a Medicaid/Catamount shortfall.
The Legislature's budget and revenue package was designed to spread the pain of the economic downturn fairly across all income levels and over more than one year. We made many times more budget cuts in programs and services than we raised in taxes. Lower and middle income Vermonters will, on average, see modest decreases in income taxes while also be the most affected by cuts to programs and services. Higher income Vermonters with income over $200,000 will, on average, pay more.
The Legislature disagreed with the Governor's proposal to balance the budget by shifting $100 million of General Fund costs to the property tax and to lower income sensitivity to $75,000 in household income. The Legislature’s non-partisan Joint Fiscal Office estimated that 591 South Burlington households would see an average property tax increase of $817 under the Governor’s budget proposal.
The Legislature did compromise on several areas including not changing the capital gains tax for farmers and timber sales and providing for two one-day sales tax holidays.
I am not proud that our state budget was vetoed and the veto overridden. Adopting a budget without the concurrence of the two branches is a departure from a long history of finding agreement in spite of differences. It is important that we focus on working together more effectively in the future. This is especially important given that next year is expected to be at least as difficult as this one. Even if we are seeing the bottom of the recession (and economists are not yet saying that we are), it takes time for revenues to recover. In preparation, we established several important initiatives, including work on government efficiency, teachers’ retirement and education finance, and an independent review of our tax structure.
We did our best to preserve the things that matter, and we have positioned ourselves well for work in the coming year. I fully expect that the issues that will continue to divide us will be education spending, property taxes and the right balance between the education fund and the general fund. These are not easy.
If you have questions about the budget or other issues before the Vermont House this year, please do not hesitate to call me at 862-2267 or email me at helen@helenhead.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Paid for by the Helen Head Campaign, Francis X. Murray, Treasurer 65 East Terrace, South Burlington, Vermont 05403