Vermont’s roads and bridges keep our economy moving. They get Vermonters to work and school and they enable our businesses to ship their products to markets. Without the strong backbone of our transportation infrastructure, our economy will grind to a halt.
Yet our roads and bridges are crumbling. The state must face a $1 billion backlog of road and bridge repairs in communities around the state. This year alone, we have a $23 million Transportation Fund deficit. Cuts have been made to close much of this gap, but a $7 million deficit remains.
The federal stimulus will help get our transportation infrastructure back on track. Vermont will receive approximately $125 million for highway, bridge and rail projects and about $5.6 million for public transit and the legislature is committed to getting this money into our communities quickly to put Vermonters to work fixing the roads and bridge most in need of repair.
While the federal package will go a long way toward fixing our roads and bridges, it falls far short of the $1 billion needed to get our roads, bridges and rail back up to the high standards Vermonters and Vermont businesses need.
The House is exploring proposals to increase our investment in Vermont’s roads and bridges, including raising motor vehicle fees and by bonding. Revenue bonding uses a five cent/gallon gas tax to raise nearly $20 million dollars annually on a $120 million dollar bonding package. This would be split between bridge construction, debt service, and operations and maintenance. When other businesses are experiencing a downturn, Vermont can offer hope of good jobs, smooth roads and safer bridges.
The governor proposed freezing town highway aid. The legislature is very concerned about this because it will either result in further deteriorating roads, or an increase on our property taxes. Neither is an outcome we support. The administration also proposed to raise a number of motor vehicle fees and to increase registration fees. The cost to Vermonters would be off set by dropping the annual inspection requirement from one to two years. We have heard from many people, including local garage owners, who are not in favor of this idea because it impacts their businesses and puts unsafe vehicles on the road.
Vermont’s transportation dilemma is tricky, but the legislature is committed to considering all ideas so that we can get our transportation system, and our economy back on the road to recovery.
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Yankee Decomissioning Fund
The legislature has not yet decided on the future continued operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant. Regardless of whether the plant is shut down in 2012 or relicensed through 2032, Vermont needs to be certain that the finances are in place to clean up the plant and remove the nuclear waste. This ‘decommissioning’ of the plant is estimated to cost $750 million in 2009 dollars. As it currently stands, the Decommissioning Fund contains only ~ $350 million and it is losing millions of dollars instead of earning them. We also need to prevent the closed plant and its waste from being left to deteriorate for 60 years while we wait for the fund to grow. The legislature is seeking assurance from the nuclear facility’s owner that the Decommissioning Fund will be fully funded prior to the earliest date that the plant may close in 2012.
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Protecting our children from abuse
S. 13 is an Act Relating to Improving Vermont’s Sexual Abuse Response System. The bill was crafted with input from experts, advocates and citizens from around the State. Its aim is to help communities identify and prevent sex crimes, give law enforcement new tools to investigate crimes and help prosecutors put and keep criminals behind bars. The bill strengthens Vermont’s laws in four key areas: Prevention of abuse; strengthening investigation and prosecution of crimes; new, tougher sentencing measures; and stronger supervision of offenders after their release.
Prevention is the most important aim of this bill. Even one victim is too many, so it’s important that communities are doing all they can to prevent crimes. The bill calls for integrating sexual abuse prevention in school health curricula, conducting family and community outreach to raise awareness about child sexual abuse, changes the laws around criminal background checks for school personnel and strengthens the reporting requirements for offenders when they live with or near children upon release from prison.
Prosecution of criminals requires special investigation techniques not usually part of other crime investigation. The bill fully funds and staffs Special Investigative Units (SIU’s) around Vermont.
Stricter sentencing guidelines are created in the bill. Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a new crime and which would result in a mandatory 25 year minimum sentence. The bill also calls for greater coordination between state agencies during investigation, access to sealed juvenile records and permits the use of abuse and neglect registries in investigation reporting.
Supervision of criminals once they serve their sentence is also critical to keeping our communities safer. The bill allows courts to review and amend conditions of probation for sex offenders, can allow periodic polygraphs and supervision of computer activities as conditions of probation, can assign specialized probation officers to work with sex offenders and requires high risk offenders to serve at least 70% of their maximum sentence.
The bill makes some important improvements to Vermont’s sexual abuse prevention strategies. Prevention is still the most critical piece of this puzzle and it is something that starts at home and in our community. There is a lot we can do here to send the message that this kind of abuse is not tolerated. The safety of our children is the responsibility of ALL of us.
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Improving Community Safety and Saving Millions
Although Vermont has a low and declining crime rate, we are spending money faster than ever on our prison system. In fact, Vermont spends more to put people behind bars than we do to send our children to college. This is a reversal of how we spent our dollars just 15 years ago, when Vermont spent two-to-one on higher education vs. prisons. In addition, more than half of those we let out come right back into our prisons within three years.
The legislature (in H.859) is crafting alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders, alternatives that can make society safer while saving tens of millions of dollars. The key is addressing certain root causes of society’s problems, particularly substance abuse and untreated mental health challenges. By redirecting our dollars away from prisons and into community-based programs, we could save over $50 million in ten years. Just as importantly, we’ll also reduce crime by working to end the revolving door in Vermont’s prisons and jails.
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Renewable Energy creates Jobs
Here in Vermont, when we take steps to help stop global warming we benefit by creating new “green” jobs and by dramatically lowering our electric and heating bills. This year the legislature is looking at the infrastructure that Vermont needs for a green economy. We are putting together proposals that will create jobs and strengthen our environment.
Vermont knows how to be an environmental leader. Now it’s our time to use that experience to create hundreds of new jobs in the renewable energy sector. The legislature is discussing authorizing municipalities to create residential solar and renewable energy programs for homeowners, incenting cost-competitive wind energy development and expansion of Clean Energy Development Fund eligibility to include innovative thermal projects. Encouraging the development of solar, wind, and forest-based biomass energy in Vermont will advance innovation and in-state job creation. Keeping Vermonters working, our environment clean and our energy costs low; it’s just common sense.
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Agriculture
Dairy farm families are facing yet another difficult period of low prices. This spring looks to be especially difficult with milk prices dropping as much as $7 per hundredweight below the cost of production. Suppliers, lenders and many related organizations are working hard to help farmers stay in business until milk prices recover, but it’s likely many farms won’t survive. The legislature has been working closely with the agency of agriculture to explore every possibility for increasing the price paid to farmers, but with little success. Milk price is set by the Federal Milk Marketing Order and because Vermont produces less than 2% of the national supply it has little ability to affect the price.
Dairy farming generates 85% of the agricultural revenue in the state and graces our state with a working landscape that is essential to tourism. Our dairy farms are important to us all. But as the number of dairy farms continues to shrink and regional food production becomes more important, it is prudent for us to be working toward a diverse agricultural economy. The legislature held a public hearing to take testimony on Vermont’s agricultural future. More than 250 people, mostly from small diversified farms, showed up. The message to us was, “support the development of a strong local food system and don’t allow unnecessary regulation to hinder our viability.”
Our Agriculture committee has a number of bills that may help with that diversification. One bill would remove the present limits on the sale of raw milk from farms and create a regulatory board to oversee those sales. Another, which has already passed the house, allows more goat’s milk to be used for making cheese and other products. We’re considering a way to encourage the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer machines at farmers markets. This would allow farmers to credit and debit cards as well as food stamps. Other bills would exempts working farm dogs from town leash and barking ordinances while they are working, increase access to state lands for maple syrup production and promote the use of biomass (wood) for cogeneration.
Agriculture in this state has been changing for some time now, but the pace may be about to quicken. Vermonters have always valued stewardship of the land and frugal use of our natural resources. The challenge for the legislature in these times is to find ways to support our dairy farm families at the same time we encourage the diversification of Vermont agriculture.
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Education
Vermont students consistently rank among the best in the nation. The standards that we have set to measure student achievement are among the highest. Even when our children do not meet our standards, they might surpass the standards set in other states. Schools face harder economic challenges now balancing transportation and heating costs, health care and rising special education costs. Our local schools continue to strive for efficiency and progress in the face of these challenges.
The legislature is particularly concerned that at a time school districts are being asked to reduce expenditures, there is also a push to ask schools to do more. The number of special education students has dropped, but the intensity and complexity of their needs has increased. It is hard for school districts to meet needs, while being fiscally responsible. Many school systems have shaved costs by creating trained local staff to reduce contracted service cost or by consolidating staff at the supervisory level to provide assistance to local districts as necessary.
Schools are being asked to take on a greater role in identifying, protecting, educating, and preventing sexual abuse and sexual violence. Ninety percent of sexual perpetrators are known and trusted by the victim and their families. One-half of the offenders are other children. Over one-quarter involves incest. Children are at the greatest risk in their own neighborhoods and homes. Schools offer kids a safe space and a chance to develop relationships with responsible adults. We must recognize that although we’re asking schools to take on this responsibility, no extra money is available for this purpose.
Vermonters expect their schools to focus on efficiency. We expect fair access to great schools in Vermont. We know that taxpayers will pay the same whenever the per-pupil costs are the same, regardless of the town they live in. This is the fairness that Act 68 ensures. Income sensitivity means that people who make the same will pay the same, whether they live in a wealthy or a modest town. As we work on education issues in the legislature, we keep in mind that it is not right to require the educational community to do more, yet criticize them for failure to control costs. To be fair, we can’t do both.
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Health Care
Most of us—individuals and employers alike—are worried about the rising cost of health care. The makes more people afraid of losing coverage. Our country’s health care system is immensely complex, and reforming it is equally so, but Vermont leads the way. Green Mountain Care program includes Catamount Health, VHAP, Dr. Dynasaur, and Medicaid. With these programs more Vermonters had health insurance this December than a year earlier. If you’ve lost your job or your insurance, or know someone who has, call 1-800-250-8427 to see if you qualify, or check www.GreenMountainCare.org on line.
In February, the Vermont House passed H. 24, the “colonoscopy bill.” Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in Vermont, but many people still do not get colonoscopies or other colon screenings. One major obstacle is cost, even for people with insurance, because of high deductibles and co-pays. This bill sets a co-pay maximum of $25 (regardless of your deductible) for colonoscopies for people over 50 or in high-risk categories as determined by their doctors. In this way it increases access to care for many, and, because colonoscopies cost far less than treatment for colon cancer, will save money in the long run. This bill is now being considered by the Senate.
Vermont’s head start in health care reform puts us in a great position to work with the Obama administration on national health care reform. Until that happens, we’ll be able to take excellent advantage of federal stimulus money now available – which includes funding for Medicaid and other state health care programs and for health information technology. Unlike other states, we already have a plan in place to do these things. Help from Washington will buy us time to evaluate thoughtfully how we can continue to advance health care reform and maintain the gains we have made. We must continue health care reform, because we can’t afford not to.
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Investing in Vermont’s infrastructure
The state’s Capital Bill will spend $70 million in state bond dollars. This year’s Capital Bill will likely fund a new forensics laboratory in Waterbury. This facility is urgently needed to support our law enforcement and judicial proceedings. We will explore the options for replacing the Vermont State Hospital, and we will need to resolve the question of state office space in Bennington. We hope to be able to continue to pay off the backlog of the state share of school construction.
We also expect to create a special Vermont Economic Recovery Package with some part of the total bonded dollars. This will be designed to strengthen the economy and create jobs in our communities while investing in our infrastructure. This package may include small scale maintenance projects on state buildings and state parks throughout the state and funding for municipal drinking water and wastewater projects. There will also be Community Services grants that can help to fund improvements in recreational, cultural, and educational facilities, along with grants for historic preservation. We will tailor this package to work with the Federal Stimulus funds that Vermont may receive, so that our economy gets as much support as possible.
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Stewardship of Vermont dollars
The Ways and Means committee oversees all fees and taxes in Vermont. Our taxes go toward the services we expect from government; good roads, safe bridges, police and court protection, great schools, day-to-day support for our senior citizens and health care for vulnerable Vermonters. As stewards of Vermont’s tax dollars, the Ways and Means committee has spent the first half of the session answering three basic questions: How will the federal tax cuts in the recovery act affect the revenues of Vermont; How will we fund the transportation infrastructure bond called for by the Governor, the Treasurer and the Speaker; and how can we equitably raise additional revenues, if needed, to sufficiently fund government programs?
Ways and Means has been considering what revenue opportunities might be available. It is fair to say that Vermont is in a very complicated and difficult situation. The economy is slowing down which means less income for the state. We don't know how much less Vermont will take in for taxes this year and we are not likely to know for at least a month. We DO know that it would be irresponsible to try to cut our way out of this problem and the federal stimulus is not going to fix our budget problems. In order to come through this responsibly the state will need to raise more revenue.
Bills that have been introduced in the legislature include: changes to Vermont Yankee policy, executive fee changes, curbing misclassification of workers in order to avoid taxation, changes to education funding and raising taxes on those who earn their income from dividends or interest. Various bills suggest the taxation of soda, disposable grocery bags, an income tax surcharge and sales tax on services. Others propose the reduction or elimination of some tax incentives which give out millions of tax dollars. Each of these proposals has promoters who believe it is good policy and detractors who believe it is not. As representatives of our communities, we have to look for progress and sustainability in state government. Stewardship through hard times means that finding what is best for Vermont is not easy work.
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Beginning in November and December 2009, approximately 1,800 members of Vermont’s National Guard will be called to serve in Afghanistan, the largest call-up since World War II. Adjutant General Michael Dubie and other members of the Guard leadership are advising the Legislature on the deployment. We are becoming acutely aware of how significantly this call-up will affect troop members, families, and employers across the state. The military committee of the House is actively monitoring the preparations for the call-up and tracking the many services needed by active members of the Guard, as well as veterans of all armed services. If Guard members or their families need help in any way, the Vermont National Guard Family Assistance Center can be contacted at 1-888-607-8773, or at their website: www.vtguard.com/famread/index.htm
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Historic Preservaton
Vermont has a rich historical heritage. We have 10 state-owned historic sites and our landscape is dotted with rich and varied architecture dating back hundreds of years. Our historic buildings and sites have become the lost child of state government. Currently this division sits in the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Over the years there has been dwindling commitment to historic preservation and failing organization due to reduced revenues and staffing. The federal government subsidizes our programs with an annual contribution of $550,000. They have written to Governor Douglas threatening to withhold this funding because the division has lost one third of its staff in recent months. Government Operations is trying to find a new home for this division in Buildings and General Services or maybe Forest and Parks. These sites along with our collections, protection of archeological sites and education programs need a thoughtful directive.
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Combining for efficiency
The Government Operations Committee has been asked to create a Department of Economic, Housing, and Community Development by merging Economic Development and Housing and Community Affairs within the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. We are always looking for ways to streamline government and make it more efficient and accountable. The consolidation of these two agencies would provide a more robust program and increase efficiency under one commissioner. The duties of these two combined departments will be imports and exports, trade shows, training and education programs. Across the two departments, municipal planning, revitalization, setting housing standards and establishment of new business will be addressed. This will also address the pressing issue of providing and maintaining an adequate supply of housing for Vermont’s workforce. The merger of these two agencies is moving forward for the welfare and to benefit the needs of Vermonters.
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Clean Energy Districts
We are all trying to stretch our dollar as far as possible in this economic climate. Heating and cooling our homes is very costly, but in order to improve efficiency we have to spend money up front. H.161 is a bill that addresses this issue. If someone decides to put solar panels on their home or new windows to help in weatherization, the costs for these things can be prohibitive because often the terms of a bank loan are too short. This bill would allow towns to establish a fund so property owners or businesses can borrow money to finance renewable energy projects. The bill allows towns to raise funds by bonding. The repayment schedule is twenty years and would appear on the borrower’s property tax bill. If the property is sold, the debt stays with it and is passed onto the new owner. Property owners are responsible for the repayment.
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Housing and Conservation
Vermont has a unique and internationally recognized system of developing affordable housing and land conservation. It relies first on citizens who identify needs in their communities and then encourages public/private partnerships to build and maintain housing for their communities. For over twenty years, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) has been a cornerstone in these efforts. VHCB provides key financing that has assured the permanent affordability of thousands of housing units while also supporting working farm and land conservation. Governor Douglas has proposed that the 2010 budget cut VHCB funding by 70%. The Legislature is looking at the state budget and federal stimulus funds to sustain our strong commitment to affordable housing and conservation. Housing creation will put Vermonters to work and ensure the availability of permanently affordable housing now when Vermonters need it most. At the same time, farm and land conservation will preserve our family farms and working landscape.
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Forest products and deer damage
H.16, a bill relating to deer doing damage to forest resources is related to our forest products economy. The Windham County State Forester testified that his county, which is the third most forested in the State, is part of a woodland industry that is, after IBM, the second most important manufacturing industry in Vermont.
After twenty-two years as a forester, he is seeing detrimental trends. The problems occur in the forest regeneration after harvesting. Because Vermont’s forest industry depends on natural regeneration, there is a period of time when saplings are vulnerable to deer browsing. The deer like to feed on Sugar Maple, Red Oak, White Ash, and Black Cherry, four of the State’s most valuable hardwoods. With the saplings gone, the way is opened for a serious influx of exotic tree species and native but overgrowing ferns that deer don’t eat. These crowd out the trees as they’re trying to regrow. Deer Browse, exotic ferns, and native ferns are the unholy triad that could destroy valuable Maple forest land in Windham County and other areas in VT. He estimates that there are twelve to twenty-three deer to the square mile on forest land that can support only one third to one half than number. Currently, he feels that the number of deer is out of balance with the land’s ability to regenerate forest. The most disturbing trend is that seedlings don’t get above knee high because of deer browsing, a trend that seems to be getting worse every year. To get the number of deer down to a sustainable number we need to harvest more each year. Because trees are not now considered an agricultural crop, woodlot owners are not allowed to shoot problem deer on their land as farmers can. He feels that provisions in H.16 are a good start in helping control deer browsing.
ANR (F&W Department) told the Committee that it is neutral on the bill. They feel that H.16 doesn’t provide any new authority that they don’t already have. The F,W&WR Committee disagrees since in the 1980s after the deer herd numbers were knocked down the forests came back. Furthermore, though deer density data is hard to measure F&W is trying to move toward deer density goals. In Windham County, for example, they are trying to get the deer population down to ten to fifteen deer per square mile.
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Invasive species control
One of the most important bills the Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources is considering this session is H.15, “an act relating to Aquatic Nuisance Control.” Because of the damage done by invasive species a quicker response – within six months of discovery – is needed. To do that a faster permitting process for some of the control methods is needed, authorization of cooperation between the various agencies and their counterparts in New York, and possibly Quebec would be helpful and additional funding sources for control efforts are a necessity. H 15 increases ANR’s ability to respond to invasive species.
Testimony from the Lake Champlain Committee dealt with the need for a more “rapid response” when a new invasive species is discovered. The Lake Champlain Canal is the most serious source of invasive species finding their way into Lake Champlain.
The Farmer’s Watershed Alliance and Friends of Missisiquoi Bay, among others, testified that algae blooms are a serious threat to tourism. We heard testimony from The Nature Conservancy that it supports H.15 because aquatic invasive species are one of the top threats to Lake Champlain. These species can alter the Lake’s food chain and are hard to deal with once they are established. Vermont Lakes Association strongly supports H.15 in part because it puts together all the laws on invasive species in one place. The Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator for the Lake Champlain Basin Program testified that permitting is the number one problem preventing a rapid response and that if chemical controls are needed, rapid response is not possible. She also suggested that ANR needed the authority to quarantine a water body to deal with a particularly dangerous species. There was also consensus that ANR needs resources and authority to react quickly to invasive species.
As might be expected, funding the Invasive Species Act is the most controversial part of the bill. Some groups, like the Vermont Lakes Association, support a sticker program for non-powered craft to bring in revenue. Others have said that this is not the time to add a fee for Vermonters to pay. A representative of the Outdoor Guide Association advocated a “Waterways License” that would allow a license holder to use any boat without paying a separate charge for each non-powered craft he/she owned.
Whatever the funding mechanism, all the testimony we heard on H.15 agreed that water recreation is an important driver of Vermont’s economy and that our aquatic resources are the infrastructure that supports much economic activity. Just as our transportation infrastructure has been neglected, so have our aquatic assets.
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Creating Jobs & Stimulating Vermont’s Economy
We can’t depend only on Washington and the federal stimulus package to see our way through this recession. Vermont is going to see its way through this storm. We will do that by working together creating jobs in the short-term, and building our infrastructure for long-term growth.
In the short term Vermont needs to create jobs. We hear from businesses, Chambers of Commerce, legislators, and a wide variety of citizens about the challenges facing business. We have heard great ideas to create jobs and stimulate economic development. We are looking at innovative training programs, statewide broadband and affordable housing. Businesses know that childcare is critical to working families. Great jobs can be created in weatherization, energy efficiency, green jobs, EC-Fiber, forestry and biomass, and tourism. Among all those ideas, here is a quick look at just three of the bills.
Vermonters spend over $2 billion annually importing out-of-state food. If we can find ways to buy more foods locally, we will create thousands of jobs and generate millions of commerce in our communities. H.231, the Farm-to-Plate bill, will do just that by identifying where the challenges are in the links between farmers and consumers. We hear about gaps in storage capacity, slaughter facilities, marketing support and distribution networks. Once those weak links are indentified grants and technical assistance will build the missing infrastructure.
Co-ops are innovative business models that are great for employee ownership, cooperation, sustaining jobs, and encourage a pro-social business mission. But it's often hard for a Co-op to raise money since it relies on members. In February the House passed a solution with H.109. It calls for a new form of business called Limited Co-ops that will allow Co-ops to attract outside investors as a way to raise equity, but still retain control for the non-investors.
Vermont can generate new business income by allowing the creation of what we are calling e-Corporations. Vermont made national headlines last year when a House-initiated program was created to allow for incorporation of businesses that exist without having physical locations. Our next step is to create clear regulations that enable companies to build software platforms that will enable future e-companies to take advantage of this new opportunity.
In the long term, we need to strengthen our infrastructure. Over the past two years, Vermont has been looking strategically at what works best in Vermont. We will look to the future as we decide how to use the federal stimulus package and our own investment in Vermont.
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Commerce odds and ends
e-Commerce Vermont made national headlines last year when we passed a House-initiated program to allow for incorporation of businesses that exist without having physical locations. New Jersey–the home to billions upon billions of tax revenue for being the favorite home to corporations nationwide–is looking over their shoulder ever since Vermont took a first step forward in this new e-world. Our next step is to create clear regulations that enable companies to build software platforms that will enable future e-companies to take advantage of this new opportunity.
Limited Co-ops Co-ops are great for employee ownership, cooperation, sustaining jobs, and having a pro-social business mission. But it's often hard for them to raise money since they rely on members. Last month, the House passed a solution with H.109. It calls for a new form of business called Limited Co-ops that will allow them to attract outside investors as a way to raise equity, but still retain control for the non-investors.
Farm-to-Plate Vermonters spend over $2 billion annually importing out-of-state food. If we can find ways to buy more foods locally, we will create thousands of jobs and generate millions of commerce for our communities. H.231, the Farm-to-Work bill, will do just that by identifying where the challenges are in the links between farmers and consumers. Once those weak links are indentified–such as holes in storage capacity, slaughter facilities, marketing support, distribution networks, etc.–grants and technical assistance will build the missing infrastructure.
Childcare as Economic Development Some parents cannot afford to work due to the high costs of daycare. The state helped solve that barrier for low and middle-income families by providing subsidies. However, those subsidies are set at levels that are ten years old, not taking into account inflation. In order to keep parents on the job, we're working to remedy the problem.
Unemployment Insurance Funds for unemployment insurance are being depleted quickly. The challenge has been that payments into the system haven't grown to match our needs. The Department of Labor and others will be presenting options for us to tackle, including cuts in benefits, use of federal stimulus money and increased costs to employers.
Mental Injuries Parity bills passed years ago aimed to ensure that mental illness was treated as much as physical illnesses. However, in many realms, that simply isn't happening. With H.81, we're examining ways to ensure that mental injuries caused by employment receive fair treatment under worker compensation laws.
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