Town meeting is over, dog licenses are past due, sugaring is nearing the end, it feels like spring and legislators are thinking about the session ending. I enjoyed the pre-town meeting potluck in Bolton on Monday evening. As always it was good food and great conversations. Tuesday morning before the Jericho town meeting many joined Gaye and I for conversation in the school gym. After the Jericho meeting started we drove to the Underhill Town Meeting, made a short presentation and answered many questions. It was fun seeing Randy Clark surprised with a resolution honoring him for his 50 years of service to the fire department.

     The week after Town Meeting was “cross over” in the legislature. This is the day set by the House and Senate that bills have to have passed out of a committee in order to be taken up by the other body. Of course there are exceptions for the budget and a very few other bills. Since many bills are passed out of committees during cross over week, the following week we have all those bills on the floor.

     My Human Service Committee passed out three bills that we have been working on for much of the session. Two of the bills have not received much press, the third just the opposite.

H.523 –“Moving Families Out of Poverty Using TANF” was a priority bill for our committee for two reasons: to give temporary assistance to needy families using federal funds for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and to ensure that the state meets new federal requirements relating to these funds. The Vermont program is called Reach Up and we expanded it by adding a program Reach First and Reach Again. By doing this we are assured we will not loose about $1.5 million in federal TANF funds. This bill is currently in the Appropriations committee because we also expanded the childcare subsidy amounts.

H.449 - “Foster Care Services and Support”. Instead of dropping all child welfare services to a foster child when they reach their 18th birthday, this bill allows for a more gradual decline in services until 21 where needed.

H.44 – “Patient Choice and Control At End of Life”, also referred to as Death With Dignity and Patient Assistant Dying. Under H.44 a terminally ill adult Vermonter diagnosed with less than six months to live would be allowed to obtain and use a prescription to hasten their death. I have studied this bill for both of my terms in the legislature and in a summer study committee. I supported its passage.

     I received more calls, e-mails and listened to more constituents on this bill than any other since being elected to the House. At the beginning of testimony two years ago I did not hold an opinion on the bill. I have listened to countless hours, days and weeks of testimony. There is no compromise on this bill. At the end of my first term I felt the bill came down to a patients right to make end of life choices. This year I listened to opposition with a mindset to have them convince me otherwise. When I had to make my final decision I still felt the bill was about a terminal patients right to make end of life choices.

     My committee members selected me to report the bill to the entire House because of my knowledge of the topic. The bill did not pass after four hours of discussion and questions to me as the bill reporter.

     I have worked hard in Montpelier to improve hospice and palliative care. There is still much work to be done to assure all dying Vermonters have information and access to this care.
The Agency of Natural Resources, ANR, has proposed new rules regulating wood boilers that are currently being reviewed by the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, LCAR. The rules would create a new limit on particulate emissions for new wood boilers. This will have no impact on existing wood boilers that were installed under current setback and stack height rules. It also does nothing to affect any other systems such as wood stoves or wood furnaces.

     The rule does create a pollution limit on wood boilers sold after its March, 2008 effective date. ANR says it is positive that wood boilers are available which will meet that standard. A representative of a manufacturer differed with that statement, but then indicated that several "small manufacturers" apparently could meet it but had not yet tested their boilers for the proposed limit.  The rule also has a provision which grandfathers all wood boilers which are in dealer stock by September of this year from needing to satisfy the new limits regardless of when they are sold and installed. LCAR is expected to vote on this rule April 4th.

     Monday morning, April 16, Gaye and I will be at The Village Cup for conversation. Please feel free to stop anytime from 7:00-9:00 am. If you cannot make it feel free to discuss these or any other issues with me at Rep.BillFrank@verizon.net, 899-3136 or 19 Pokerhill Rd, Underhill 05489.