Notes from Montpelier
by Rep. Bill Frank
Just as I started pulling my thoughts together for this article on Easter Sunday I heard Captain Richard Phillips had been freed. We are all proud of this extraordinary man who put the lives of others before his own. We can be proud of his family for showing the world how strong they are. We can be proud of our town for uniting together to support the Phillips family. We can all be proud to live in Underhill. We have a hero as a neighbor!
The Legislature has been working at a record pace as we move toward a May 8th adjournment. The money bills, which always start in the House, have passed the House and now the Senate has started working on them. I feel positive about what the House has passed but I still have concerns. The challenge of the 2010 Fiscal Year State Budget, referred to as “The Big Bill,” was to close the $228 million budget gap. The Governor’s proposal asked for layoffs of up to 660 state employees and the shift of $63 million from the general fund to the property tax. Those State employees perform services many Vermonters who are experiencing job layoffs and other economic problems so desperately need right now. This is not the time to reduce services to needy Vermonters. The Stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will pay for $163 million of the budget. The Governor keeps saying no to new taxes. But what is a $63 million property tax increase if it’s not new taxes?
The Transportation bill passed the House with a bonding proposal for fixing our roads and bridges. These bonds will be paid for by adding five cents to the gasoline tax. I supported raising the gas tax three years ago to pay for desperately needed road and bridge repairs; I continue to support it now.
The third money bill deals with Capital Construction and State Bonding. The Human Service committee spent a lot of time developing a plan for the first phase of closure of the State Hospital. Money to plan for a new Acute Care center at the Rutland Regional Medical Center is included in the bill.
These money bills are now being worked on in the Senate; changes will be ironed out by a conference committee and then sent to the Governor for approval.
Rep. George Till and I will be at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library Tuesday evening, May 5th, 6:30-8:00pm to discuss the legislative session and any questions or concerns you have. I hope you can join us. As always I like to hear from you, either by email: Bill@RepBillFrank.com, phone: 899-3136 or mail: 19 Poker Hill Rd, Underhill, 05489.
