Notes from Montpelier
by Rep. Bill Frank

The 2012 legislative session started as if we never left last May, except for all of the expenses associated with tropical storm Irene that have to be dealt with.  The State Hospital in Waterbury was flooded out by Irene as were many other State offices.  The patients in the State hospital were sent to a variety of places throughout the state on a temporary basis the night of the flood with many of them still in the temporary facility four months later.  The governor has developed a comprehensive plan addressing all the needs of providing services and care to this very vulnerable population.  In his budget address he asked the legislature to have a bill on his desk by February 17^th to define policy, funding and a plan for a new State Hospital. My Human Services committee is giving the needs of Vermonters who need mental health services our undivided attention and plan to have a bill ready for the whole House by January 27.  The bill will then go to the Senate.  The plan calls for the State Hospital beds to be divided between the Brattleboro Retreated, a wing of the Rutland Regional Hospital and a new 16 bed facility in central Vermont, possibly at the Central Vermont Hospital site in Barre.  This is a real challenge, but the importance of our decision is keeping us in the committee room for extended days.

     My first legislative update evening was last Tuesday at the Dorothy Rawson Memorial Library with over 25 in attendance. Rep. Till and I reviewed some of what we are going to be working on this session and then opened it for questions and comments. I have always been pleased with the number and range of questions asked. The questions are not only asked for an answer from Rep. Till or me but for a discussion by the group at large.   Such was the case when the question asked was about the Citizens United project.  Citizens Union is the Supreme Court decision that corporations can spend unlimited money in political campaigns. The Court decided that restrictions would suppress political speech.  A group of Vermonters proposes to have the dialogue by voting on the issue at Town Meetings. Bill Butler of Jericho spoke of why it is important to have this discussion at Town Meetings this year.  Look for an article by Bill in this edition of the paper.  My web site has copies of the petition for Underhill, Jericho and Bolton and links to more information.