Vermont Legislature

One of the biggest debates of the second half of the legislative session could be over a bill that provides paid sick leave to all employees.

At the beginning of the session, backers of the bill felt they had enough votes in the House to pass their legislation. But it appears that some of that support has eroded for two reasons.

First, concerns have been raised by some members of the business community about how the mandate will affect small businesses.

When Gov. Peter Shumlin launched his single payer health care initiative in 2011, the effort promised to be the policy equivalent of a moon mission, one of the most far-reaching and complex reform projects ever undertaken at the state level. It would be very hard, yet still doable. And critically important, given that the health care system both in Vermont and in the U.S. is simply not financially sustainable.

The new Farm Bill was signed into law a little over a month ago. It includes $8.9 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Those $8.9 billion come from eliminating a loophole known as “heat and eat”, which tied food benefits to heating assistance. That loophole was only used in 17 states, including Vermont. And those states are now trying to find ways to fill the gap in food assistance funding.

Former Vermont Supreme Court Justice Franklin S. Billings Jr. has died.

Billings served the state and his community in many capacities and leaves a legacy as both a legislator and a judge.  He was 91.

Billings was born in Woodstock, the son of a former Vermont Governor Franklin Swift Billings.

He was elected to the Vermont House in 1960 and was part of a small group of highly influential freshmen members that included Democrats and Republicans.

They were called the Young Turks.

Governor Peter Shumlin is vowing to provide property tax relief to homeowners this year.

It was expected the statewide property tax rate for education was going up by 7 cents. But the governor says he’ll take steps to make a significant cut in this increase. 

On Town Meeting Day, school budgets were defeated in 35 communities, in part, because of the project increase in the statewide property tax rate.

Conservation easements are legal agreements designed to protect land from development forever. But a bill under consideration in the Statehouse would allow those restrictions to be amended, or lifted entirely.

The bill has sparked a fierce debate among land conservation advocates. Opponents argue the legislation could lead to circumstances in which land that was supposed to be protected "in perpetuity” no longer would be.

The Shumlin Administration earlier this year promised to give lawmakers their first look at how Vermont might pay for single-payer health care. But the governor has once again opted to delay his financing timeline.

It’s been three years since Peter Shumlin vowed to deliver the nation’s first publicly financed health care system. But he has yet to show voters what taxes he’d use to raise the $2 billion or so  needed to fund the program.

With the shooting deaths of 20 first-graders in Newtown, Conn., still fresh on lawmakers’ minds, Linda Waite-Simpson figured the time was right last year for a debate about gun control here in Vermont.

The Essex lawmaker focused on what she thought were reasonable concessions – things like background checks on gun sales, and bringing state law in line with federal statutes. But as Waite-Simpson would quickly learn, the Vermont Statehouse is bleak territory for advocates of gun control.

As results on school budget votes poured in from across the state Tuesday night, local board members weren’t the only ones taking notice. Lawmakers too were keeping a close eye on voting trends. And legislators like Rep. Joey Donovan, D-Burlington, the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education, say the message was loud and clear.

“I think there’s a little bit of revolution afoot,” Donovan says. “I think people want to support kids, but they want to know they’re doing it in a real cost-effective way.”

The gun-control group that won big in Burlington on Tuesday is promising to continue its advocacy in the Legislature. But the early legislative prognosis for three proposed charter changes is looking grim.

The voters of Burlington approved three charter changes Tuesday that would institute new restrictions on firearm owners in the state’s largest city. But the changes will need sign-off from the Legislature before they can go into effect. And House Speaker Shap Smith on Wednesday said chances for that happening aren’t too promising.