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: News from Montpelier 2020 week 3  ( 1392 )
Barbara
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« : January 24, 2020, 03:11:15 PM »

The week opened with the House vote to adopt Proposal 2, an amendment to the Vermont Constitution which has been adopted by the Senate. The amendment must also be passed by both chambers of the 2021-2022 General Assembly before coming before the voters for final approval. Its purpose is described to eliminate reference to slavery; “while Vermont was the first state to include a prohibition on slavery in its Constitution in 1777, it was only a partial prohibition, applicable to adults reaching a certain age”.
Tuesday afternoon a Joint Assembly in the House Chamber heard Governor Scott’s budget address. The highlights ran the gamut of State supported programs with a cautionary that Vermont has experienced bonding downgrades which encourage fiscal discipline. Transportation committee members found the detailed information for that portion of the Governor’s recommended budget on their desktops afterwards.
The Secretary of the AOT testified before the Transportation Committee Wednesday morning, providing a high-level overview. Throughout the week the Committee heard from Agency directors and mangers on their specific programs within the larger budget. These reports will continue to be on the agenda until the introductions are all complete. The committee members are making notes of areas of concern that need more testimony and will revisit these in detail.
Public Transit continues to be a high area of interest for the committee. Representatives of the transit companies that serve Vermont gave testimony that included the reliance on volunteers for wellness, recovery and job access programs. There has been growth in ridership for all seven companies over the last year, but these numbers include these rides as well as the traditional bus route riders. The AOT public transit coordinator spoke to the recommended budget and the initiatives it will support. One of the initiatives which affect a transit company and three school districts (with FWSU for BFA Fairfax being one) is the Volkswagen settlement program to replace two diesel school busses from their fleets with two electric busses and the training and equipment for them.
Action on the House Floor on Thursday and Friday was dedicated to H107 and S23 respectively. H107, an act relating to paid family leave was passed on a Roll Call vote of 89 yeas to 58 nays. S23, an act relating to raising the minimum wage also passed on a Roll Call vote of 93 yeas to 54 nays. Both bills have now been sent to the Governor for his action which can include his signing into law, letting become law without his signature or vetoing. If the Governor chooses to veto both or either bill the House will have to have several members decide to support the majority vote and not maintain their opposition to the bill(s) to override the veto.

For more information or to contact me please email me at bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us or call 802-849-6545 or mail to 7 Lily Rd Fairfax VT 05454. The Sergeant at Arms at the State House will also relay messages.
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