Well our goal was to be finished with the 2019 legislative session on May 18th. As we all know sometimes deadlines must be pushed out. Although only the budget and revenue bills must pass prior to adjournment there are still several priority initiatives we are hoping to finalize this week. Below is a recap of the legislative session thus far:
55 bills have been passed by both the House and Senate while 26 of those bills have been enacted into law. Bills enacted into law include (but not limited to):
Bills awaiting the Governor’s action include (but not limited to):
Bills yet to be resolved between House and Senate include (but not limited to):
Fortunately this is year one of the biennium so unresolved bills will carry forth to next year. I’m happy to talk further about any of the bills listed here and those not listed. I can always be reached at lhoughton@leg.state.vt.us or 373-0599. June 1st is the next Essex/Westford community conversation from 8:30am to 10:00am at The Nest Café located on Main St in the Village. The time we spend in Montpelier is productive and important, but so is spending time in the community. I look forward to adjourning this week and seeing everyone around the Village. Please don’t ever hesitate to stop me in the street, at the grocery store or anywhere else – I’m always happy to chat. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve Essex Junction!
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Please join us for our next community conversation June 1st from 8:30am to 10:00 am at The Nest located at 17 Main St in the Village. We will provide a wrap up of the session (hopefully!) and answer questions. Come early, come late – stay for 10 minutes, stay for the whole time. Hope to see you there!
As the session winds down the only must pass bill is the budget. The budget always begins in the House, then is sent to the Senate. The Senate passed their budget out of Appropriations Friday with floor action expected this week. Once they pass, the House Appropriations committee will review and either concur with their amendments or recommend that the two bodies meet in a conference committee to hash out the details. Two of the bills we passed last week (there were 6 total) include: S. 40 an act relating to testing and remediation of lead in the drinking water of schools and child care facilities which requires all school and childcare facilities to test for lead in the water. As passed the bill attempts to cover the full costs of any needed remediation and replacement of fixtures with an appropriation of $3.2 million. S.43 an act relating to prohibiting prior authorization requirements for medication-assisted treatment which prohibits a health insurer from requiring prior authorization for a patient receiving MAT and for any counseling and behavioral therapies associated with that treatment. The House Government Operations Committee passed out their version of the bill to tax and regulate marijuana which is quite different from the Senate passed bill. The bill can be found at www.legislature.vermont.gov under House Calendar dated Friday May 3rd. Some of the changes the House made – towns will need to opt in to allow a retail establishment, 30% of tax revenue will be routed to a specific fund for prevention and concentration levels are capped. The bill is now going to House Appropriations and House Ways and Means. No timeline yet on when the bill will make it to the floor. A big thank you to all who helped on GreenUp Day and to all those residents I see picking up trash as they take their walks – without it having to be GreenUp Day. It does take a Village! Please reach out with questions, comments or concerns. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve Essex Junction. Lori Houghton With the end of the session just a few weeks away, I will focus our attention on three bills working their way through committees to reach the floor for a vote. I appreciate constituent feedback and can be reached at lhoughton@leg.state.vt.us.
S169 an act relating to firearms procedures, otherwise known as the waiting period bill, currently in House Judiciary would require a 24 hour waiting period on hand gun transfers after the completion of the background check. It would not apply to hand gun transfers that do not require a background check. The bill also makes changes to various pieces of the 2018 gun legislation related to large capacity ammunition feeding devices, shooting competitions, reporting on extreme risk protection orders and allows for, does not require, healthcare provider notification options. S23 an act relating to increasing the minimum wage passed out of House General and will now go through the money committees. The bill would raise the minimum wage gradually until it reaches $15 in 2024. Thereafter, the minimum wage would increase each year by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Unfortunately, no language was added to raise the wages for Medicaid-funded health care workers. Over the past two years we’ve worked on this issue in the health care committee increasing funding for mental health workers, but workers at home health agencies, nursing homes and others have not seen an increase in wages. This is an issue we need to focus on in the near term. S54 an act relating to the regulation of cannabis. Although a vote in the committee has not yet occurred and language is not final, the committee has added language regarding a Substance Misuse Prevention Fund. Thirty percent of the revenues raised by the cannabis excise tax, not to exceed $6 million per fiscal year, would go to the fund for prevention education. No decisions, as of this writing, have been made to roadside testing requirements. Other areas of importance from last week – the House Energy and Technology committee held a public hearing on proposed bills that would ban or limit new fossil-fuel infrastructure (H.51, H.175 and H.214) The hearing was well attended and the committee will continue to work on this issue. The House passed S.86 which will increase the legal age for buying and using cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. Passed originally in the Senate the House concurred with their language except to change the effective date to September 1, 2019. This was the third leg of our strategy to reduce youth tobacco usage. Please reach out with questions and comments! Thank you for the privilege to serve Essex Junction. Lori Houghton Please join us for our next community conversation June 1st from 8:30am to 10:00 am at The Nest located at 17 Main St in the Village. We will provide a wrap up of the session (hopefully!) and answer questions. Come early, come late – stay for 10 minutes, stay for the whole time. Hope to see you there!
A few of the bills we passed last week (there were 6 total) include: H207 an act relating to approving an amendment to the charter of the City of Montpelier regarding non-citizen voting in City elections. This approval, if passed by the Senate, will allow legal non-citizens to vote in city elections. S.49 a bill that regulates PFAS in drinking water and surface waters in Vermont on a vote of 135-1. This bill establishes regulatory monitoring of drinking waters to ensure that Vermonters remain safe and manufacturers are held accountable for their waste. On or before December 1, 2019 all public water systems in Vermont will be required to conduct monitoring for PFAS. S.68 which changes the name of the legal holiday from Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. This week: We will take up on the House floor S.86 which proposes to raise the legal age for buying and using cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. The goal of S.86 is to reduce tobacco use by youth and protect developing brains, uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotine and nicotine addiction. The Surgeon General predicts that 10,000 Vermont youth alive today will die prematurely of tobacco-related illnesses if we fail to change course. In the House Health Care Committee we will continue our discussion on a bill to license ambulatory surgical centers in Vermont and hear testimony on electronic medical records. As I’m sure all have heard the Senate passed out a bill to tax and regulate marijuana which is now working its way through the appropriate committees in the House. I welcome feedback on this measure – should it pass? With certain restrictions? With specific prevention or safety measures? Please email me at lhoughton@leg.state.vt.us. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve Essex Junction. Lori Houghton |