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
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