Pre-session Status

A little background before we begin
In November of 2016 I was elected by the good people of Colchester for a two-year term as State Representative. I crashed through the first year (actually January to May of 2017)  in fairly good order. The second year is about to begin.

Just about every elected official in Vermont's state government serves for two years: the governor, the lt. governor, senators, representatives, the treasurer, the secretary of state and the auditor. Each biennium begins with the election of the speaker of the house (usually a member of the majority party), the assignment of seats in the chambers and then the assignment of committees by the speaker. 2018 is the second year of the biennium so we'll skip all that; it all happened a year ago.

The Correction & Institutions Committee at Work

Every member of the 150-member House serves on a committee.  Senators, of which there are only 30, serve on more than one committee. A committee consists of between nine and 11 members. A member's committee assignment is important. Because each committee is responsible for policy and oversite of some sector of the government, the committee assignment defines what is each member's focus for the next two years. I'm on the Corrections and Institutions (C&I) committee. That means I have two primary concerns:

• Corrections: Issues concerning Vermont's criminal justice system. How the prisons are used. The criteria for bail, furlough, or parole. The training of Corrections personnel. The use of out-of-state prisons. Anything that has to do with Corrections policy. For this we work closely with the Department of Corrections (DOC). There is some overlap here with the Judiciary committee. 

• Institutions: This concerns all the building owned or leased by the state: their maintenance, sale, purchase, construction and use. Because much of the funds raised by the sale of state general obligation bonds is used for issues relating to building and capital expenses, my committee is also responsible for the development of the capital budget. The capital budget is a two-year plan designating how the $133 million raised by the sale of bonds will be spent over the coarse of two years. We work closely with Buildings and General Services (BGS) to accomplish this.

Being on C&I puts me in touch with a lot of issues. Last session I was deeply involved in the allocating of funds for the Clean Water Initiative. For that we worked closely with the Department of Environmental Conservation. Mental health issues are becoming more and more entwined with Corrections. Assuring that the state has the needed facilities for mental health patients, prisoners and detainees (those awaiting adjudication) is critical. 

The Rep's Speech

The day to day work of a members is generally sitting in committee, taking testimony regarding bills assigned to the committee. We also heard from all those seeking Capital Bill funding. That included the state's fish hatcheries (Dept. or Fish and Wildlife - F&W), the Walleye Association, the Rutland Opera House as well as those hoping for continued funding of large software projects, a new testing lab for the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (AAFM) and plenty more.

Very little time is spent engaged in thoughtful and eloquent debate on the floor of the House. I spoke twice during the last session only to describe, as briefly as possible, the nature of two bills coming
out of our committee. I suspect that, as this blog progresses, the process of turning a hare brained idea into a law will be apparent.

What's coming up?

There are issues that will be important to the whole General Assembly (House and Senate) and others that are of particular importance to my committee.

• General Assembly
• Marijuana: I'm told that the legalization of marijuana, in the form of bill H.511 with amendments, will be up for consideration by the Judiciary committee and perhaps by the full House by the end of the first week. There's a page on my website about this.
• The Budget: The governor wants to level-fund the budget, meaning no increase in outlays. Yet there are some important pressing issues that may need increased funding: the opioide crisis, Clean Water,  special education, affordable housing, job training, etc.
• Minimum Wage: There are rumblings about a $15/hr minimum wage. I believe there are several bills in the works that deal with this.

• Corrections and Institutions
• Clean Water: The funding of the Clean Water Initiative is certain to be an issue and involve capital bill funding.
• Budget Adjustments: When the governor releases his proposed budget in mid to late January my committee will work on any budget adjustments. Though we have a two-year capital budget. it gets tweaked in the years between. 
• Windsor prison: What happens with the now-shuttered Windsor Corrections facility will need to be addressed.
• Mental Health and Corrections: The Secretary of Human Services is supposed to release a plan to better coordinate the use of state institutions dealing with Corrections and Mental Health. How that is handled will be a primary concern.

That's enough to give you a broad introduction to what will be happening during this legislative session. I'm told there is always a surprise issue that comes to the fore. Last session it was moving the negotiations of teacher health care from the local to the state level. So who knows what will really happen. I'll try to keep you informed.