Week 5 - January 29th to February 2nd

Firearm Bills on the Horizon

The House Chamber beginning to fill for the hearing

There are three bills moving through the Senate that deal with firearms in Vermont. Tuesday evening there was a public hearing on the bills. The place was packed with many attendees sporting orange vests and hats. I spoke with a couple before I had to leave in order to get back to Colchester for a forum on the selection of a new Malletts Bay School principal. The picture shows the crowd just arriving.

The bills being considered are:

• H.422 - The House passed this bill last session and sent it to the Senate for consideration. Statement of purpose of bill: This bill proposes to require enable a law enforcement officer to confiscate a dangerous or deadly weapon from a person who is arrested or cited for domestic assault if the weapon is (1) in the immediate possession or control of the person being arrested or cited; (2) in plain view of the officer; or (3) discovered during a consensual search. The bill is now in the Senate Committee on Judiciary. The original bill "required". It was amended by the House to "enable."
• S.221 - This bill proposes to establish a procedure for a law enforcement officer to obtain an extreme risk protection order. The order would prohibit a person from possessing a firearm for up to one year if the Family Division of the Superior Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person poses a significant danger of causing injury to himself or herself or another person by purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or by having a firearm within the person’s custody or control. 
• S.6 This bill proposes to require that a background check be conducted on the proposed transferee before a firearm may be transferred unless the transfer is between immediate family members, by or to a law enforcement agency, or by or to a law enforcement officer or member of the U.S. Armed Forces acting within the course of his or her official duties. 

Here are a couple VTDigger articles about the issue:

• January 15th article announcing the hearing
• January 31st article reviewing the hearing

Weekly Summary

• Tuesday 
• 10:00 to 11:10 Lots of bills introduced for first reading and shunted off to committees. We're also beginning to get some that have already been approved by the Senate.
• 11:15 to 12:15 - Buildings and General Services testified about various projects in the adjusted capital budget. Basically they're coming to us to say they need more money to complete projects. These requests are in the proposed Capital Bill Adjustment we are now considering. And if that weren't enough, we were given a list of about $13 million in deferred maintenance that needs to be done by 2020 (not so far away). The big construction projects were:
• Police Barracks renovation in Rockingham and Springfield $800k 
• Repair of a retaining wall at the State Office Building in Springfield - $600k
• Life/Safety improvements to 120 State Str., Montpelier - $968k
• Modifications to the rear entry to 120 State Str. - $2.8 million
• Lunch Break
• 1:15 - 1:45 Public Democratic Caucus
• 2:00 Katie Buckley, Commissioner, Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Laura Trieschmann, State Historic Preservation Officer, DHCD gave a presentation about how capital dollars have been spent and will be spent on historical restoration projects as well as the placement of  historical markers throughout the state.
• 3:00 Robert Wood Academy – Police academy projects for a total of about $1.25 million.
• 4:00 Done with testimony. Some committee planning regarding the field trip Wednesday

• Wednesday - Field Trip
• 9:00 Committee met at the Middlesex Residential Treatment Center for a short tour of the facility. 
• 10:00 Tour continued to Vermont State Libraries building in Berlin
• 10:30 Toured the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Barre
• 12:20 Met with Rep. Trevor Squirrel and Rep. Dan Connor regarding Clean Water Funding
• 1:00 On the floor. Roll-call vote on H.410 having to do with Energy Efficiency Standards. The bill adds several products to Vermont's list of products covered by energy efficiency standards. 133 members voted for it and 4 voted against it. I voted for it.
• 2:30 Back in Committee to hear from a parent who's son went through the Corrections and Mental Health systems in Vermont, including Mental Health Court. He is advocating for making it known to parents and those in court that there is a genetic test for adverse reactions to drugs used in psychiatric therapy. 
• 2:47 More testimony about projects in the Capital Bill Adjustment
• Northern State Corrections Facility door control system - $2.7 million
• Vermont Supreme Court building reconfiguration -$20 million
• Parking garage repair in Rutland - $250k
• 4:40 Done with testimony. Some continued discussion about our field trip and the work we have before us.
• Thursday
• 8:30 - 10:00 The chair wanted some time for 'Committee Discussion'; just a chance for us to talk without taking testimony. We need to concentrate on the big picture needs regarding Corrections and Mental Health. 
• Switchgear and Generator - Interesting discussion about what the State House should have with regard to generator backup. It's a $500k project. We have an aging 45kw generator that supports the emergency lights and the IT servers, but little else, and not the elevators. During the June 2017 veto session we lost power and a couple of tourists were stuck in the elevator between floors. There are a number of legislators who really can't use the stairs. We need more information on this issue. Near the end of the discussion I raised the possibility of Tesla Batteries, so BGS will look into that as well. I'm pretty sure that will be too expensive.
• 11:00 Short Break
• 11:30 The Military - Brigadier General Michael T. Heston, Deputy Adjutant General, Military Department (MD) and John Patry, Military Operations Supervisor, MD testified about what the National Guard needs and is using for armories and training. A new armory in Bennington is planned. There are also several small project at Camp Johnson in my district.
• 12:00 to 1:00 - break
• 1:00 to 1:30 on the floor for some quick action on Swimming Holes (H.132) and a couple other bills. The swimming holes are discussed later in this blog.
• 1:30 Back in Committee to hear testimony on several bills that are 'on our wall', meaning we have to make some sort of decision about them: should be really consider them or not? back them or forget them? This is an early step in a bill's trail to becoming law. The sponsors of the following bills gave short presentations.
• H.756 Regarding the use of Capital Bill dollars to fund school construction. Currently there is a moratorium on the use of any state bonded money to help with school construction.  This bill proposes using it only when schools are consolidating. This could be a real can of worms.
• H.760 This bill proposes to preclude defendants held without bail from eligibility for the Home Detention Program. I discuss this later in this blog under Legislation by Anecdote.
• H.773 on Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) of those in the Corrections system who are addicted to drugs. The bill wants DOC to have several facilities apply for designation as an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) and encourage DOC to induce treatment for addicted inmates who are not already on MAT. Opioids, and the treatment of same, within Corrections is another messy issue we're dealing with. We will take more testimony from DOC on this before deciding what to do with the bill.
• 3:00 - Cornelius Hogan (former Commissioner of Corrections) gave us his opinion of the proposed 925-bed Corrections Campus. This was particularly good testimony from a person with considerable experience within Corrections. He is against such a large facility.
• H.806 (4:00 - 4:22) Committee member Paul Belaski introduced this bill on behalf of some community leaders in the area around the now-closed Corrections facility in Windsor. The bill creates a committee of community members that will make recommendations to the state.
• 4:30 - Done for the day.
• Friday
• 8:45 - T.J. Donovan, Vermont Attorney General weighed in on the proposed Corrections Campus. He admits that talking to the Committee is a bit unusual, but he has some strong feelings. He is concerned about overbuilding. By some measures we are the safest state in the union. Crime has been reduced while we have reduced our incarceration rate. This is the result of community based efforts and an enlightened criminal justice system. With our Corrections population decreasing he does see the need for a new large facility.
• 9:30 - 11:40 On the floor - Lots of bill introduced and pushed off to committees. There was considerable discussion on a couple.
• H.562 for 2nd reading - Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to repeal  Vermont’s parentage laws and replace them with a more comprehensive parentage title that includes de facto parentage, genetic parentage, parentage by assisted reproductive technology, and parentage by gestational carrier agreement. By voice vote the bill was ordered for 3rd reading and will come back again.
• H.633 is the Budget Adjustment Act. The House passed this in mid-January. The Senate has been working on it and finally sent it back with some amendments. We passed it again with a voice vote. Now it goes to the governor. 
• 11:45 - Back in Committee for a little discussion and that was it for the week. Soon we will begin working Friday afternoons.

Legislation by Anecdote

On Thursday we heard testimony from Representative Chesnut-Tangerman about his bill H.760. He began his presentation by saying that he knows Legislation by Anecdote is a bad thing, but, just the same, he wanted to tell us the story of events in the town of Tinmouth, VT. He then presented a story of a dairy farmer killed in a hit and run by a neighbor with a considerable crime record. The town does not want the charged person released on home detention. They think someone will get killed if he is. The person charged has been held without bail for over a year. The trial is coming up in March.

The proposed bill would state that anyone who is held without bail cannot be released on home detention. 

The story was compelling and the committee hastened to assure the presenter that no one in their right mind would release the guy. But the presenter made it clear that the town was not swayed by those arguments. They wanted a firm guarantee, by law, that he would not get out of jail before the trial. 

I tried to explain that all the talk of whether or not a judge would release him is irrelevant. We had to ignore the anecdote and how terrible it all was, and consider only the law: should a person who is being held with no bail be eligible for release on home detention. Given that being held without bail means that this is a serious crime and there is a strong likelihood of flight, it would seem sensible to say that such persons should not be illegible for home detention. In fact, in the the state of Vermont there are only 8 to 12 people on home detention and they have real-time electronic monitors on them. The whole issue seems a little over the top.

Legislating by Anecdote is a real danger. Legislators have to be able to pull back and view the law as it is, divorced from the story that may have created it.

It was also interesting that there is no way this bill will become law before the trial, so, in a way, it's moot for this specific case. 

After considerable discussion the Chair found the related statute with the following wording:

At the request of the court, the Department of Corrections, or the defendant, the status of a defendant who is detained pretrial in a correctional facility for lack of bail may be reviewed by the court to determine whether the defendant is appropriate for home detention. 

The keys words are for lack of bail in the first sentence. In this case the detainee is being held without bail not for lack of bail, so, by law, he cannot be released on home detention. QED - quod erat demonstrandum or So it is demonstrated.

Someone needs to tell the community of Tinmouth. By my continual question is: "How did this get this far?" The town is all worked up. A bill was conceived. Legislative Council lawyers put in time researching and drafting. A bill was printed and distributed, read for a first time, sent to a committee and presented to us. All without real purpose?

Well, in fact, Representative Chesnut-Tangerman gets credit for listening to his constituents and for acting upon their concerns. We are also all made aware of the facts of the case. And I get an interesting entry in my blog.

The Governor's Race

This week we heard of two new candidates to be listed in the Democratic Primary to run against the incumbent Republican - Phil Scott. All the current Democratic candidate are:

• James Ehlers - Who was a Colchester resident and is not living in Winooski. 
• Ethan Sonneborn of Bristol, Vermont
• Christine Hallquist of Hyde Park

Let it never be said that Vermont Democratic Party candidates are dull. I know James Ehlers. He's smart, dedicated to the environment (particularly drinking water) and veterans' issues. Ethan Sonneborn is 13 years old. Apparently there is nothing in the Vermont constitution regarding what age a candidate has to be in order to run for governor. Christine Hallquist is the CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative and also very smart. She was David Hallquist until 2015. 

Swimming Holes and Fine Points

On Thursday we debated a bill about swimming holes in Vermont. People die in them. But can a landowner be sued by the survivors? Current Vermont law reads as follows:

An owner shall not be liable for property damage or personal injury sustained by a person who, without consideration, enters or goes upon the owner's land for a recreational use unless the damage or injury is the result of the willful or wanton misconduct of the owner.

Seems pretty straight forward. So then we have this bill coming up for third, and final, reading on Thursday. A legislator interrogated the presenter, asking for clarification of the last sentence in the bill. It reads "An owner who posts a sign pursuant to this subsection shall not be liable for any damage or injury allegedly arising out of the posting. " The interrogating legislator asked, "Is the owner not liable for the injuries in the swimming hole or for the posting of the sign. Is the owner worried about someone injuring themselves on the sign or in the swimming hole?" The presenter of the bill was confused and unsure. He shuffled his papers as he stood. The crowd waited. The Speaker rescued him, "Would the presenter like to the House to stand at ease for a few minutes will you consult with leg council?"

A few minutes later came the clarification. It was, indeed, the posting of the sign that was the issue, not the swimming hole itself. The purpose of the bill reads - "This bill proposes to provide a landowner with immunity from liability for posting a sign warning about the dangers of swimming in a swimming hole on the landowner’s property. " The idea was that the owner cannot be sued for his sign not conforming to some legal description of what a proper posting might be. So if the sign had lettering that was too small to read he could not be sued for not properly warning about the swimming hole. This seems just a little ridiculous, but we passed it on to the Senate on a voice vote. I may be missing something.

Next Week

• Clean Water Funding should be on the docket for next week. 
• Education Funding has come back into the spotlight with House Ways & Means working on a significant change to Vermont Public Education Funding mechanism. I'm been collecting information on this, some of which is on my website (CT4VT.com) and hope to add to it. There is, as yet, no bill.

Week 4 - January 23th to January 26th

The Governor and the Budget

The Chamber Awaits the Governor

On Tuesday of this week Governor Phil Scott delivered his budget address to a joint session. That's the entire legislature (House and Senate) in the House chamber. There's a bit of ritual to this and a lot of applause. The end result is that he gives more specifics on how he would like to see the State's money spent. After the speech, the budget documents are released as well. Those contain the real statement of priorities. Every budget is a means of determining what is important and just how important. The Appropriations committee will take that document and make changes according to what the Representatives think is important. Then the Senate get's it's shot. There are a lot of negotiations mixed with politics.

Here's some of the reactions to the budget and the governor's address:

• vermontbiz.com
• VPR and Committee Chairs
• WCAX
• WAMC

Also this week the governor signed the marijuana legalization bill (H.511). In July it will be legal to possess an ounce or less of marijuana and grow six plants. There are a bunch of restrictions, but taxation or sales

Life churns along in the committees. Here's what my committee (Corrections & Institutions) worked on this week.

Weekly Summary

Rep. Maida Townsend

• Monday - not usually a day in Montpelier for me
• 7:30 Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Double Tree in South Burlington. Governor Scott spoke. Kind of a preview of his budget address later in the week.
• 10:00 Met with Colchester School District superintendent Amy Minor to discuss possible computer coding education opportunities and tech education.
• 12:00 In Montpelier to meet with Legislative Council about a public records request. More about that below.
• 2:00 State Treasurer Beth Pierce's hearing on Green Mountain Secure Retirement Plan. 
• 7:00 pm - Colchester School Board meeting to vote on proposed school budget. The Board passed the $40 million unanimously.
• Tuesday
• 10:00 to 10:30 on the floor after a rainy drive down from Colchester
• Colchester Representative Brennan's Highway Safety bill H.691 was introduced. Last session this bill on Highway Safety became the bill that legalized marijuana. It's being submitted again in hopes that it will not be gutted again. The bill will authorize primary enforcement of the seat-belt law for adults. This means one can be pulled over and ticketed for not have their seat-belt fastened. It's controversial and will be debated and result in a roll-call vote on Thursday.
• 10:30 - 11:30 Democratic Caucus - several bills introduced and questioned
• 1:00 - 1:50  - Governor's budget address
• 2:10 - In committee with Brad Ferland, Deputy Secretary, Agency of Administration to go over governor's proposed capital budget adjustments.
• 3:40 - Done in committee. I stayed and reworked my response to the public records request.
• 4:15 Done
• Wednesday
• 8:30 Mailed public records response
• 8:40 - 9:40 Neil Kamman, Senior Policy Adviser, DEC. This is a rather interesting mess. It related to construction project records being lost during Hurricane Irene. The chair decided to we need to hear from the State Treasurer who was scheduled for later in the day. This is part of H.559 submitted by Representative Deen of Natural Resources.
• 10:00  - 11;20  Karen Barber, Chief Legal Counsel, Department of Mental Health (DMH) Mourning Fox, Deputy Commissioner, DMH  and Annie Ramniceanu, Mental Health Systems Director at DOC also testified. This is a complicated interaction that I will explain in a later post when there are better document to cite. 
• 11:25 - 12:20 DOC - Mike Touchette, Deputy Commissioner of DOC and Lisa Menard DOC Commissioner to talk about the various services offered to inmates and to clarify how mental health and Corrections are intertwined. This is their Risk and Needs Assessment. 
• 1:00 - 1:17 On the floor
• 2:00 Back in committee with BetsyAnn Wrask, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Council to work on that Results Based Accountability issue from Thursday, January 11th. It has to do with measuring progress in reducing opioid use.
• 2:25 - 3:00 Free Time !!!! Check emails etc.
• State Treasurer Beth Pierce to weigh in on the Irene item. She said she needs to study it and consult with her Bond council. She also weighed in on how a lease-to-own process for the governor's proposed 925 bed facility might effect the state's indebtedness. Her conclusion was that it's better to bond than to lease-to-own.
• Thursday
• 9:00 - 9:30 Committee doing iPad training, so I skipped to take care of emails etc.
• 9:30 - 11:00 We took testimony on workforce related issues from Sarah Buxton, WIOA Policy and Implementation Analyst, Vermont Department of Labor (DOL) and David Lahr, Workforce Development Director, DOL. WIOA is the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act. Buxton described her work coordinating about 18 different funding sources for workforce training. We had a long discussion about educating, training and certifying prisoners such that they can find employment when released. This is just another side of trying to reduce recidivism in Vermont's Corrections system.
•  11:10 - 12:10 How is BGS (Buildings and General Services) spending the money we put into a budget line entitled Major Maintenance?  Testimony by Joseph Aja, Interim Director Design & Construction, BGS and Tabrena Karish, Building Engineer, BGS. Aja walked us through three spreadsheets: Funds left over from projects completed, Projects for FY18 and FY19 and Deferred maintenance projects. BGS is taking the $2.9 million left over from previous projects and rolling that into new projects. This turned into long and confusing discussion of what projects should receive committee approval before significant funds are spent.
• 1:00 - 2:05 On the floor - We have yet to have a really controversial bill come up for a vote. In the past, the question of seat-belt use has been one. In H.691, not using a seat-belt becomes a primary offence. That means cops can pull you over if you do not have your seat-belt fastened. Libertarians object because they don't want the government telling them to buckle up. Conservatives go along with the libertarians because of the Big Government issue. Progressives think it will be another example of police bias in pulling over drivers. But this time, there was little discussion. It passed on second reading and will come to the floor one more time this week.

  

  Vermont Veterans Home

• 2:22 Back in Committee for testimony about the Vermont Veterans' Home in Bennington. The capital bill financed a major renovation of the kitchen and food service there. Melissa Jackson, CEO of the Home gave a presentation about the project. Apparently the changes  have been very well received by the veterans. It's good to see the successful completion of something we helped to bring about.
• 3:00 Rep. Connor and I met with the speaker for a half hour to talk about the Clean Water Workgroup we're trying to get started. The hope is to better coordinate the funding of Clean Water projects.
• 3:30 Back in committee to hear testimony about a large software project being done by the Judiciary. The cost is about $12 million with most of that coming from the Capital budget. This software project coordinates many aspects of the Judiciary. 
• 4:00 Done with committee work.
• Friday
• 8:30 First up on Friday was the fate of the the Woodside facility in Essex Junction.
  
  Kenneth Schatz, Commissioner, Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Melissa Bailey, Commissioner, Department of Mental Health (DMH) re-iterated their preference that a new $14 million facility be built right next to the existing one. The current facility can house 30 juveniles (up to 18 years old). The new one will house 25. Apparently the need is actually lessening. This is NOT a Corrections facility. That has been the problem, because it sure looks like one. The Feds began saying it's a Corrections facility, so no Medicaid dollars. We say it's a Mental Health facility and should qualify for those dollars - about $4 million a year, I believe. 
• 9:30 - 10:20 On the floor. After about half an hour of introductions and resolutions congratulating various sports teams, we got to work on that Highway Safety bill (H.691) with the seat-belt change. There was only a little discussion, but there was a request for a roll-call vote. The result was 133 for and 7 against. I voted for it.
• 10:37 - 11:36 Were trying to understand the various levels of care in Vermont's Mental Health services. This is a long and complicated topic about what facilities are required for what mental illnesses and how one gets into and out of those facilities. It's hard to imagine how all this works, but we have a 16 bed facility that cost about $1 million a bed to build. The level of care is such that a patient can require 24-hour one-on-one (or even two-on-one) supervision, though that is rare and usually not for very long. We will have to revisit this several times to fully understand it.
• 11:37 - 12:05 What does forensic mean? What is a forensic mental health unit? What is a forensic mental health center? What is a forensic mental health hospital? When are each of those used? Who is in them and for how long? Lisa Menard, Commissioner of DOC did her best to describe this, but needed help from Karen Barber of the DMH to make much progress. We're getting close.
• 12:15 - Tax Workshop on Vermont's Public Education Funding System. Mark Perrault from the Join Fiscal Office (JFO) presented. They really need to set aside about 4 hours to really cover this subject and wear down all the people with detail questions. Mark stated that he was presenting the current system so that people will understand why it needs to change. This session there may well be a significant change - finally.
• 1:15 - 2:00 Met with Rep. Connor, Committee chair Rep. Emmons and committee Vice Chair Rep. Shaw to talk more about this Clean Water Workgroup.
• 2:30 - Done for the week.

The Details

A Public Records Request from a Camp Hill, PA Inmate

A Public Record Request

Last Sunday, when I finally got around to opening the mail I received in Colchester while I was in Montpelier I found a public records request. No one likes  receiving one. It means putting together all kinds of records that one may not really want to be made public. That includes emails, text messages, reports and such. Fortunately, as soon as one becomes a public person: school board, select board, town committees, legislators etc. etc. we are briefed on what can and cannot be requested and warned about what we record. We are reminded of what an old West End political boss from Boston, Martin Lomasney, said to young politicians everywhere — “Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink”. Eliot Spitzer added - “never put it in email”. And I have been careful.

Over the weekend I put together the few records I had regarding Camp Hill and the Vermont prisoners there, and Monday I drove down Montpelier to talk with Legislative Council about it. This is the specialty of one of the lawyers and she was very helpful. On Wednesday I put my reply in the mail and felt much better. It was just an added stress, another thing that has to get done by a date certain.

Receiving letters from inmates is not unusual. Almost all the members, and particularly the chair, receive them. I just haven't been sure what to do with them, because the inmate never seems to mention what I should do with the information I receive. On the one hand I don't really want to encourage communication but on the other hand I am on the Corrections & Institutions committee with some oversight responsibilities. So I don't want to ignore them.

The Deputy Commissioner of Corrections said I should turn any letters over to him and he will look into the issues. I believe now, that is what I will do. And I will send a note to the inmates telling them what I have done, urging them to use the proper channels for complaints and that they should document everything.

This is one of those parts of being an elected official that you don't always think of when considering running for office. We do receive hate mail and emails, threats (not me yet) and occasional kudos.


That Proposed Corrections Campus

Poster Made by Rep. Scheu

There has been much discussion in the State House and in the press about the Governor's proposed Corrections Campus for the St. Albans area. We try to make it clear that this is just a proposal. There is no money in the governor's budget for its construction, or even for scoping and/or feasibility. It's a concept and a possible solution for the need for renovation or replacement of several other facilities: NorthWest State Corrections Facility (NWSCF) in Swanton, Chittenden Regional Corrections Facility (CRCF) in South Burlington, Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex Junction and the  Middlesex Therapeutic Community Residence in Middlesex.

The proposed 925 beds are for the use of existing inmates. We would not be expanding capacity. The estimated cost is $150 million but how that money is found has yet to be determined. It could be a private/public partnership. It could be bonded money and over a ten year span. All this has yet to be determined. The immediate problems identified in the Agency of Human Services' report are:

• The replacement of the temporary Middlesex Therapeutic Community Residence
• The replacement or renovation of Woodside
• The construction of a building or reconfiguration of an existing building for those entering or within Corrections who require a higher level of care than that which can be offered within the existing Corrections system. This is the Forensic Mental Health Unit/Hospital/Center mentioned above.
• The expansion or replacement of the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital

Rumors of Education Funding Changes

At a dinner Thursday night I heard first mention of these proposed changes to how public education is funded. The chair of the House Ways & Means committee described some of the details that may well result in a 40% decrease in the statewide property tax rate. Considering that Colchester is looking at a possible 10% increase in that rate, I am interested. So is the press.

Voters have been crying out for the State government to do something about the confusing current system that has several loopholes and is really understood by few.

There is no bill as yet, but several people I spoke with seem to think there's a good chance of this being a bill and coming to the floor for consideration by the House. That will be interesting.

Next Week

• I'm hoping for more details on Ed Funding
• The Clean Water Workgroup is going to start interviewing representatives from other committees.
• On Tuesday there's to be a gun violence related hearing. The State House may be chaotic
• My Committee will have some sort of work session on the proposed Corrections Campus

Onward and Upward

Week 3 - January 16th to January 19th

Corrections in the Spotlight

Questions for Sec. Al Gobeille

Last weekend Al Gobeille (Secretary of the Agency of Human Services - pronounced GoBay) released  his long awaited report on how the major Corrections and some mental health facilities within the agency might be reconfigured. His recommendation is for a new 925 bed Corrections facility located in northwest Vermont. The cost? About $150 million. The decision on whether or not to follow that recommendation lies squarely within my committee (Corrections and Institutions). But first, the weekly summary.

There is also an official agenda online.

Weekly Summary

Rep. Maida Townsend

• Tuesday
• 8:30 - 9:20 Met with Mark Perrault and Chloe Wexler of the Joint Fiscal Office to learn details of Education funding in Vermont.
• 10:00 - 10:45 On the floor with some debate about H.593 Consumer Protections. The bill passed the house on a voice vote and is now in the Senate.
• 10:50  - 11:10 In committee. Some distraction as a robbery was in progress several blocks away at a credit union. But we listened to testimony from Representative Townsend regarding H.551, a bill to have the Green Mountain Boys flag flown over the capitol on the January 15th of each year to observe Vermont's independence.
• 11:15 Mike O'Grady from Legislative Council went over a letter detailing how we want some funds from last year spent by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
• 11:20 to Noon - Committee discussions in anticipation of Al Gobeille's report to be discussed publicly in the afternoon.
• 1:15 to 2:10 in public Democratic Caucus.  Bill presented on



Democratic Caucus

• Budget Adjustment Act - H.633
• Dam Safety - H.554
• 2:15 - 4:15 Public Committee Meeting on report from Al Gobeille. Recommendation for $150 million Corrections facility in Northwest Vermont. 
• 4:30 Done 
• 7:00 School Board meeting in Colchester to go over proposed Colchester School District budget

• Wednesday
• 8:30 - 9:50 In committee: Testimony from Chris Cole, Commissioner of Buildings and Government Services (BGS),  about that proposed facility we heard about the day before. He stresses that it will be run by Vermont employees and that this is an early step to get discussions started. It's up to us.
• 10:00 -10:25 Hilary Melton from Pathways Vermont, an organization that provides homes for the homeless and for inmates leaving Corrections.
• 11:00 - Noon - Dan Smith, a consultant on Information Technology presented his report card on various IT projects we are funding.
• 1:00 - 3:00 On the floor with a bit of debate and back and forth on the dam safety bill.
• 3:15 - 4:15 In Committee for testimony and discussion of Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) of opioid addiction in Corrections facilities. Heard form Annie Raminiceanu and others.
• 4:30 Done

• Thursday
• 8:30 In committee to hear testimony from Commissioner Lisa Menard of the Department of Corrections regarding the cost of transporting offenders within the Corrections system. DOC personnel, country Sheriff's departments and local police are all involved with the movement of individuals to and from court, to and from mental health facilities and between the state's Corrections facilities. It costs several million dollars a year in payroll and is an issue swirling around the proposed new prison facility. We heard testimony from several people including the Chittenden County Sheriff's Dept.
• 10:00 Video Arraignment - when a person is charged with a crime they are brought to a booking facility. The next step is arraignment before a judge. This involves transporting the person to the court. It takes two officers to transport a person: one to drive and one to keep an eye on the alleged criminal. That individual may be violent, may be drunk, or suffering from a mental health crisis. The use of a two way video system at the booking location could alleviate the cost and risk. But . . . there are two issues. One is privacy. There must be a way for the person being arraigned to consult in private with legal council and out of the hearing of others in the booking area. Video arraignment is also voluntary and advocates do not like the idea of individuals who are booked late at night or on weekends given the choice of a non-private video arrangement or a several night stay in the prison until a person-to-person arraignment can be arranged.
• 10:45 - Legislative council review of the meaning of forensic mental health unit vs. forensic mental health hospital. This is part of understanding the needs of the various mental health and corrections facilities throughout the state and the possible consolidation into a new campus in northwest Vermont.
• 12:00 to 1:00 Attended Climate Caucus to hear presentation by the Vermont Climate and Health Alliance.
• 1:00 - 2:00 - On the Floor - extended discussion of the Budget Adjustment Act ( H.633) and Dam Safety bill ( H.554). The Dam Safety bill required a roll-call vote.
• 2:30 - Back in Committee to hear from Michael Snyder, Commissioner, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation about a bill to clean up language relating to how state land is sold, exchanged or leased (S.149). Also heard from Senator Florey regarding the same.
• 3:30 - 4:35 - Efficiency Vermont testified about their work helping Buildings and General Services (BGS) save energy in state buildings.
• 4:40 - Done

• Friday
• 9:30 On the floor - No controversies
• 10:00 In Committee to hear testimony from Rebecca Ellis (Deputy Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation - DEC) concerning an Environmental Notice Bulletin they have recently implemented. This provides an online way for the public to see what DEC permits have been applied for throughout the state and what status they are in. 
• 11:00 Kari Dolan, (Clean Water Initiative Program Manager, DEC) and Emily Bird (Clean Water Initiative Program Analyst, DEC) testified about the Clean Water initiative. Emily presented this year's Clean Water Investment Report detailing projects throughout the state. Some information about these projects is available online in the DEC's Project Database.
• 12:00 - 1:00  Done with Committee - off to the tax workshop regarding Sales and Use, Rooms & Meals tax.
• 1:00 - 2:15 Meeting with the Speaker (Rep. Mitzi Johnson) about Clean Water Work-group. Corrections & Institutions Chair (Rep. Alice Emmons), Vice Chair (Rep. Butch Shaw), Committee member Dan Connor and myself met in the Speaker's office to talk about ways to coordinate with the other committees involved with Clean Water projects.
• 2:15 - More discussion - debriefing after the meeting with the Speaker.
• 2:45 - Done for the week.

How Taking Testimony Works

Sheriff McClaughlin testifies about the cost of transporting people inmates, offenders and those charged.

The picture was taken over the back of our Vice Chair. You can see that the room gets fairly crowded when someone of interest is there. The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Corrections are seated near the door. The lobbyist for the Vermont State Employees Association is seated on the bench to the left.

The person testifying sits at the foot of the table. The Chairperson is at the head. The chair usually gives a short introduction about the topic we're discussing then turns it over to the person testifying.

"For the record, I'm Chittenden County Sheriff Kevin McClaughlin . . . "

All testimony is recorded by our committee assistant and is available to the public upon demand. (Bring a jump drive to the committee assistant and specify which day). It is not available online. We do go off the record at times, but never when someone is testifying. Anyone can come into the room or leave at any time. The State House is a very open place. There are no back rooms reeking of cigar smoke. You  have to work to have a really private conversation under the golden dome.

Each committee, when taking testimony, is run differently, depending on the chair. But usually, if a committee member has a question at any time during the testimony s/he gestures subtly to the chair and waits to be called upon. So the chair controls the flow of conversation. People observing do not ask questions or take part in the testimony unless called upon by the chair. Some observers have gotten pretty antsy listening to statements they think are false or contrary to the interests of those they represent. They bite their tongue. Our chair is good about getting all sides heard.

Anyone can request to testify and are usually given a slot of time, but you have to do it in advance. Generally it is the committee requesting testimony from someone with regard to a bill or policy. Administrative personnel are constantly being called in to clarify a point or explain a process. We get to know the Commissioner of Corrections and the Commissioner of  Buildings & General Services pretty well.

We're a pretty reasonable committee (so far). No one has stormed out of the room, raised their voice in argument, or started throwing the food at the center of the table.

When a person is done testifying they, and any entourage, depart and we start the next. That's how we spend a good bit of the day.

Details

The last date for filing bills with Legislative Council for this biennium passed this week. In order to file a bill one must now go before the Rules Committee first and get clearance. Legislative Council has been drafting the bills, polishing the language and returning the bills to the bill's sponsor to be reviewed.  I'll do a more detailed Life of a Bill in a future post.

A New Corrections Facility?

As mentioned at the head of this post, the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services released his much awaited report on Corrections and Mental Health Facilities in the state. His recommendation is to consolidate several prisons onto a Campus in the northwest portion of Vermont, probably St. Albans. The House Corrections and Institutions Committee has, for nearly a decade, been requesting that someone in the administration take a hard look at the condition of existing facilities and the flow of inmates and mental health patients through the system, and changes in Corrections and Mental Health policies that effect the facilities. Now we have it. And we're not quite sure what to do with it.

In the State House and in the news the report generated immediate controversy as many thought the decision to build the $150 million campus had already been made. If you take a look at the report you'll get some idea of the complexity of this issue. A lot is tied up in Medicaid funding with all kinds of rules about what kind of facility they'll fund. Medicaid does not support the operations of prisons, but does support Mental Health facilities, if they are 16 beds or less, or of they are associated with a hospital, or if , or if, or if. 

Several issues need to be addressed soon, and by soon I mean early this session. There is a Secure Mental Health facility near Middlesex that is a collection of trailers put together after Hurricane Irene flooded the Waterbury facility. There are about 16 beds there for individuals that do not require a mental health hospital but are also not ready for release. One is a person charged with a crime nearly a decade ago but judged not mentally competent enough to stand trial. FEMA helped put the facility together with the understanding that it was temporary. But Irene was 2011 an FEMA is talking about taking their money back (about $2 million) unless we come up with some plan for a permanent facility.

We are desperate for some sort of Forensic Mental Health facility to process and hold inmates or those charged with a crime and suffering from severe mental health problems. Hospital emergency rooms are backed up with these cases. These are complicated issues that require the help of other committees and agencies. We're trying to figure a way to do that in an organized manner. Until then we tamp down concerns about a large new Corrections facility.

Clean Water

Last session I was part of a Clean Water Funding Workgroup that tried to coordinate interest, knowledge and decision-making about the funding of the Clean Water project. I didn't think it went particularly well. The Chair wants to fire it up again in some manner. That's why we had a meeting with the Speaker on Friday. The group, if created, needs the force and backing of the Speaker. Last session we were putting together a Capital Budget, a two-year budget, so now we just update it with a Capital Bill Adjustment. It will still take a bit of work.

The SFY 2019 Budget

This coming Tuesday the governor will address a joint session and deliver his budget address. That will give all of us a concrete measure of his commitment to various initiatives. The State Fiscal Year (SFY) budget is supposed to, according to the governor, contain no new fees or taxes. He has also asked his agencies to submit budgets to him that are level funded, meaning the same amount of money will be spent next year, as this year. This budget address and the accompanying numbers should be very interesting.

Education Funding in Vermont

I started educating myself on how public education in Vermont is funded when I first campaigned in 2012. I'm still working on it. Being a Legislator makes it easier. The Representative next to me Peter Conlon is on the Education Committee and has a reasonable grasp of the subject. I can ask questions of him when nothing important is going on in the House chamber. On Tuesday I also met with the person from Joint Fiscal that knows Ed Funding. I recorded our conversation so I can play it back over and over when I'm driving or sleeping. 

I'm hoping to add a post to this blog and my website explaining it all.

Feather in My Cap?

I have been appointed to the Legislative Information Technology Committee. I spoke with an ex-member and he said that it didn't meet for a year. We'll see.

Next Week

• Tuesday - Governor's Budget Address

Week 2 - January 9th to January 12th

State House Skating

The Summary:

The House is scheduled to meet on the floor at the following times.

• Tuesday - 10:00 
• Wednesday - 1:00
• Thursday - 1:00
• Friday - 9:00

 All other time is scheduled by each committee. Those schedules are set by the committee chairs. At various times throughout the week the chair, the vice-chair and the committee assistant huddle and refine the schedule. At any time a committee member can suggest that we hear testimony about a subject related to our work. Members of the public, lobbyists and organizations can ask for time to give testimony. The hope is to have the week's schedule finalized and posted on the committee page each Monday, but there are usually holes that get filled during the week. The time on the floor is not set in stone and can go for hours, depending on what bills are being considered. This results in a rapid reorganization of the schedule. Our committee chair keeps us busy.

• Tuesday
• Met one-to-one with Mike Touchette (Deputy Commissioner of Corrections) to talk about complaints I have received regarding the treatment of Vermont inmates at the Camp Hill corrections facility in Pennsylvania.
• 10:00 - House floor for 15 minutes
• 10:15 to Noon - Sexual Harassment training for an hour or so
• 1:15 - 1:50 - Democratic Caucus
• 2:00 2:30 Committee Discusion
• 2:30 Department of Corrections (DOC - Mike Touchette) testimony on various issues



Tuesday in the Cafeteria

• Camp Hill inmates (about 260)
• Community High School - That's the high school within the prison system
• Drones near Corrections Facilities dropping drugs etc. 
• Compact vs. Contract - We use an interstate Compact with PA for our inmates housed there. In the past we have had Contracts for out of state prisoners
• We have almost 20 inmates that are out of state, but not at Camp Hill. Five to seven of those are maximum security and 10 or so just need to be out of Vermont. Vermont does not have its own maximum security prison.
• Electronic Monitoring (EM) of those on house detention in Vermont has worked well but is not being used enough. Judges have not gotten used to it or do not know about it. Having 50 inmates on EM is supposed to save us money and free up beds, but we have only 11 home detention people on EM. 
• Video Arraignment in Vermont - still not used much. Privacy issues and prisoner advocates don't like it because the person is given the choice of a video arraignment now without privacy or you spend the night in prison and have a regular arraignment tomorrow.
• 3:45 - Break
• 4:00 - Review of bills on the wall.
• 4:15 - Done

• Wednesday
• Senate passes H.511 (Marijuana Legalization) by voice vote. The bill now goes to the governor. 
• 8:45 - DOC - Jennifer Fitch (Deputy Commission Building and General Services - BGS) gave testimony regarding some rather negative comments from the State Auditor about the running of BGS. Representative Emmonds (our Chair) first went through a review of why many projects were delayed by hurricane Irene and the flooding of the Waterbury Complex in 2011.
• BGS is/has implemented improvements in response to the audit.
• BGS would like to be able to have the Capital Bill pay for the cost of scoping and feasibility studies, but there is some question as to whether bonded money can be used for such short term projects that may go nowhere.
• 11:30 to Noon - iPad training. 
• All legislators are given an iPad. Many are unfamiliar with them.
• 1:00 on the floor for a short session
• 1:46 in Committee
• More BGS - This time the testimony concerned leases that are below market value. BGS is trying to clean these up and get them up to market value so that agencies using state building pay their fair share.
• 2:20 BGS presents information on the controversial move of the State Archives to the Historical Society Building in Barre rather than the original building in Berlin.
• 2:45 - 3:15: Louis Porter - Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife testified about the Roxbury Fish Hatchery project. The hatchery was destroyed by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Getting it back on line has been a problem. A portion of the reconstruction is paid for by the Capital Bill, hence our concern. The total cost of the project is about $7 million. FEMA is paying a portion of that (a little over a million). 
• 3:30 - Capitol Police Chief Matt Romei and Sargent at Arms Janet Miller spoke on safety, security, evacuation routes, how to respond to various threats,etc.
• 4:40 - Done

• Thursday



Members of the AGC in the cafeteria

• 8:38 - 10:00: BGS - Dan Edson Manager of BGS Energy Office - Testimony on energy conservation in State building and related projects. 
• 10:05 - 11:00 Association of General Contractors (lots of high-viz vests in the room) testified about how much they like the changes in BGS and problems they are having finding good workers.
• 11:10 Matt Agistino from Department of Corrections about a request they are making for budget adjustment. They need more money for out-of-state Corrections beds. 
• Representative Hooper from the House Committee on Appropriations also spoke about a perpetually extended sunset date for a bill having to do with public inebriantes (read: drunks).
• Noon - lunch
• 1:00 for five minutes on the floor
• 1:35 - Back in Committee for more budget adjustment testimony from Representative Hooper.
• 1:39 Betsy Ann Wrath - Legislative Council presented Government Accountability Committee (GAC) report, a portion of which we review. This is all part of the Results Based Accountability (RBA) effort by the legislature.
• 3:40 - Annie Ramniceanu, Mental Health Systems Director from DOC testified about pilot programs within Vermont prisons - Peer-to-Peer pilot has proved very successful.
• 4:30 - Done for the day
• Meeting with other Democrats until 5:15

• Friday
• 9:30 to 9:46 - On the floor
• 10:00 Back in Committee
• Mike O'Grady from Legislative Council testified about legal language needed to clarify how we want the capital money we gave to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) used.
• 11:15 - Discussion about GAC and Results Based Accountability, again.
• 11:30 - Done for the day with regard to Committee
• 12:15 to 1:00 Workshop on taxes. Explanation by the Joint Fiscal Office about how Vermont's income taxes relate to Federal taxes and the possible impact of change in the federal tax code.

Leader

Breakfast

Last session I gained about 15 pounds, and it wasn't muscle. Free food abounds at the capitol. There are breakfast buffets with doughnuts, coffee and bagels. There are receptions in the Cedar Creek room in the late afternoon with cheese, meatballs, shrimp, and chicken skewers. Everyone looks forward to the Maple Association's breakfast spread of pancakes and maple syrup. Organizations and lobbyists have learned that providing free food to legislatores is a first step toward winning their hearts, and sometimes their votes. 

But this session I'm trying to loose, rather than gain, those 15. I hide in our committee room. One of our committee members, Representative Martel, is kind enough to bring in a platter of cut fruits and melons, grapes and other healthy additions at the beginning of each week.

Details

There are a few topics in that outline that may be of interest

The Budget Adjustment Act (BAA)

The finances of the state is a primary concern of the House. The House Committee on Appropriations, which is responsible for how funds are spent, meets five days a week while other committees have Monday off. Members of that committee are generally not on the floor when the House is in session, unless there is an important vote. They are constantly in committee.

When the session begins in January one of the first issues to consider is the BAA. In January we are about half-way through the state's fiscal year (July 1st to June 30th). It's time to check how the spending and revenues have been going and make adjustments. Adjustments to the budget are suggested by the  governor. Appropriations (actually referred to as Appropes) then considers those adjustments, along with suggestions from other interested parties, and put together a bill, in this case it's H.633. That bill should come before the House for a vote next week. There's a lot of scrambling going on to get it done. The House vote is not just a rubber stamp. Approval of the bill might fail, so Appropes consults with effected committees, explains the changes, seeks committee votes or memos approving the changes. That's why Representative Hooper was in our committee room on Thursday.

As soon as the BAA is done and approved, Appropes must start on the budget for the next fiscal year. They will work on that until the very last day of the session in May or June. That's not because they can't get things done. It's because any bill may require financing. Bills past late in the session may need lines in the budget. That's one of the reasons why the budget passes at the very end of the session.

State House Security

The State House is often referred to as The People's House. During normal hours the doors are not locked. There are no weapon detectors at the entrances, but there is a sign outside each entrance. A member of the public can wonder freely through the building. It is, after all, an official museum. Committee room doors are often closed, but that is to keep out the noise from the hall. People can come and go into, and out of, any committee room at any time. When school groups come to the building there are backpacks left just about anywhere. The lieutenant governor is in the building (he presides over the Senate) and it is not unusual to see the governor in the halls. This drives those responsible for our security crazy.

There are a number of entities involved. The state police are responsible for the governor's safety. The capitol police cover the state house. Building and General Services has security personnel responsible for the other builds within the capital complex. And there is the Montpelier police, though we see little of them.

So there is always a degree of tension between those who think we need more security and those that want to assure that we remain open and available to the public. In general, we go about our business and don't worry about it.

Bills on the Wall

The expression Bills on the Wall is literal. When a bill is introduced for first reading it is assigned to a committee. All committee rooms have bulletin boards where a piece of paper for that bill is posted. The paper states the bill number, a one sentence description and the names of the person or committee that created the bill. Placement on the board shows what status the bill is in: 

• In Committee - nothing has been done yet
• Tabled - we're not going to do anything with it
• Active - we're working on it
• Acted on - we're finished with it and sent it to the House for action 

Different committees have different ways of organizing their bulletin boards and what groupings they use, but it easy to find out what bills are in what status at any time.

Results Based Accountability (RBA)

They're buzzwords but I'm willing to give it a try. The idea is to add some structure and accountability to the workings of the state government. There is a Government Accountability Committee (GAC) created in statute that oversees the process. Here's a brief summary of how it all works.

What population are we dealing with?

The first step is to identify the effected population. In this case this would be the citizens of the great state of Vermont.

What are the goals?

What are we trying to do? What should the outcomes be? The GAC has concluded that there are 10. They are listed in this document as:

1. Vermont has a prosperous economy
2. Vermonters are healthy
3. Vermont's environment is clean and sustainable
4. Vermont is a safe place to live
5. Vermont’s families are safe, nurturing, stable, and supported
6. Vermont’s children and young people achieve their potential
7. Vermont’s elders live with dignity and in settings they prefer
8. Vermont has open, effective, and inclusive government
9. Vermonters with disabilities live with dignity and in settings they prefer
10. Vermont’s State infrastructure meets the needs of Vermonters, the economy, and the environment

What are the indicators?

How do we measure our success or failure in achieving these lofty goals? That's what we worked on in committee on Thursday. We determined that goal number 4 (safety) is a central concern of our committee. We reviewed the indicators for goal 4 and suggested changes. Here are the indicators:

1. rate of petitions granted for relief from domestic abuse per 1,000 residents;
2. rate of violent crime per 1,000 crimes;
3. rate of sexual assault committed against residents per 1,000 residents; 
4. recidivism rate;
5. incarceration rate per 100,000 residents;
6. number of first-time entrants into the corrections system

We added a 7th having to do with opiodes.

The hope is that we can regularly look at the indicators to determine how well we are moving toward our goal and make adjustments along the way.

I'm interested, but somewhat skeptical. 

Climate Change

On the day this session began, the speaker gave a speech in which she stressed the importance of climate change. She also asked that each committee do something to address this issue. Our committee chair brought this up while taking testimony from BGS about energy usage in our state buildings.

BGS testified as to the savings they had achieved by various projects but the chair insisted that they not only measure dollars saved, but carbon emissions reduced as well. We want to further reduce our carbon footprint.

Revolving Loan Funds

There are several revolving loan funds available from the state of Vermont. They are an interesting concept, particularly those relating to energy conservation.

The usual revolving loan fund is a pool of money from which loans are given. The loan is then paid back to the fund so that more loans can be given out. The hit to state is that first chuck of money that sets up the funds, so it works well.

Within the department of Buildings and General Services there is the State Energy Management Program (SEMP) that manages two funds: the State Resource Management Revolving Fund (SRMRF) is a standard revolving loan fund for energy related projects within state government. It began with $1.5 million. The other is the State Energy Revolving Fund (SERF). It is unique in that the money saved by the efficiency project is paid into the loan. So if a project saves $20,000 a year in electric costs, $20,000 every year is paid, by BGS, into the fund. I need to ask a few more questions about this one.

Next Week

There's talk of a bill to get around the Feds cutting subsidies for Obamacare. That's something referred to as Silver Loading or the Silver Switcheroo. It's complicated but intreresting.

I'm meeting Tuesday with the expert from Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) to get yet another explanation of Education Funding in Vermont. A long story.

Week 1 - January 3rd to January 5th

State House just before the Bomb Cyclone

What a start !

For those who want a quick synopsis of the week, here's what happened:

• Wednesday - Marijuana build up
• On the way to Montpelier I met with Laura Subin from the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana and also a member of the Taxation and Regulation subcommittee of the governor's  Marijuana Commission to hear her side of the marijuana legalization issue
• The Judiciary Committee took up amendments to the Marijuana Legalization bill
• Corrections & Institutions Committee started going over possible Capital Budget adjustments
• Thursday - Marijuana amendment, debate and passage
• House floor at 9:30 to begin amendments to Marijuana Legalization
• Governor's Address at 1:00
• House floor for Marijuana amendments and debate
• 6:15 pm passed marijuana legalization - The bill will legalize the possession of one ounce of marijuana and the cultivation of 6 plants. I voted against it. Details of the bill can be found on the Outreach - Marijuana page of my website (CT4VT.com). If passed by the Senate (expected) and signed by the governor (also expected), it will go into effect July 1st of 2018.
• Friday - Committee Work
• Corrections
• Buildings and General Services
• Left early due to weather

The Details - Marijuana

History of the bill - 2017
The marijuana legalization bill (H.511) has a long and tainted history. It started in the House Transportation Committee and was first introduced in March of 2017 (this is called the First Reading even though the bill is not actually read aloud). That committee is chaired by Colchester Representative Pat Brennan. The official subject of the bill reads as follows:

Subject: Motor vehicles; driving under the influence; open container; learner’s permits; seatbelts; incident clearance; liability

The only mention of marijuana in the bill was to provide a penalty for consuming marijuana while driving or for having an open container of marijuana in a car. The same goes for any passenger. H.511 was sent to the Appropriations committee by Rule 35(a) which says that if a bill affects the revenues of the state (in this case fines and enforcement costs) it must go to the Appropriations Committee for consideration and a committee vote.

By the end of March it was out of Appropriations with a recommendation for approval and back on the House floor. That was the Second Reading. By the end of March it had passed its Third and final reading with only small changes and was handed over to the Senate. This was not a controversial bill. All the votes on the House floor were voice votes and hardly noticed.

The last day in March the senate read it for the first time and sent it to their Committee on the Judiciary. And there it sat . . . . until the end of June! It's not that it had suddenly become controversial. The committee was not engaged in continuous heated debate about whether or not a person should be able to have an open container of marijuana in the back seat while driving. It was just never considered. Too many other things to do . . . until the end of June.

The fact that no action was taken before June is not surprising. In general, for a bill to make it through both the House and Senate during the first year of a biennium it must get passed over to the Senate by about Town Meeting day in early March. That date is called the cross-over date. H.511 had not made the cross-over date so was likely not to be considered in the Senate until the second year, 2018.

The surprise here is that it burst to life in June of 2017 when, just past midnight on Friday the 19th of May, the House and Senate had passed the budget and ended the 2017 session. We had all gone home in hopes of staying home until 2018.

But the Governor vetoed that budget, and we were back in session for a very short veto-session near the end of June. We needed to figure out what to do about the vetoes. The Great State of Vermont cannot function without a budget and the spending of that budget was slated to begin July 1st.

H.511 was suddenly up for consideration in the Senate. Generally a bill progresses fairly slowly along its twisted path from introduction to signing by the Governor, but near the end of session and during this veto session things happen fast. Rules requiring a bill to sit for a day between readings can be suspended (if three-fourths of the members present agree). The Senate quickly amended the bill and sent it back to the House. A bill can be sent back and forth several times, but cannot get to the governor until both bodies have voted to accept it.

Had smoking marijuana in a vehicle suddenly become a make-or-break issue? No. There was more going on here.  The reason H.511 was back on the agenda was because one of the vetoed bills was S.22 which legalized marijuana.

The history of S.22 is another long story that need not be detailed here. Suffice it to say that it had become a bill to legalize the possession and of a small amount of marijuana and the cultivation of a half-dozen plants. Sound familiar? It should. That's what the current H.511 does. Because S.22 was vetoed it would need a two-thirds vote to override the veto and become law. Everyone knew that wouldn't happen. So the Senate grabbed H.511 out of Committee and turned a highway safety bill into a marijuana legalization bill that would only require a majority vote to be passed by the House and sent to the Governor. The rumor was that the governor might approve it this time.

The Senate journal from that day in June reads as follows regarding H.511: "the Senate propose to the House to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following." And what followed is the guts of S.22. H.511 had become S.22. All Representative Bennan and his committee's hard work was written over with marijuana legalization.

Now, in order for the House to consider the revised H.511 the bill had to follow the rules that slow down the legislative process, including the need to sit for 24 hours. To avoid this delay a motion was made to suspend House rules and take up the bill immediately.

When the House voted to suspend rules and consider the new H.511, I was so disgusted with the process and sympathetic to Representative Brennan that I voted "No." The motion failed and H.511 was not considered. Marijuana legalization was dead for the 2017 session.

2018
But now it's 2018, the second year of the two-year biennium. Bills left over from the previous session are up for consideration. If they don't get through the House and Senate this year, they die.

Nothing had been done with H.511 when we ended that June veto session. It remained, waiting for action by the House. Something had to be done. When I asked House leadership why we were considering this issue during the first week of this session, that was the answer I received. We have to do something with it. Of course, we could have sent it to a committee, or, I suspect, delayed it by some other means but Leadership wanted to get it done.

The Majority Whip (Tristan Toleno) who is responsible for knowing how people intend to vote on any upcoming bill had asked me about my vote. I knew an informal vote count had been done and Leadership figured they had the votes to pass the bill. Otherwise they probably would not let it get to a floor vote.

House Judiciary about to consider H.511

On Wednesday of this week the House Judiciary committee debated the changes the Senate had made during the veto session as well as a couple additional amendments. They voted to support the changes when it would come up for a vote on Thursday.

Bomb dog

Thursday was busy. This was the day Governor Phil Scott would address a joint session of the House and Senate. As a result, there were uniformed security: state police, capitol police and a bomb-sniffing dog roaming the State House.

We convened on the House floor at 9:30 am and shortly after the devotional and announcements we took up H.511. Aside from the amendments considered the day before in committee, there was a host of additional amendments. There was an interesting twist to this in that rules dictate that if the House agrees to the amendments discussed in Committee, then no other amendments can be considered. This would have been a great opportunity to use a little trickery to keep any more amendments from being considered. Those wanting to get this bill into law wanted as few changes a possible because it still needed to go back to the Senate for approval of any changes and it must not be vetoed by the governor. But the Speaker (Mitzy Johnson) was careful to explain the process and assure that ALL amendments would be considered.

We had copies of each amendment and each was presented by it's author. There were maybe a dozen. Most of the amendments had also been presented to the Judiciary committee, which then took a vote as to whether it was considered favorable or unfavorable. Before each vote by the House, the vice-chair (Chip Conquest) of the Judiciary stated how the committee voted, and why. All this takes time. We debated and voted on amendments until about noon, when we turned the House chamber over to Security for a complete sweep for weapons or bombs.

The Governor's Speech

Governor Phil Scott Addressing the Joint House and Senate Assembly

In the picture above you see the Senators sitting along the back wall of the chamber. There is a degree of ritual involved in getting them and the Governor to their proper places. I won't go into this now, as this blog entry is already too long.

The speech explained, in broad strokes, what the governor hopes to accomplish during the session. The details of how that might be done will come when he presents his proposed budget near the end of January. The hope is to grow the economy, fight the opiate crisis, lower health care costs and much more without raising taxes or fees. I look forward to the budget presentation.

After the governor and all the senators left, we were back at work on H.511 with more amendments. Many of the amendments were roll-call votes requiring the recording of each member's vote. You can find my votes under Voting Record tab on this page. I will post the important ones to my website (CT4VT.com). In this case, I only voted "yes" on one; to limit the amount of home grown marijuana anyone can have at one time.

The Marijuana Legalization Vote
At 6:20 pm we finally had considered all amendments and came to the final vote on the bill. This was a roll-call vote. I voted "no." It passed with 81 in favor, 63 apposed and 5 absent. The Speaker quickly brought the day to a close. The bill has now been sent back to the Senate, which is expected to approve it without changes. It will then go to the governor, who is also expected to approve it. Assuming all that happens, it will go into effect on July 1st of this year,

Montpelier on a stormy night

 As the weather was turning foul, I spent the night at the Capitol Plaza.

Friday - Corrections and Institutions (C&I)
Action on the House floor began at 9:30. But with everyone wanting to get home before more bad weather and the weekend arrived we adjourned at 9:55. Work in my committee (C&I) began at 10:00.

During the two hours before lunch we took testimony from the Commission of Corrections (Lisa Menard) regarding the Department of Corrections' report on using the Windsor facility as a secure transitional housing and re-entry facility.

We also took testimony from the Commissioner of Buildings & General Services (BGS) regarding the status of various projects funded by the Capital Bill which is under C&I jurisdiction.

At 12:15 I attended a presentation by the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) on taxes in Vermont. This is part of a series that will be presented each Friday for the next month or so.

And at about 2:00 I headed home to Colchester.

Other Issues In the Hopper

• A bill (H.564) submitted this week regarding the long term funding of the Clean Water Initiative
• Constituent concern about a statewide coyote hunting derby 
• Mobile home park rental increases in Colchester
• Prisoner complaints from the Camp Hill facility in Pennsylvania where about 250 of our inmates are housed.

It was a busy and interesting week, and I'm glad to be back at it. There is a lot that needs to be done this session.