Vermont law requires children in school to complete a schedule of immunizations outlined by the Department of Health, but allows for medical, religious and philosophical exemptions.  While medical exemptions were never an issue, and religious exemptions are likely protected by the US Constitution, the right to use a philosophical exemption came under fire, sparking a lengthy, passionate and respectful non-partisan debate in the House last week.   The following is by no means a thorough review of the issues.

Two major themes emerged as to whether non-immunized or partially immunized children should be admitted to school based on the philosophical exemption. Very generally, one side said the health risks were exaggerated or incomplete arguing for a parent’s right to make informed choices about their children’s health.  The other side did not deny this right, but argued that this did not give them the right to put others at risk for serious preventable disease.

Each side was passionately presented, backed by philosophy, statistics, history and rights that I will not go into here.  Both sides seemed baffled by the position of the other.  The Health Care Committee dug deeper into the issues, taking testimony from over 100 individuals and groups.  Throughout this process, many of us came to believe that simply removing the philosophical exemption was not likely to be the silver bullet so many desired and might do damage in the process.  Ultimately, attention turned to the data on vaccination rates in Vermont, and the government’s role.

The …

The “Miscellaneous Tax” bill passed in the House this week with only 14 “no” votes.  It now heads to the Senate where it will likely undergo modification.  This bill addresses a variety of tax issues related to property, sales, electrical generation and rooms and meals.  It also addresses several administrative and tax payer advocate issues.  Based on contacts from Shelburne residents, the property tax issue is likely to be of greatest interest, the largest changes coming to those who qualify for adjustments under income sensitivity.  First, the doubling of income from dividends and interest comes to an end.  Second, the bill amends current law giving the tax commissioner discretion to grant extraordinary relief to homeowners who were unable to file income sensitivity on time.  Third, it allows health savings accounts or HSA’s to be deducted from the income calculation.   The bill also updates the rooms and meals tax so that residents living in independent living facilities are seen as living at home thus do not pay tax on meals.

One issue that drew debate was the change in taxation for Vermont Yankee.  Vermont Yankee has been subject to two memoranda of understanding or MOUs under which it has made payments to the state that range from $3-8 million per year.  These payments have funded the Clean Energy Development Fund or CEDF and the last payment will be made in March 2013. To replace these payments, the tax on electrical generation and property was increased to bring a projected $6 million in annual revenue to the state. …

Q. and A.

Q. What does H.559 do?

 A.  H. 559 covers a range of topics.  Here are the important ones:

• Insurance market reforms compliant with the federal Affordable Care Act
• Integration of Medicaid with the Exchange, renewal of Global Commitment, and pursuit of a plan to integrate health care for individuals eligible for Medicaid and Medicare
• Creation of the most viable and dynamic exchange possible that  also supports Vermont’s long-term health care reform goals
• Refinement of the hospital budget process, certificate of need process and rate review functions of the Green Mountain Care Board

Q. What are the insurance market changes in H.559?

 A.  H. 559 proposes these changes related to the exchange:

• Defining small groups to include 100 employees or less beginning in 2014 rather than 2016
• Requiring all individual and small group coverage to be sold in the exchange
• Allowing grandfathering for groups of fifty or less and for associations (but under federal law all plans will continue to lose grandfathered status when benefits or cost-sharing provisions are materially changed)

Other insurance changes include:

• Ending the use of discretionary clauses
• Prohibiting annual benefit limits and capping out-of-pocket payments for pharmaceuticals

Q. Why define small group as 100 employee lives or less rather than 50 or less in 2014?

 A.  First of all, if we choose 50 we are only postponing for two years the federal requirement that small groups include 100 employee lives or less in 2016.

Vermont’s goal of a single …

Happy Valley is at the 100% CLA rate; in other words, their appraisals are commensurate with property values and sales. The State has set a base spending rate per pupil at $8723 however Happy Valley plans to spend $12,000 per pupil.  Residents are wondering how their tax bill is calculated.  All have properties valued at $250,000 except for the last, valued at $600,000.

…

The two most excruciating tasks facing the House this week are 1) defining legislative districts resulting from populations changes between the 2000 and 2010 census and 2) restructuring mental health services following the closure of the state hospital in Waterbury. If you like everyone to be happy, these decisions are not for you. I anticipate lively and perhaps painful debates as we struggle to reconcile the best options for Vermont in ways that are fair, effective and oriented toward the future.

Hidden under those bills is H.464, a bill addressing enhanced extraction of natural gas, aka hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” It brings to light the need for us to carefully balance our hunger for viable energy sources with our need to protect our natural resources, in this case, clean, drinkable water. I offer here a small window into the legislative process.

So what are the concerns of hydraulic fracturing in Vermont?

Governing Magazine identified fracking as one of the “issues to watch in 2012.” Although Vermont does not appear to have a good source of recoverable natural gas, there are some shale deposits in the northwest corner of the state that could be of interest for extraction in the future. Of note, neighboring Quebec has found some economically viable sources of natural gas.

Hydraulic fracturing (differentiated from benign hydro-fracturing for well water) involves injecting millions of gallons of water in a mixture of approximately 90% water, 5% sand, and 5% chemical additives in order to direct pockets of gas trapped …

In contrast to the histrionics in Washington, the State House is abuzz with work not politics. OK, maybe 90% hard work, 10% politics. I took some time on Friday to visit the 14 House committees to give you a picture of activity there. The following is not meant to be an exhaustive list; rather a few highlights out of the 600 or so bills that have been introduced during the 2011-12 sessions. Space precludes presenting all 14 committees. I have focused here on legislation growing out of the spring and summer flooding emergencies along with a few non-flood issues that are likely of interest.

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS: The bulk of committee time will be devoted to reapportionment, aligning the 150 House and 30 Senate seats with changes in population identified in the 2010 census. October through December, the committee held community meetings around the state to hear response and recommendations to the August Legislative Apportionment Board report (chaired by Shelburne’s Tom Little). I still find it somewhat odd that we do apportionment in this way. Shelburne’s House seats will likely remain the same.

FISH, WILDLIFE AND WATER RESOURCES: We are developing two major bills, one related to river corridor management; the other, which I will be spearheading along with Representative Bob Krebs, will address Lake Champlain. These bills will capitalize on the large amount of learning gleaned from the 2011 spring flooding and Tropical Storm Irene.

NATURAL RESOURCES and ENERGY: The committee has begun a wide-ranging discussion on how to achieve …

While health care and closing the $176 million budget gap dominated the news this session, many other activities were in action in the State House. A few of these are identified here.

Growing Our Economy
We are entering a hopeful time. Our state and national economies are showing signs of a sustainable recovery. Economic growth and expansion are real possibilities for the first time in years. And, we are already seeing results in increased tax revenues and forecasts. It is still a delicate time, so we must be careful to encourage and support continued growth.

The House worked this year with the new administration, our industries and advocates to lay plans to support our economic future. Working on a broad range of initiatives, we were able to form a strong tripartisan consensus on sustainable ways to help our economy grow.

We want to grow more food and more cell towers. We want to grow more business capital and grow more jobs and job skills. We want to grow new opportunities for our veterans and the unemployed. And, along the way, we want to grow consumer protection – for both individuals and businesses.

The keystone of our work this year was returning agriculture to its rightful place as an economic development priority of our state. Significant provisions of the jobs bill will grow the farm-to-plate movement, community-supported agriculture, and value-added enterprises that transform farm products into consumer products.

We also recognized that our future economy will rely heavily on broadband internet …

“I hate the games,” one legislator colleague said to me. “I didn’t come here to play games. I came to help direct policy and appropriate money through principled actions.” We both agreed that we did not want to develop legislation based on politics, but on informed decision making based on principle and deeply held noble values.

We had a lengthy discussion that night about principled behavior vs. political theatrics and back room negotiating. Little did I know that the next morning, one of my bills was to go through some significant gamesmanship by a senate member who would attempt to finagle the bill into extinction through procedural maneuvers, a member of my own party, no less. My side was able to prevail by anticipating his moves and deploying procedural rules in response. Nothing here was illegal or unethical; just using the rules for one’s own agenda.

Both of us had good intentions, I assume, just different. He was doing an end run to help a constituent who wanted to own an unknown number of white tail deer and moose held in a captive hunt facility. I was working to put all of our wildlife in the public trust, insuring that our wildlife could not be reduced to private ownership. So who was right? What is the balance between doing what local constituents ask of you when it may stand in conflict with values held by Vermonters outside of your community? At times, we are servants of two masters: our individual …

Middle school teachers of literature often say that the first act of a play ends with a question mark, the second with an explanation point and the third with a period. Following this analogy, I would say we have reached the end of the second act with a resounding exclamation point coming from the chambers of the Senate.

The most interesting place to be right now is the Senate with the budget and the tax bill passing last week and the unified health care bill slated for this week. Parodying the voice of Hamlet: to tax dentists, or not to tax dentists; to increase taxes on the wealthiest Vermonters, or not to increase this tax; to increase the tax on cigarettes, (although “not to tax” was never considered) – by 27 cents as passed the House, or $1 as passed the Senate Finance Committee? Following seven amendments and heated debate, the tax bill passed, raising about $24.5 million in new taxes, which included a 53 cent tax hike on cigarettes and the dentists were, once again, spared.

In contrast, H.441, the appropriations bill, often referred to as “the big bill,” passed easily with only one dissenting vote, resolving the $176 million budget gap for 2012 with the largest cuts to human services.

These bills will return to the House this week where changes between the House and Senate-passed versions will be reconciled in the House Appropriations Committee for the budget bill and House Ways and Means for the tax bill. …

I have placed some links which you can find on the right side of this site under “Kate’s Links.” You will find the latest version of the bill which passed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on a unanimous vote after some additional revisions. Anything that said “single payer” has been stripped from the bill and some of the charges and responsibilities of the board have been reduced. There is also a link to other documents including frequently asked questions.

Feel free to email questions to me: klwebb22[at}mac.com and if appropriate, I will post answers on this website as they come in. Send to my email rather than replying on this site. Messages left on this site get lost in the hundreds of spam that come in. …