As the final installment of my
Legislative Reports this year, I thought it would be good to
highlight some of the important work the Legislature did over the two
years of the biennium.
Water Quality
In 2015 legislation was passed that
will help prevent agricultural runoff from farms, roads and other
impervious surfaces by controlling discharges that could violate our
water quality standards. The Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs)
that all farms must follow are in the final stages of development and
should be released in September, 2016. The Agency of Agriculture will
provide technical and financial assistance to help farmers comply and
there is funding in the budget to help towns comply with water
treatment and road runoff mitigation.
Governance
Legislation was passed this year that
will allow voluntary regional collaboration by municipalities around
a range of services, including ambulance, solid waste, fire
protection, and land use planning to achieve economies of scale. The
law promotes transparency, local municipal voice, and treatment of
municipalities as equal partners. The Legislature relaxed the
requirement on how often municipal plans need to be updated from
every five years to every eight years to allow more time for plan
implementation. We also passed a bill that automatically registers
eligible Vermonters to vote when they apply for a state driver’s
license making it easier for our citizens to exercise their
fundamental right to vote.
Human Services
The Legislature continues to focus on
efforts to keep our children safe. At the end of 2015, there were
1052 children in state custody placed in foster or adoptive foster
homes or in foster homes of relatives. In the past two years, reports
of child abuse and neglect have surged and the state has experienced
an 82% increase in the number of children under six who are in the
state’s custody. In 80% of these cases, families are struggling
with problems related to opioid addiction or other serious substance
abuse. In addition, the tragic death of a DCF social worker allegedly
by a parent this past summer has continued to place our state’s
child protection system under pressure. The number of case workers
added last year has not kept pace with the increase in cases, and
more social workers will be hired along with substance abuse
screeners to address this ongoing problem. More is being done to
address the opioid addiction problem as well, including treatment,
education, prevention, and increased market-constraints such as
increased fees on pharmaceutical manufactures to help fund mitigation
programs. A key provision is a requirement for health care providers
and pharmacists to register with the Vermont Prescription Monitoring
System (VPMS) and to query the system upon prescribing or dispensing
a controlled substance to help eliminate prescription fraud and the
diversion of controlled substances.
Natural Resources & Energy
Over the past decade, Vermont has led
the nation with its energy efficiency programs, lowering both
electricity costs and rates. In 2015 the Renewable Energy Standard
Act was passed which will eliminate the double-counting or Renewable
Energy Credits (RECs) and is helping Vermonters transform their
energy use in the heating and transportation sectors. This year we
recognized Vermonters’ concerns over the proper siting of solar and
wind projects and passed legislation that will give municipalities a
greater voice in these decisions if they develop energy plans to
address the state’s goals for renewable energy in collaboration
with their Regional Planning Commissions. We also required the Public
Service Board to develop noise standards for wind projects in
recognition of complaints about existing projects. We passed
legislation this year that will preserve and maintain the health of
Vermont’s forests, and we ensured that conservation easements that
were always meant to be perpetual will continue to be so by removing
the 40 year renewal requirement and ensuring that the easement
remains with the property if a tax sale of the property occurs.
Working Vermonters
Legislation passed this year guarantees
working Vermonters the right to earn paid sick leave up to three days
per year, increasing to five days in subsequent years. We also
increased subsidies for child care facilities to provide
high-quality, affordable child care for working families. Because of Act 176 of 2014, the minimum wage in Vermont is $9.60/hour and is scheduled to increase to $10/hour on January 1, 2017.
Education
The Legislature continued to address
the increasing cost of education by encouraging school district
consolidation under Act 46 passed in 2015 and made some changes early
in 2016 to address budgeting issues being faced by school boards.
Several districts across the state have already voted to merge and
more, including Chittenden South, are expected to vote in the next
couple of months. Chittenden South will hold its vote on June 7th,
and I encourage everyone in Charlotte to take the time to vote in
person or by absentee ballot. You can find information about the
proposal at act46.cssu.org. I strongly recommend
reading the Final Report to inform your vote.
I can be reached by phone
(802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).
I wish you all a wonderful summer and hope to see you around town.
