Patience and persistence: these are two
qualities that I learned are essential to working in the legislature.
The issues that the legislature has to address are often very
complex and do not lend themselves to simple solutions. Measures
that are enacted sometimes fail to have the desired effect and have
to be tweaked by subsequent legislation.
Governor Peter Shumlin in his 2014
State of the State speech to the legislature identified opiate abuse
as a major crisis in Vermont. While Vermont stood alone at the time
in putting a spotlight on this problem, it is now acknowledged to be
a national epidemic. Since that time much attention and finances
have been focused on the problem in Vermont. Yet it persists and
continues to grow. Vermont is still one of the top five states for
heroin use as a percentage of adult population. This has resulted in
a 38% increase in caseload for the Department of Children and
Families due largely to children of opiate-addicted parents. One
piece of good news is that Vermont has the lowest rate of drug
overdose deaths in New England. The opioid problem is one of several
major issues the legislature will continue dealing with as we begin
the 2018 session.
Another issue that will require many
more years of attention is the condition of our lakes and streams.
This is not only an environmental problem, but an economic one as
well. Tourism is a major part of Vermont's economy. Algae blooms not
only detract from the appeal of Vermont to tourists, but they lower
property values and impact health. Treasurer Beth Pearce identified
enough financial resources to fund a $25M/year mitigation program for
two years. We're already through the first year, so we need to come
up with a sustainable source of funds for this decades-long task.
Governor Scott is advocating bonding to solve the problem, but this
just pushes the cost of the cleanup to future generations. We need
to be courageous enough to deal with this problem in the present.
Another persistent problem that will
take courage and foresight to address adequately is climate change.
We have to reduce our use of fossil fuels. Vermont's Comprehensive
Energy Plan calls for a 25% decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG)
levels by 2050. However, while we have made healthy strides in
reducing the carbon footprint of our electricity generation, the
amount of GHG emissions in Vermont has increased by 4% over
1990 levels. Our transportation and heating requirements have driven
this increase. Governor Scott's Climate Change Commission has worked
during the summer to suggest steps that can be taken to reverse this
trend. A group of legislators, including myself, have also been
working with environmentally conscious businesses on a strategy that
will be rolled out in January. We look forward to working with the
Scott administration to adopt a plan that will be good for Vermonters
and Vermont's economy.
I can't end without mentioning the
challenges that the recently passed Trump Tax Act will cause for
Vermont. The Green Mountain Care Board has already projected health
insurance costs to increase because of the repeal of the individual
mandate that requires everyone to have health insurance. The response
of many Vermonters to prepay their 2018 property taxes to take
advantage of the disappearing deduction for state and local taxes
will impact revenues for 2018 and beyond unless we modify our own
income tax formula. Federal budget reductions that will be required
to balance the tax cuts will put further pressure on states to
compensate for programs that will suffer, thereby putting many
low-income Vermonters, our efforts to clean up our waters, and our
state budget at risk.
I wish you all a happy, healthy and
prosperous 2018 and look forward once again to keeping you informed
about the legislature while we are in session. I encourage you to let
me know your concerns and opinions. I can be reached by phone
(802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).
