Legislative Report 1/11/2016 - Reflections on the State of the State

The first week of a legislative session features a joint session of the House and Senate called to hear the Governor address the state of the State.  Amid the formal ceremony in the chamber of the House where the members of the Senate sat in their special seats near the podium, distinguished guests sat in additional chairs in the center of the well of the House, and other special guests sat among the members of the House and in the balcony, Governor Shumlin gave the last state of the State address of his six year tenure.

He made note of many accomplishments including a renewable energy policy that has grown thousands of new jobs while holding down electric rates, a strong and successful response to tropical storm Irene, success in getting 16,000 Vermonters health insurance they didn't have before, refocusing the criminal justice system from incarceration to rehabilitation, and expanding access to higher education for Vermont students through various innovative programs. On a lighter note, he touted the successes of the micro-brew, cheese and local food movements.

Looking to the future he focused on the economy, education and marijuana legalization among other things.  He said he is looking forward to signing the Paid Sick Leave bill, which passed the House last year, is expected to pass the Senate early this session. He announced a $1 million grant from the Enterprise Fund to Global Foundries to make 100 temporary jobs permanent.  And he called for quickly postponing or repealing the caps on education spending enacted in Act 46 last year. This approach is in contrast to the direction proposed by members of the House to raise the cap by 0.9%.

I was pleased to see that the Governor stipulated five criteria before he would sign any legislation legalizing recreational marijuana: 1) the market must keep it out of the hands of kids, 2) it must be taxed low enough to prevent a black market, 3) revenues must be used to expand addiction programs, 4) there must be a way to detect driving under the influence, and 4) it should include a ban on the sale of edible marijuana products.  These criteria are necessary but, in my opinion, there should also be a detailed analysis of the experiences of Colorado and Washington regarding the increased usage, especially by teenagers, and the additional costs to society as a result of DUI, marijuana tourism, and the use of other drugs accompanying marijuana use.

The Governor's focus on addressing the opiate crisis remains unabated.  He harshly criticized the FDA for approving stronger pain killers and the use of Oxycontin for children and denounced the pharmaceutical industry for transforming “compassionate pain management” into “pain for profit.”  He proposed limiting prescriptions for opiate pain medications after minor procedures to 10 doses at a time, increasing the periodic drug take-back events, and expanding the use of the prescription drug monitoring database to physicians and pharmacies in nearby states to reduce cross-border abuse.

Finally, I am proud that he continues to support accepting refugees from the civil war in Syria who pass the extensive and lengthy background checks by UNHCR and our own State Department.  As this past Sunday's Doonesbury strip noted, why should a potential terrorist go the refugee route when it is easier to just get a tourist visa?  Our country must continue to show compassion to those genuinely seeking shelter from terrorists rather than creating a fortress mentality.  After all, we are “the land of the free and the home of the BRAVE,” are we not?

 

I welcome your thoughts and can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com). 

The Word in the House 3/21/2013 - Crossing Over

Last week marked “crossover” at the Statehouse.  Any bill, in order to stand a chance of becoming law this year, had to be voted out of its committee of jurisdiction last Friday.  This was true whether the bill originated in the House or the Senate. Those bills will now come to the floor of their respective body for a vote where they will have to pass before being sent to the other body. 

The Transportation Bill, which I wrote about last month will be voted on this week.  Several amendments are expected to be offered from the floor, but I expect that it will pass with a tripartisan majority.  Here are some other bills of general interest that we will be voting on. (Passed 3/21/13)

Health Care: A technical corrections health care bill, H. 107, makes a number of changes to Vermont law to bring Vermont's health insurance statutes in line with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  It also clarifies a 2009 law that requires insurance companies to cover the cost of mammograms and colonoscopies without an additional copay.  Some people have been charged for certain procedures associated with their mammogram or colonoscopy that could be considered a violation of the intent of the 2009 law.  This bill explicitly affirms that all parts of the screening need to be covered without additional copay.

The House also passed H.315 that requires companies headquartered out of state to provide to their Vermont employees with same sex married or civil union partners the same benefits provided to employees married to opposite sex partners.  Some businesses were not doing so because it wasn’t required by law and it wasn’t their policy.  They made it known that they would not challenge this legislation if it passed. 

Opiate Addiction and Methamphetamine Abuse: Vermont has some serious problems with issues related to drug addiction and abuse. The Human Services Committee combined elements of H.331, H.212, and H.65 in a single bill, H.522, relating to “Strengthening Vermont’s Response to Opioid Addiction and Methamphetamine Abuse.” It includes work done by the General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

In order to further attempts to prevent abuse of prescription drugs, one part makes changes in how the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System (VPMS) is to be used. It would allow the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of Health to provide a report of data in the VPMS to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, but only when it is necessary to avert a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public. Any request from Public Safety for data must document a bona fide specific investigation and specify the name of the person being investigated. The decision by the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of Health to provide that report can be made only after consulting with at least one of the patient’s health care providers.

Another part of the bill requires that any health care provider who prescribes and any dispenser who dispenses a Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance must register to use the VPMS. A health care provider will be required to check the VPMS at least the first time the provider prescribes one of those controlled substances to a patient and annually thereafter so the provider will know if any other providers are also prescribing the same or similar medications.

In order to improve access to treatment and recovery for Vermonters with drug addictions, the bill asks the Department of Health, in collaboration with several relevant organizations, to develop evidence-based guidelines and training for hospitals regarding screening for addiction, performing addiction interventions and making referrals to treatment and recovery services. It also includes a statewide pilot project seeking to prevent deaths from opioid overdoses by using a counteracting drug such as Narcan.

Another section relates to the use of an electronic registry system to record the sales of products such as Sudafed and others with similar ingredients that are used to make methamphetamines. This is to prevent individuals from purchasing those products in quantities that would indicate the products would likely be used to make meth rather than for legitimate health purposes. Passage of this bill will provide help for Vermonters with drug addictions as well as attacking other aspects of the drug problems in Vermont.

This bill also contained the provisions regarding precious metal dealers that require licensing and accurate record keeping in order to deter the exchange of stolen articles for cash. (Passed 3/21/13)

I have heard from many of you on a variety of topics and continue to welcome your input. You can email me at myantachka.dfa@gmail.com or call me at 425-3960.

The Word in the House 3/29/2012 -- Tanning Beds & Rx Databases

If you’ve ever watched a foot race, you know that as two runners in a dead heat approach the finish line, they go all out and sprint to the finish!  Something similar happens in the legislature when “crossover day” is in sight.  Crossover is the point in the legislative session when any bill that has a chance of passage on the floor of the House or Senate must be voted out of committee.  Any bill that doesn’t make this cut is dead for the session.  As you can imagine, this results in a flurry of bills that have been worked on for weeks finally being sent to the floor for a vote.  Crossover happened on March 16^th, so this past week saw dozens of bills reach the House floor for a vote, and almost all were passed and sent to the Senate for that body’s consideration.  Likewise, the House will be taking up bills that were passed by the Senate in the weeks to come. 

One of the bills that was passed is H.157 relating to restrictions on tanning beds.  The impetus for this bill is the recognition that cases of melanoma have increased dramatically both nationally and in Vermont over the past few decades.  While melanoma affects Vermonters of all ages, it is the number one cancer among young adults aged 25 to 29 and is one of the most frequent malignancies among teenagers.  Indeed, Vermont has one of the highest per capita melanoma rates in the country, 29 cases per 100,000 versus 26.5 per 100,000 for the U.S.

Indoor tanning during youth appears to be particularly dangerous.  The use of indoor tanning before the age of 30 increases a person’s melanoma risk by 75%.  Since 1998, the number of teens reporting the use of tanning beds nationally rose from 1% to 27%.  In Vermont 21% of teens reported using tanning beds.  For this reason H.157 makes it unlawful for a tanning facility or operator to allow any person who has not yet reached the age of 18 to use any tanning equipment. 

Any tanning facility violating this law is subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation up to $1500 for the third and subsequent violations.  The bill also allows an exemption for use of this type of equipment by a licensed physician for medical purposes or by a person who owns tanning equipment exclusively for personal, noncommercial use.

Another important bill is H.745 relating to Vermont’s prescription drug monitoring system.  Prescription drug abuse has been a growing problem in Vermont.  It has led to increased crimes of prescription fraud as well as crimes of theft by addicts in an attempt to fund their habits.  Doctors and pharmacists play an unwitting role when abusers shop doctors for multiple prescriptions and have them filled at multiple pharmacies.

The purpose of H.745 is to maximize the effectiveness and appropriate utilization of the Vermont prescription monitoring system to prevent the abuse of controlled substances without interfering with the legal medical use of those substances while providing opportunities for treatment for abusers of these substances.

The bill requires the prescription to include the date of birth of the individual as well as the quantity of the substance written in both numerical and word form to prevent quantities from being changed.  Prior to dispensing a prescription for a controlled substance, a pharmacist must require the individual receiving the drug to provide a signature and show valid and a current government-issued photo ID as evidence that the individual is the patient for whom the prescription was written, the owner of the animal for which the prescription was written, or the bona fide representative of the patient or animal owner. If the individual does not have valid, current government-issued photographic identification, the pharmacist may request alternative evidence of the individual’s identity, as appropriate. 

Prescription data is maintained in the Vermont Prescription Management System (VPMS) database maintained by the Department of Public Safety.  The bill allows specially authorized law enforcement investigators to request access to VPMS from the Commissioner of Health when abuse is suspected, but only if they have obtained a warrant.  This protects patients, doctors and pharmacists from unreasonable access to their data by investigators.