Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Markowitz, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources from 2011 until 2017, was one of seven 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients invited to the EPA New England Environmental Merit Awards Ceremony in Boston in May.

“The Rubenstein School is very fortunate to have Deb Markowitz as part of our faculty,” said Dean Nancy Mathews. “Her significant contributions to environmental protection and leadership serve to make her a role model for students and faculty alike.”

Vermont Business Magazine At a well-attended press conference at noon today in the governor's fifth floor conference room, Governor Scott said he would veto S22, the marijuana legalization bill the Legislature passed late in the session. The bill would legalize possession of a small amount of pot while allowing individuals very limited production only for personal use. Unlike in Colorado, the Vermont law would not establish commercial production and sale of marijuana. Scott then sent the official veto letter to the Senate: "I cannot support this legislation and return it without my signature." This could be just the first of three vetoes for the first term governor, as he indicated last week he would also "return" the budget and property tax bills over the teacher health insurance issue. The Legislature is scheduled to reconvene June 21 to address the vetoes and possibly attempt to override them.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Attorneys General have reached a$33 million settlementwith Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson (“Defendants”), the settlement resolves claims that Defendants, through subsidiary McNeil-PPC, Inc, unlawfully promoted over-the-counter drugs as complying with federal current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) when they did not comply. Under the terms of the settlement agreement Vermont will receive $377,832.59 for costs and fees associated with the litigation.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Health Network has named Eric Miller as the Network’s deputy general counsel and senior advisor. The appointment was effective Monday, May 22. Miller served as the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont from June 2015 to February 2017. He also served on the UVM Medical Center Board of Trustees from January 2014 to June 2015 while practicing law as a principal in the law firm of Sheehey, Furlong & Behm PC. During his tenure at the firm from 1999 to 2015, Miller provided strategic advice and representation to businesses and individuals, with a special focus on health care related matters.

Vermont Business Magazine One of the most influential members of the state Senate will now lead one of the state's most complex and important regulatory bodies. Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of Kevin Mullin as chair of the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB). The Board is responsible for regulation, innovation and evaluation within Vermont’s healthcare system, with a mission to reduce the rate of healthcare cost growth while ensuring high-quality, accessible care for Vermonters. Scott also named Maureen Usifer as a board member. The five-member Board was down to three members. The appointments begin immediately.

byJohn McClaughry The sudden political struggle over health insurance for unionized teachers isn’t over but some useful lessons are emerging. This struggle was triggered by a provision of ObamaCare called “the Cadillac tax”. Starting in 2018, plans with premiums of over $10,800 a year for individuals and $29,500 for families will face a crushing 40% tax on those premiums.

Congress has delayed the Cadillac tax before, and could do so again. But next year school employees need to be in one of the Vermont Education Health Initiative plans designed to escape the tax.

In mid-April, with the Senate hard at work on the House-passed budget, GovernorPhil Scott suddenly produced a major new proposal or, it turned out, a demand.

Public Assets InstituteEmploymentticked down slightly in April. But the drop followed a slow 17-month growth trend. Vermont’s unemployment declined after therecession, but not all of the people who left the unemployment lines went back to work. Employment also dropped for many months, until 2015, when it began to climb again.

Vermont Business Magazine ThePeople’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced that it has awarded $2,500 to Mobius for its Quality Mentoring System (QMS).

QMS is a national evaluation system developed by MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership) to ensure that mentoring programs are meeting all of the best practices in the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™. In collaboration with Vermont mentoring programs, Mobius - a statewide nonprofit supporting more than 140 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites serving 2,300 mentor pairs - has adjusted this national system to fit the local needs of the Vermont mentoring community.

Comments Of Appropriations Vice Chairman Patrick LeahyOn Vermont’s Priorities And President Trump’s Budget. . . Budget Slashes Vermont Priorities And Undercuts Rural Communities.

Vermont Business MagazineHighlighting the need for legal services in rural andlow-income communities across the country, Attorney General Donovan today joined abipartisan group of 32 attorneys general in urging Congress to oppose the TrumpAdministration’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

Attorney General Donovan said: “For more than a half-century legal services for low-income Americans have represented a critical anti-poverty element of our legal landscape. Legalservices funding provides greater access to justice for those that do not otherwise haverepresentation. That is why funding for the Legal Services Corporation is essential and why wecall on Congress to oppose reductions to an historically bi-partisan commitment to legal servicesfor the poor.”

Vermont Business Magazine The second graduating class of Castleton University passed across the stage at its 230^thCommencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, bringing to close the 2016-17 academic year. Governor Phil Scott addressed the more than 3,500 guests in attendance and thousands more streaming the ceremony live online. Scotturged the graduates to understand that the best, is yet to come.

“If you never stop listening, learning, exploring, and expanding your comfort zone,” said Scott, “Life will indeed get better. Promise yourself you'll never settle, neverbe afraid to pursue opportunities, and you'll find your passion.”

Castleton President Dave Wolk began the proceedings byreflecting on his many years at Castleton and previous Commencement ceremonies, acknowledginghislast as Castleton University President.

Vermont Business MagazineSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) responded to President Donald Trump's budget at a press conferenceTuesday. See below for a full transcript andclickhereto watch the speech.