Current News

Vermont Tax Commissioner Mary Peterson issued the following statement following on-line retailer Amazon's decision to pull advertising from companies located in Vermont: "Amazon has precipitously cut advertising contacts with Vermont online companies. Amazon's regrettable actions have nothing to do with the cloud issue, which refers to sales tax on some software. Instead, Amazon purported to act on the basis of Vermont's "click through advertising" law; a law that was passed in order to put pressure on Congress to enact the Marketplace Fairness Act – legislation Amazon publicly supports – and level the playing field for Main Street businesses. The governor has been outspoken in urging Congress to act."

National and local economists will explore the 2015 economic environment in the coming year with a focus on what shape the national and state economic recovery will take this year and beyond. The 24^th (and final) annual Vermont Economic Conference will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015, at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center and is hosted by The Vermont Economy Newsletter and sponsored by TD Bank, KPMG, and Entergy Vermont Yankee. The times and topics for the speakers follow:

9:10 – 10:10 Gus Faucher, Vice President and Senior Macroeconomist at PNC Financial Services Group, will speak on The Economic Outlook for the U.S. and Vermont. Mr. Faucher is often quoted in the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and NPR.

Middlebury College has kicked off 2015 with a new look and family of names for its schools and programs. The Vermont institution today introduced a brand identity system that embraces the full breadth of its educational endeavors by placing the Middlebury name on each of its schools and programs. While best known for its undergraduate liberal arts college, which was founded in 1800, Middlebury has, over the last 100 years, built itself into a more complex institution that meets the educational needs of many types of students around the world. Today Middlebury educates as many graduate and summer students as it does undergraduates.

Vermont Business Magazine Under the proposed plan, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will be decommissioned through the SAFSTOR alternative at a total cost of $1.2 billion and will be completed in 2075. Employment, which generally ran about 600 workers through its operating cycle, will drop over the next few years to about 125 workers while the plant is put into a dormant state and then employment will stay under 50 workers for the next 40 years until several hundred workers are needed for the final dismantling of the plant starting in 2068. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments on the report submitted by Vermont Yankee owner Entergy outlining its decommissioning plans for the Vernon plant.

by Tom Pelham Among the great centers of volunteerism in Vermont are local school boards. For decades, Vermonters have stood for election to local school boards to help guide these vital community institutions. Some run as parents, seeking the best education possible for their children and their neighbors’. Others run to contribute management skills to assure their local school district is efficient and property taxes kept under control. And others run simply to serve.

The countless Board meetings are often a grind, sorting through personnel actions, facility maintenance decisions, state regulations, ever changing methods of standardized testing, and the annual budget cycle, among others. Yet, in the end, these volunteers must be recognized by their results, which rank Vermont as one of the best education states in the nation.

Governor Peter Shumlin may have dropped his support for a single-payer healthcare plan, so advocates are turning to the Legislature to keep the effort alive. Hundreds of people from across the state are planning to come to Montpelier tomorrow morning to fill the halls of the Vermont State House on the opening day of the legislative session and call on elected representatives to respect Act 48, which commits the state to move toward a universal, publicly financed healthcare system. Specifically, the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign will be asking the Vermont Legislature to take up Governor Peter Shumlin's financing proposal and hold a public hearing.

The state of Vermont is attempting to use the clout of its pension investments to get one of the world's largest corporations to change its business practices. Vermont and a coalition of 47 global investors are challenging the ExxonMobil Corporation to adopt quantitative goals for reducing total greenhouse gas emissions from its products and operations. Upon the request of State Treasurer Beth Pearce, the Vermont Pension Investment Committee recently approved the co-filing of a shareholder resolution asking ExxonMobil to report to shareholders by the end of November on its plans to achieve these goals.

“As a shareholder, VPIC can request that ExxonMobil examine its practices,” explained Pearce. “We believe that clear greenhouse gas emission reduction goals will make Exxon more competitive and in turn protect shareholder value and address climate risk. By requesting this as part of an investor coalition, Vermont has a significant seat at the table to advocate for change.”

The Board of Directors at Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union located in Bennington, and VSECU, a statewide credit union for everyone who lives or works in Vermont, have announced a plan to merge the membership of the two credit unions. This is the second recent Bennington CU merger for VSECU.

Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union serves approximately 450 EVEREADY employees and their families. At Bennington E/E Federal Credit Union there is a growing desire to expand services and increase access to technology for its members. The plant management supports the Board’s decision to present this merger opportunity as a solution to bring additional services and benefits to their employees.

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc, will permanently keep all jewelry off its shelves in Vermont and pay the State $42,500 in settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office in July 2014. The suit alleged that Dollar Tree, a national discount chain based in Chesapeake, Virginia, violated a prior settlement with the state to minimize children’s exposure to toxic substances by refraining from selling jewelry in Vermont. Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell noted that the new settlement “reflects my continued commitment to keeping products that may contain toxic substances out of the hands of Vermont’s children.”

by Amy Nixon vtdigger.org The House Education Committee faces a daunting task: balancing the need for improved public education against a public outcry for tax relief. Representative Dave Sharpe, D-Bristol, the chair of the committee believes the mission — to improve public education and find cost efficiencies — is achievable.

Rep. Dave Sharpe, D-Bristol

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) has announced that Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, has joined its cooperative. The insurance company, with offices in Addison, Texas, and Montpelier, Vermont, is part of National Life Group, a Fortune 1000 company. Life Insurance Company of the Southwest will have access to liquidity through FHLB Dallas’ line of advances and other credit products.

“We are a significant supporter of residential mortgages, low income housing, and commercial multi-family loans through our investment portfolio,” said Don Messier, 2nd vice president of corporate development at National Life Group. “We have a good partnership with FHLB Dallas and our membership provides us valuable flexibility and access to liquidity that help us better protect our policyholders.”

As of September 30, 2014, a total of 30 insurance companies held membership in FHLB Dallas, one of 12 District banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932.

Medicaid and the expansion of insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act has resulted in more uninsured Vermonters being covered for health insurance. Governor Peter Shumlin on Monday said he welcomed news that the Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey shows the number of Vermonters without health insurance has dropped significantly and reiterated the need for aggressive health care reform efforts to increase access and affordability of health care for all Vermonters. The governor said that he will outline his health care reform agenda in his annual Budget Address next week on January 15.