Current News

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org No budget and tax deal had been formally reached as of Thursday and there was a late-night scuffle in the House over a minimum wage bill, but legislative leadership in the House and Senate say the legislative session still could end Saturday. The conferees of the Senate and House budget and tax committees were engrossed in closed-door negotiations late last night and they are expected to announce a deal this morning. House Speaker Shap Smith says if the budget and tax conferees can resolve an outstanding $2.2 million gap, the path could be clear for Saturday adjournment.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Democratic leadership has found a way to resurrect a health care reform bill that earlier in the week looked as though it were on life-support. In its new form, S252, a bill that originally had set deadlines for the development of financing plans for Green Mountain Care, now includes no scheduled date requirement for the Shumlin administration to reveal how it plans to pay for a government-funded universal health care system. Senator Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, had said at a Tuesday conference committee meeting that the House and Senate versions of S252 could not be resolved in a timeframe that would allow the conference committees compromise to get approval in the House. That’s because House Republicans had said they would not vote to suspend the rules to allow it to be brought to floor more quickly.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org As part of a plan to shore up Vermont’s retired teachers’ health care fund, schools likely will have to pay an annual health care fee for new hires. The joint House-Senate budget conference committee gave preliminary approval to the $1,072 fee Thursday night, along with several other aspects of a multi-million dollar, decade-long plan to shore up the fund. State treasurer Beth Pearce asked lawmakers for a July 1 start date for the assessment on new teacher hires, which would have impacted current year school budgets. But lawmakers rejected that request. They do not want to disrupt school budgets that have already been set. The conferees decided the state will assess the $1,072 fee for new teacher hires after July 1, 2015.

By the time the new hire assessment kicks in, the fee will be slightly higher, as it is indexed to inflation.

A new report evaluating grass biomass energy as a potential heating fuel has been released. Grass Energy in Vermont and the Northeast summarizes current research on the agronomy and usage potential of grass as a biofuel, and points to next steps for the region to fully commercialize this opportunity. The report was released last week by the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative, a program of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. The full report can be found on the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative website.

Joined by farmers, environmental groups, businesses – including Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim -- and others from across the country, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin today signed a first-in-the-nation law requiring the labeling of food produced from genetic engineering.“Vermonters take our food and how it is produced seriously, and we believe we have a right to know what’s in the food we buy,” Shumlin told the crowd gathered on the State House lawn for the signing event. “I am proud that we’re leading the way in the United States to require labeling of genetically engineered food. More than 60 countries have already restricted or labeled these foods, and now one state – Vermont -- will also ensure that we know what’s in the food we buy and serve our families.”

by Walter Judge The Vermont legislature has passed a bill that mandates, effective July 1, 2016, the labeling of food that contains – or might contain – genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The governor signed the bill Thursday afternoon. Although two other states have passed GMO labeling bills (Connecticut and Maine), Vermont’s bill is a first-in-the-nation bill because it does not contain a “trigger” clause, as the Connecticut and Maine laws do. The trigger clause in Connecticut’s and Maine’s laws means that those laws do not take effect until some other state’s labeling law goes into effect first. The idea behind including a trigger clause is that it reduces the likelihood that the enacting state will be sued by the food industry because, by definition, it will not be the first state to mandate labeling.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its A (Strong) financial strength ratings for National Life Insurance Company and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, the two insurance companies of National Life Group. At the same time the rating agency revised the outlook on the group’s insurance companies to positive from stable. According to Standard & Poor’s, the “positive outlook reflects our expectation of continued improvement in operating performance, very strong capital adequacy, and strong fixed-charge coverage.”

Mehran Assadi, president and chief executive officer of National Life Group, said he was extremely pleased with S&P’s decision to revise the group outlook to positive from stable.

“This action reflects our strong positive growth over the past few years,” he said. “We have been setting sales records as well as setting records in net income, total assets under management, insurance in force and statutory surplus.”

Wyatt Investment Research, based in Richmond, Vermont, is circulating a petition asking US Attorney General Eric Holder to end high frequency trading. "We represent a coalition of individual investors who are deeply concerned about the state of the financial markets in the United States," said Ian Wyatt, president and publisher of the Vermont-based investment research company. "We believe that High Frequency Trading is an illegal activity that gives certain stock market participants an unfair advantage. There is clear and convincing evidence that trading firms, Wall Street banks, stock exchanges, and online brokerage firms all profit from High Frequency Trading."

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Public Service Department Commissioner Christopher Recchia announced today the receipt of $5.3 million from Entergy Vermont Yankee for the development of clean energy, and confirmation that Entergy has deposited $10 million as its first payment into the Vermont Yankee Site Restoration Fund. Both payments were part of the Settlement Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Entergy and the State signed in December 2013.

The $5.3 million will be administered by the Public Service Department’s Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) to aid in the development of renewable energy sources across Vermont. As required by the MOU, the CEDF will spend at least 50 percent of these funds for clean energy development activities in or for the benefit of Windham County. The Site Restoration Fund will be held in trust and grow over time until it is needed to help restore the Vernon site.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org Lawmakers have passed a bill designed to prepare the state for the implementation of its universal recycling overhaul under Act 148. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. The program is set to phase in this year. Starting July 1, large food waste producers located within 20 miles of a composting facility will be required to compost. Next year, recyclables will be banned from the landfill.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org A House version of a bill to regulate toxic chemicals in children’s products will not have an easy time in the Senate, the bill’s lead sponsor said. “I think we’ve budged as far as we can go,” said Senator Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, who introduced the legislation. House lawmakers Wednesday voted to strike several Senate changes expanding the scope of S.239, including Lyons’ amendment allowing the health department to require manufacturers to label or remove chemicals it considers harmful from products that children come into contact with.

A Springfield woman who led efforts to clean up the Black River was presented the GMP-Zetterstrom Environmental Award at a State House ceremony Tuesday. Kelly Stettner, who founded the Black River Action Team, which celebrates, cleans up and protects the Black River in southeastern Vermont, was selected from eight nominees for the annual award, named for famed osprey advocate Meeri Zetterstrom. The award comes with $2,500 to continue BRAT’s work.