Current News

The House Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a medical marijuana dispensaries bill, endorsing an amendment that will study potential tax revenue from legalizing and taxing pot. Another amendment, which would have added post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of conditions that qualify a person to obtain medical marijuana, was withdrawn on the floor.

Both the Senate and the House committees decided not to include PTSD. Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, whose agency runs the medical marijuana program, lobbied against it.

After some back-and-forth, the House included an amendment to study potential revenue that could be gained by taxing and regulating marijuana in Vermont. Some worried that even a study is a step toward legalization.

The Boards of Directors of PMH Credit Union in Bennington, and Vermont State Employees Credit Union, a statewide credit union for everyone who lives or works in Vermont based in Montpelier, have announced a plan to merge the institutions. According to the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, VSECU is the second largest credit union in the state with over $600 million in assets and PMH is the 22nd largest and has about $4 million in assets (New England Federal Credit Union is the largest with about $1 billion in assets).

In a joint statement released Wednesday afternoon, Janet Hollner, Chair, PMH Credit Union, and Kimberly B Cheney Chair, VSECU, said: "We believe the strategic decision to unite for the good of our members will provide mutual support for growth and an improved member experience for both memberships.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI) has been named to the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) as part of a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced earlier this month.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell launches a sweeping effort to address the growing problem of illegal and predatory online lending. “Online lenders are taking advantage of thousands of low and moderate income Vermonters. They offer illegal short-term, very high-interest loans via the internet.” said Attorney General Sorrell. “These predatory loans are designed to entrap consumers in long-term debt. Fortunately, we have strict lending laws to combat such schemes and we are announcing an aggressive, comprehensive effort to keep these lenders out of Vermont.”

The Attorney General announced actions against lenders and their payment processors under Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act, because the lenders are unlicensed and charging interest of up to 600-700%; 300% on average.

Joined today by lawmakers and others who supported Vermont Olympians at the 2014 Winter Games in February, Gov. Peter Shumlin hosted five athletes in his State House Ceremonial Office and thanked all 19 Vermont Olympians for their strong performance in Sochi, Russia.

“You made your state proud,” the Governor told the five -- Hannah Kearney of Norwich, Ida Sargent of Orleans, Sophie Caldwell of Peru, Liz Stephen of East Montpelier, and Susan Dunklee of Barton. “We cheered for you, celebrated your performances, and were thrilled that such outstanding athletes represented Vermont in the Winter Olympics.”

The athletes were also recognized on the floor of the House of Representatives by the Legislature, and presented medallions created by Simon Pearce artisan glassblowing company headquartered in Windsor, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Joe Flynn today asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a damage assessment in areas of Vermont impacted by flooding from April 15-18. The assessment is to determine if counties in the state qualify for federal Public Assistance disaster funds to help repair public infrastructure damaged in the floods.

“Following a cold and snowy winter, a period of warm weather was followed by a heaving soaking rain starting April 15. This caused flooding and flash flooding which resulted in significant damage to roads and other infrastructure until April 18th, when waters receded allowing state and local roads to be opened and repairs to begin.” Flynn write to FEMA’s Acting Regional Administrator Paul F. Ford.

by John Herrick vtdigger.org A rival fuel dealer’s opposition to the construction of a gas station at the Costco big box store in Colchester is winning friends in the environmental community. Retail giant Costco is proposing a gasoline station at its Colchester location that it says would lower gas prices in the area. But since the project was first proposed in 2007, a competing gas station owner has been fighting the project on environmental grounds.

RL “Skip” Vallee, owner of the Maplefields chain of gas stations and convenience stores, is taking his case to a state environmental court this summer to challenge the Agency of Natural Resources’ recent decision to approve Costco’s wetlands permit.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Controversial legislation often takes a circuitous route through the Legislature, and such is the case with H.883, the education governance, or school board consolidation bill.

On Tuesday, expectations among members of the House Education Committee were high. They anticipated tweaking the legislation in House Ways and Means and their own committee and then watching the bill get voted out of House Appropriations on its final journey to a floor vote.

But that’s not what happened. When lawmakers brought H.883 to Appropriations they hit a wall.

Rep. Martha Heath, D-Westford, announced that her committee would not be voting the bill out on Tuesday. Instead, they took testimony from Rebecca Holcombe, the secretary of the Agency of Education, on educational outcomes and accountability measures as members from House Ed ringed the room intensely watching the proceedings.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The groundbreaking GMO labeling bill passed by the Senate last week sailed through several House committees on Tuesday and was passed by the House Wednesday.

The House concurred with the Senate changes to the bill, and the legislation will move forward without going through the conference committee process.

Governor Peter Shumlin and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell issued the following statements after the Vermont House concurred with the Senate.

Shumlin said, “I am proud of Vermont for being the first state in the nation to ensure that Vermonters will know what is in their food. The Legislature has spoken loud and clear through its passage of this bill. I wholeheartedly agree with them and look forward to signing this bill into law.

The Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence (CLAAD) sent a letter to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin on Thursday urging him to use concerns over Zohydro ER, a new opioid pain medication, "as a lightning rod for change."

The American Academy of Pain Management and National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association co-signed the letter asking the governor and health commissioner to participate in a "multi-lateral meeting to develop a more thorough approach" to stemming Vermont's prescription drug abuse epidemic.

Drug overdoses kill over 38,000 Americans per year -- more than car crashes or incidents involving firearms. Of those deaths, more than 22,000 involve prescription medications, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Eight Vermonters and Vermont organizations have been nominated for the 2014 GMP-Zetterstrom Environmental Award, which will be presented May 6 at a ceremony in the Vermont Statehouse.

"Nominations for the Zetterstrom Environmental award ranged from an individual who volunteered for an environmental organization for 40 years, to small organizations spearheaded by one very active person, to well-organized groups that have operated for years,” said Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power. “What they all shared was dedication, optimism and an abiding interest in protecting Vermont’s environment.”

Vermont Law School has partnered with Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth and recognized as the nation’s oldest historically black institution of higher education, to continue its effort to expand racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession.

In addition to Cheyney, Vermont Law has partnership agreements with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Morehouse College and Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga., and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.