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by John McClaughry The Vermont legislature is now seized with an important issue that must be addressed to the satisfaction of the Obama administration in the next couple of months, or the state will find itself in Washington’s enforcement crosshairs.
Everyone in Vermont wants to see the waters of Lake Champlain maintained in healthy condition for swimmers, boaters, anglers, and tourists. There are different ways of translating that universal wish into reality. The leading one at the moment is the expansion of command-and-control regulation of Vermont farm operations.

The US Small Business Administration reminds Private Non-Profit Organizations (PNPs) in Vermont that May 2, 2014, is the deadline to submit Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications. These loans are available from the SBA as a result of severe storms and flooding from June 25 through July 11, 2013.
PNPs located in the following counties are eligible to apply: Caledonia, Chittenden, Orange, Orleans, Rutland,Washington and Windsor in Vermont. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers and colleges.

Related Company: Comcast CableComcast announced today that it has reached a significant milestone in its Xfinity WiFi network by eclipsing 300,000 hotspots in New England. With even more hotspots planned this year, the region is one of Comcast's largest contributors to its march toward launching one million nationwide access points, comprising the largest WiFi network in the country.
"Our customers are turning to WiFi more than ever because they want high-speed access to keep up with can't miss communications or enjoy favorite TV shows on the go," said Steve Hackley, senior vice president of Comcast's Greater Boston Region, which includes eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org
The House Health Care Committee began work Tuesday on health care reform legislation that passed the Senate last week. Senator Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, the bill’s primary architect, appeared before the committee to explain its intent.

Two Vermont legislators are proposing to repeal the current education funding system (Act 60/68) to make way for a new policy beginning with the the 2017-2018 academic year.
Patti Komline (R-Dorset). vtdigger.org photo
“Vermont homeowners are seeing property taxes go up 4 cents and business property taxes go up 7.5 cents under Act 68’s current formula,” said Patti Komline (R-Dorset). “This after significant increases last year, and there is no relief in sight.”
“For years, Vermonters have seen their property taxes increase far greater than their incomes,” added Representative Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe). “They have been pleading with us to do something meaningful to address the problem. Yet, for years, we have done nothing.”
Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe). vtdigger.org photo

Related Company: University of VermontThe University of Vermont has announced a new Master of Public Health program, a collaborative graduate program between the College of Medicine, the Graduate College at UVM, and Continuing and Distance Education. The new 42-credit online master’s degree program was approved by the UVM Board of Trustees in February and is now open for fall 2014 admission.

As part of Vermont’s ongoing health care reform efforts, Governor Peter Shumlin and the leadership of the Vermont Health Care Innovation Project (VHCIP) announced Wednesday the award of eight grants totaling more than $2.6 million to health care innovators around the state. The grants are aimed at reducing health care costs by supporting projects that change how health care providers and their patients work together to prevent illness, manage chronic disease, and improve services.
“Health care reform in Vermont is well underway, and this is an important step toward our ultimate goal of creating a system that saves Vermonters money while covering everyone. Our challenge is to put a stop to skyrocketing health care costs that are hammering Vermont businesses and families. Through this grant program, we are supporting leaders who are working to do just that,” said Governor Shumlin.

The Supreme Court Wednesday issued its ruling in McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission. In a 5-4 decision, the Court, once again, reversed long-standing precedent and declared aggregate limits on campaign contributions in elections to be unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment.
“Four years after the US Supreme Court handed down its controversial Citizens United decision, five justices once again have decided to rule on the side of moneyed interests and against the American people," Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said in a statement following the ruling.
“As Justice Breyer warned in his dissent, ‘Taken together with Citizens United v Federal Election Comm’n, today’s decision eviscerates our Nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to resolve.’ I could not agree with him more.

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org A House panel wants the state to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by January 1, 2015. Governor Peter Shumlin proposed the same increase — over a three year period. Minimum wages for tipped employees would be set to half of regular hourly wages, which would increase annually with the cost of living starting in 2016.
Members of the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs voted 6-2 in favor of the higher minimum wage Tuesday afternoon. H552 will go to the House Committee on Appropriations before it is voted on by the full House.
The state’s minimum wage now is $8.73 per hour for most employees, compared to the federal rate of $7.25 per hour. Vermont has the highest minimum wage in New England.

Tasha Wallis, Executive Director of the Vermont Retail Association (VRA), and Jim Harrison, President of the Vermont Grocers Association (VGA), announced today that the two groups would be merging into a single new entity, the Vermont Retail and Grocers Association. (VRGA).
More than a year in planning, the merger had been approved by the boards of both organizations in February and March, 2014 and was put to a membership vote on April 1. Both memberships voted to approve the merger.
“With the lines of retailing continuing to blur, it made sense for the VGA and VRA to examine options for the future,” noted VRA’s Wallis. “A single, larger organization will enhance advocacy efforts, improve member services and increase overall membership value for businesses.”

The Legislature is considering and the Vermont State Board of Education passed a motion (at its monthly meeting March 25) to support the legislative language in H883 to consolidate school districts.
The legislation would, as of July 1, 2020, eliminate all supervisory unions and reduce the number of school districts to between 45 and 55. Currently there are 46 supervisory unions and 283 districts. The two interstate school districts will not be affected.
“I think it’s the most important piece of educational legislation we have seen in some time,” said State Board of Education Chair Stephan Morse. “We must provide educational opportunities to all children statewide, and this is an essential change to our educational governance system.”
Student Representative and Co-Vice Chair Lachlan Francis made a motion, seconded by Board Member Mark Perrin, that:

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org The House has started work on a Senate bill calling for a two-year moratorium on privatizing public schools. Under the Senate plan, voters still would be allowed to close an elementary or school in order to send students to another town. But under the provisions of S91, towns would be prohibited from closing a public school in order to open an independent school in its place.
The bill now under consideration by the House Committee on Education seeks to temporarily halt the practice while the Agency of Education learns more about it. A proposed study was broadened in the Senate to ask not just whether privatizing a public school is constitutional, but also whether preventing privatization would be permissible under law.