Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Peter Shumlin today announced their legislative priorities for the remainder of the 2009 session. Speaker Smith and Senator Shumlin made a commitment to passing at least seven pieces of legislation that will create good paying jobs for Vermonters, encourage the development of clean renewable energy, reduce the Governor s proposed tax burden on businesses and grant equal marriage rights to all Vermonters.
The legislative leaders highlighted seven pieces of legislation that they are committed to passing before the legislature adjourns in May.
● An economic development and jobs creation bill that will include targeted money for venture capital.
● The Speaker s $125 million bonding proposal that will fund a variety of transportation projects such as increased funding for state and local roads and bridges and capital projects to strengthen our public transit system.
● A comprehensive green energy bill that will encourage the development of in state renewable energy generation. This bill will encourage the development of solar, biomass and geothermal technology and will both allow and encourage wind development on state lands.
● A decommissioning bill that will ensure that Vermonters will not have to cover the remaining costs of decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and that the plant s owners are held accountable
for the entire clean up costs.
● Balancing the Unemployment Insurance Fund without placing the entire burden on our struggling businesses. The Speaker and Pro Tem will bring together a group of business leaders together to discuss what increases are appropriate and tolerable during this time of economic crisis as well as ways in which to improve enforcement. Many states are facing the same challenges and we will also explore what assistance the federal government can provide.
● A variety of bills regarding our election laws. These include campaign finance reform and same day voter registration.
● A marriage equality bill that will grant all Vermonters the equal
right to marry.
We have devoted the first half of the session to finding ways for the legislature to help stimulate the economy and create jobs for Vermonters, said Senator Shumlin. We will continue our focus on the economy by encouraging green energy development, targeting money toward venture capital and funding a variety of transportation projects. We will also pass legislation to improve our election system and end the inequality in our civil marriage laws.
I am proud of the work that the legislature has done in the first half of the session, said Speaker Smith. We have proposed a balanced approach to the budget, initiatives to make our government more efficient and passed one of the toughest sex offender bills in the nation. I look forward to continuing our work to make Vermont a more sustainable and prosperous state.
Source: Speaker of the House
Legislative leaders announce priorities for second half of session
Submitted by tim
on