GOT A NEWS TIP? NEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM
OPIATE FOCUS — Shumlin memorably launched the session with the declaration that Vermont was in the midst of a “full-blown heroin crisis.” The legislature took action: providing funding to reduce waiting lists at drug-treatment centers, diverting low-level criminals from jail to treatment, and stiffening penalties for traffickers and those convicted of drug-fueled crimes. But within a month of Shumlin’s State of the State address, lawmakers had mostly moved on — and few new innovative ideas were contemplated.
— Yes, we know. The real debate over how to finance and implement Shumlin’s single-payer health care plan won’t come ’til next year. But even without any details to dissect, Shumlin’s fellow Democrats spent plenty of time this session agonizing over — and arguing about — what those details will look like. Can Shumlin keep his party united around its holy grail of public policy? We’ll see. SINGLE-PAYER
— Shumlin and House Democrats talked a big game this session about reining in school spending, but they had nothing to show for it by the fall of the gavel. RUNNER-UP LOSER: SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN DICK
(D-Windsor), who stood in the way of meaningful reform. His excuse that his committee lacked the time to weigh the House’s school district consolidation plan was kind of lame, given that it didn’t exactly sneak up on him.
MCCORMACK
— Yet again, Shumlin and the legislature punted on cleaning up the state’s rivers and its biggest lake. Environmentalists criticized the administration’s latest plan to reduce phosphorous pollution and failed to convince the legislature to fund mitigation programs.
RUNNER-UP LOSER: SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY COMMITTEE CHAIR BOB HARTWELL
Dick McCormack
Losers:
(D-Bennington), whose skepticism about the role of humans in climate change may cost him his chairmanship next year.
— This was one of the least dramatic legislative sessions in recent memory. That was good news for Shumlin and his majority party Democrats, but bad news for those of us writing about the news.
THE PRESS
Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days coeditor and publisher Paula Routly.
Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com
SEVEN DAYS LOCAL MATTERS 17
5/13/14 10:22 AM
05.14.14-05.21.14
GEM SEMINAR with renowned opal expert BILL KASSO*
802.864.0012 www.vonbargens.com
age of issues an effective minority party could have used to divide and conquer Shumlin and his Democratic allies. But House Republicans once again proved themselves inept and irrelevant this year. Their sole tactical victory came in the session’s closing days when they capitalized on a procedural error to scuttle a heftier minimum-wage hike.
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
— Bruce Lisman’s political advocacy group pledged to be a major presence at the Statehouse this year. It wasn’t. But Campaign for Vermont can claim one notable victory: a new ethics panel in the House, which will monitor potential conflicts of interest, and new rules requiring House members to disclose their employers and paid board service.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS — There was no short-
LAKE CHAMPLAIN
CAMPAIGN FOR VERMONT
3h-vonbargens051414.indd 1
House Republicans
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF
*Bill Kasso: Friday, May 16th @ 4pm
— As evidence of their persecution, Vermont’s business lobbyists point to the state’s minimumwage hike, the unionization of child- and home-care workers, Vermont Health Connect and single-payer. But it wasn’t all bad news this session. The business community killed paid sick leave and prevailing wage legislation, whittled down the toxic-chemical bill and passed a $5 million economic development package. Most importantly, Shumlin kept Democratic legislators from raising most broad-based taxes.
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
MAY 16-17
Tie Score: