Representing Dover, Jamaica, Somerset, Stratton and Wardsboro
Governor Scott released his first recommended state budget for Vermont today. He prefaced his comments by pointing to Vermont's shrinking workforce as our single largest obstacle - I wholeheartedly agree. His budget proposed a massive realignment of our education system to include early education and childcare as well as post secondary education, and innovative realignments …
"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Martin Luther King, Jr. On Wednesday January 3rd the 2017 Legislative Session opened. Among the first items to take place were elections of new leaders for the Vermont Legislature. In the House, Rep. Mitzi Johnson of South Hero was elected …
October 3, 2016 Dear friends and neighbors, A few legislative updates and some upcoming candidate events: Act 46 I recently posted an update about Act 46 and education reform taking place in the Valley. This post includes links to the law, guidance from the AOE, and updates from other parts of Vermont, and so I …
Continue reading Legislative updates and upcoming candidate forums
Many will recall that Acts 60 of 1997 and Act 68 of 2003 were the result of the Vermont Supreme Court having struck down the previous state-funding system and directing the legislature to come up with a new system that would eliminate the inequities among the local school districts. The legislature did this by establishing …
Survey Available Now to Help Inform Draft Standards Montpelier – The Department of Public Service invites all interested Vermonters to provide input on the standards the Department must create per Act 174 of 2016 for determining consistency of regional and municipal plans with state energy policy. The Department will host a forum to gather input …
Continue reading Forum on Regional and Municipal Energy Planning
Dear friends and neighbors, This year's session ended Saturday, which also marked the completion of the 2015/2016 biennium. The last days of the second year of a biennium are incredibly chaotic, as any legislation introduced in 2015 or 2016 Sessions must pass or start the process all over again next year. Below are some summaries …
April 17, 2016 For Immediate Release: Last week the Vermont House passed a bill which will raise additional funding to expand internet to approximately 30,000 unserved and underserved Vermonters. H.870 will increase the universal service fee on phone bills by half a percent, raising roughly $1.6 million per year. The language was approved in the …
Act 46 and School Choice updates: Last week I participated in a regional panel discussion on Act 46 sponsored by Marlboro Colleges Center for Creative Solutions alongside Brad James from the Agency of Education, Superintendents Ron Stahley and Dan French, Wilmington student Peyton Eisler and Whitingham student Kassidy Walkowiak. It is inspiring to have students …
Dear friends and neighbors, We are more then halfway throughway the session and have begun to send House bills to the Senate for consideration of passage this year and vice versa. This past week the House passed the first version of both the budget and tax bills. The bills now go to the Senate who …
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2016 Public hearing on S.241 An act relating to the regulation of marijuana. Montpelier, Vermont The House Committees on Judiciary and on Government Operations will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 31, 2016, starting at 5:00 pm. The hearing will be held in the House Chamber at the State House. …
Vermont State Representative Laura Sibilia 