In these updates, I typically discuss bills in some depth when they are of particular import or being worked on in my committee. There isn’t nearly space to address every bill throughout the session. But this past week, the crossover deadline, it seems of value to briefly summarize many of them to provide a sense of the breath of subjects being addressed.
Crossover means the last chance for bills to come out from House or Senate committees if they are to be taken up by the other body this year. Many have broad or unanimous support, so they don’t make headlines.
Deadlines are later for the two biggest decisions of the session: what do we spend, and do we raise taxes to do it? There are various tax increase proposals on the table to fund more spending. An example is H.828, which would add a three percent surcharge on existing income taxes for individuals making more than $500,000.
First, a couple of notable bills that passed this week on the House floor:
A bill on retail theft allows multiple small thefts within the same two weeks to be combined in their value so that if they add up to $900 – the current level to become a felony – they can be treated as a felony. This is a bone being tossed towards being able to claim to be addressing the widespread concerns about public safety and lack of accountability for crimes. On the same day, we passed a bill that allows for expanding the diversion system so that folks can be “diverted” from criminal prosecution multiple times, and have their records expunged. I think diversion is an excellent tool, but not for repeat offenses and not to fully delete records. (Also coming up is a bill that revises the categories for such expungements of records.)
One of the best health care bills of the session passed this week, to address unnecessary administrative burdens that interfere with the time doctors can give to patients. It requires all insurance companies to use uniform categories for prior authorization requirements. My primary care doc once said if we could do this, he’d “dance his happy dance.” Federal law was a barrier in past years, but that was recently solved through a court case.
The sales ban on flavored nicotine products, including all vapes plus menthol cigarettes, also passed. Though these have been banned for kids, kids are getting them from adult purchasers and use is exploding; the bill’s ban is focused on the effort to enhance youth protection by blocking all sales. In an unusual move, the Democratic caucus permitted its members to vote based on individual decisions, so it was a much closer vote than typical contested topics, at 83-53. The menthol ban was particularly controversial, and an amendment to remove it from the bill only failed by a vote of 54-64.
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Significant
bills pending on the House calendar that came out of committees this week
include these:
A bill from my committee to formalize and reshape the emergency shelter program. It sets a long-term policy goal of leaving no one behind to live on the streets; creates a Task Force to work on parameters for the first steps; and sets a July, 2026 start date for the initial new structure. (All good.) But as we worked through the new bill under a tight time frame, more and more was added to the mandates in statute for what the new program has to include. All were things that expand the scope of anything we’ve done before – as well as that will massively expand costs. The administration’s rough estimate is in the $50 million range. Just as with the tobacco bill (which will cost up to $14 million due to lost revenue), that doesn’t need to be addressed in the current budget since it doesn’t take effect until next year’s budget. “Let the next legislature figure the money part out.” I voted no.
The bill that first proposed major expansion groups for Medicaid is now pared down to require development of a cost and feasibility proposal. The one part it retained is the financial support for those who turn 65 or become disabled and lose existing coverage when they go onto Medicare. This is an incorporation of the bill that I introduced to protect low-income seniors who have been abandoned by all prior reforms. How much of that new support survives the budget balancing process is yet to be seen. Many of this bills that came out of committees this week have yet to go through the “money” committees (taxes and spending.)
Another
health care bill will add to regulation of pharmacy benefit managers: the
companies that serve as go-betweens to set price deals for insurance companies
and drug manufacturers.
“Neonics” is the shorthand for a pesticide used to protect seeds but that are believed to harm the environment and in particular, the fragile bee population. Their use for crops would be banned under H.706. There are lots of concerns about access to alternative seeds, given our small state market, but the bill mirrors the ban and the 2027 timeline that New York has passed. Given their market power, I’m good with it.
The annual update of laws for our “tax and regulate” cannabis market includes a problematic expansion to allow the medical-card program to include all cannabis outlets. This could vastly expand the places where those under age 21 who have medical needs can make purchases, with some significant resulting risks. It needs an amendment to require regulation on that issue, or I can’t support it.
The alcohol law update is a major disappointment to me, because despite all the discussion about protecting kids from nicotine, the committee with the jurisdiction over this bill refused a health policy addition requested by my Human Services committee to protect youth. Two years ago, we made it legal for convenience store to sell those single-serve spirits that include the same kind of youth-appealing fruit flavors as nicotine vapes. Now in some places we see them turning up in bins next to the candy bars at the checkout. A peach-mango-vodka drink in a can may be side-by-side with its look-a-like flavored peach-mango iced tea. I had a youthful-looking friend go to a local store and buy one of each, together, and he wasn’t carded. My Human Services committee’s request -- the one that was rejected – would have created a small level of protection: prohibit alcoholic drinks to be displayed mixed in among non-alcohol products.
Expect to hear much more about H.687, a controversial approach to addressing how to balance reform to permit requirements for urgently needed housing construction with maintaining our environmental protections. A proposal supported by a group from all parties and the governor did not move forward; instead, this version came out of committee on a partisan vote despite a claim that it is a compromise.
Another significant controversy will play out when H.289 gets to the floor on revising the state renewable energy standard to expedite achieving 100% renewables in 10 years. The Joint Fiscal Office first estimated it would cost $1 billion over that time to implement. It revised its report this past week to an estimate of between $150 million and $450 million, but added, “due to various unknowns – potential technological advances, changes in demand for electricity, adaptations in the ISO-New England grid, actions of Vermont’s utilities in future years, etc. – considerable uncertainty regarding the overall cost and impact on the State budget remains.”
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A
sample of bills moving forward with broad support:
H.173,
making it a crime to manipulate a child for the purpose of sexual conduct;
H.614, addressing land improvement fraud and timber trespass; H.657, updating
communications taxes and fees;
Also,
H.702 on improving government accountability; and H.868 for the annual funding
of roads and bridges (yes, including, at last, Route 12 from Cumberland Farms
on North Main in Northfield on through Berlin to Montpelier.)
H.871
moves work forward on planning how to address the funding needs for a huge
backlog of school construction/rehab, while H.873 attempts a compromise on how
to move forward on testing schools for PCBs;
H.875
establishes uniform ethics codes for state and municipal officials; H.121 addresses
data privacy; H.707 focuses on workforce expansion and development; and H.622
updates reimbursement fees for Emergency Medical Services.
The agriculture committee apparently has less urgent work to do than others. It took testimony on multiple separate days to establish a state mushroom (in line with our state flower, bird, fish, mineral, pie and so forth.) It was a learning tool for a group of schoolkids. All fine and good if you spend a couple of hours to do it. This was a bit much.
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