The 2016 Legislature convened this week amid mild hoopla and some regular banalities. Accordingly Vermont Business Magazine polled its digital readers on what our legislators ought to prioritize this session.
Here were the choices and the percentages they received.
• Suspend Senator Norm McAllister who has been charged with sexual abuse. 2.94 percent.
• Legalize, tax and regulate marijuana. 8.24 percent.
• Rewrite last year’s education bill to remove the spending penalties facing school districts. 10.59 percent.
• Balance the budget which is already facing a shortfall. 60 percent.
• Fund Medicaid. 6.47 percent.
• Siting regulations of new renewable energy projects. 7.06 percent.
• Mandating sick leave. 3.54 percent.
• Extending Dr. Dynasaur to age 26. 1.17 percent.
The Vermontbiz Quick Poll is surely not a scientific look into what Vermonters are concerned about as the session opens. It’s encouraging that balancing the budget is such a high priority for those who responded. How could it not be? How could funding Medicaid not be a higher priority or extending Dr. Dynasaur? The plan to extend Dr. Dynasaur actually makes a lot of sense and is worth a serious look.
Marijuana legalization and taxation is highly likely to come up and may well pass this year and people on both sides of the aisle share very different opinions on this issue.
Obviously, there’s a clear and critical need for the Legislature to change the rules so that the Public Service Board considers local regulations when renewable energy installations are sited. That the Town Plans which local towns carefully and thoughtfully craft to reflect, protect and improve themselves can be overridden by bureaucrats in Montpelier is not right.
And then there’s Act 46 and the disastrous mess it is making for dozens of school districts in dozens of different ways. There have been many loud calls for part of the act or the entire act to be repealed. It remains to be seen if legislators will listen to those calls.
Our local legislators are Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, (
