VBSR gave Grad, D-Moretown, who represents Moretown, Roxbury and
Northfield, a grade of 100 percent for her votes this session. Greshin,
I-Warren, who represents Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston, received a
grade of 67 percent. Donahue, R-Northfield, who represents Moretown,
Roxbury and Northfield, received a grade of 33 percent.
The VBRS grading system is based on votes on seven specific issues. The
first was a House bill to decommission Vermont Yankee. The bill passed
the House 85-52 and the Senate 22-4. It was vetoed by Governor Douglas.
VBSR favored passage of the bill. Donahue voted against it, Grad voted
for it and Greshin voted against it.
The second issue was on civil marriage. This bill passed the House and
the Senate and was vetoed by the governor. The Legislature overrode the
veto and the bill became law. All three local legislators voted for the
bill and the override.
A bill on renewable energy that would create clean energy assessment
districts passed the House and the Senate with yes votes from Greshin
and Grad and a no vote from Donahue.
The fourth issue, health care reform, hinged on both a Senate and House
version of a reform bill. The Senate bill passed 28-2 and the House bill
passed 91-42. Donahue and Greshin voted against the House version while
Grad supported it.
Relicensing Vermont Yankee was the fifth issue that VBSR used for
grading legislators. The bill used for this grade would have given
Vermont Yankee license for another 20 years of operation. The bill
failed to pass the Senate with a 4-26 vote and the House did not take up
a similar bill, hence individual legislators were not graded on this
issue.
Vermont's unemployment insurance trust fund was the subject of the sixth
grade given by VBSR. The legislation proposed increases in employer
contributions to the unemployment trust fund and opposed the governor's
proposed cuts to the maximum weekly benefit.
The bill passed the Senate 26-0 and passed the House 133-9. Donahue
voted in favor of the bill as did Grad and Greshin.
The final legislative grade was given for a bill that revised how
corporations are created and offered incentives to entrepreneurs and
investors who met higher standards of corporate accountability and
transparency. This bill passed the Senate on a voice vote and the House
on a 108-30 roll call vote. Donahue voted against it, Greshin and Grad
voted for it.
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