Vermont Legislation

By Senators Starr, Ayer, Bartlett, Campbell, Carris, Collins, Condos, Coppenrath, Cummings, Doyle, Flanagan, Giard, Hartwell, Illuzzi, Kitchel, Kittell, Lyons, MacDonald, Maynard, Mazza, McCormack, Miller, Mullin, Nitka, Racine, Scott, Sears, Shumlin, Snelling and White, S.R. 32. Senate resolution requesting the Attorney General of Vermont to initiate legal action on behalf of the state and its citizens to seek reimbursement for the costs of illegal price-fixing, price-gouging, and conspiracy to restrain trade in retail gasoline and diesel fuel. Whereas, all major international oil companies doing business in the state have reported record profits in the last several years; and many of them, such as  ExxonMobil, are among the most profitable companies in the world and  certainly the most profitable, publicly-traded companies in the United States, and Whereas, the retail prices of gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel constitute an economic emergency of the first order for the state and [...]

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By Senators Shumlin, Ayer, Bartlett, Campbell, Carris, Collins, Condos, Coppenrath, Cummings, Doyle, Flanagan, Giard, Hartwell, Illuzzi, Kitchel, Kittell, Lyons, MacDonald, Maynard, Mazza, McCormack, Miller, Mullin, Nitka, Racine, Scott, Sears, Snelling, Starr and White, S.R. 31.  Senate resolution urging the Governor and the Attorney General to petition the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to seek a waiver from the food-to-fuel mandates as provided for in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Whereas, food prices are rising twice as fast as inflation, causing severe economic harm to consumers, and Whereas, feed prices are rising dramatically, causing severe economic harm to dairy farmers and other livestock owners, and Whereas, the prices of basic staples such as milk and eggs have increased dramatically in recent years as the price of animal feed has grown, and Whereas, federal food-to-fuel mandates included in the Energy Independence and [...]

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By the Committee on Education, S.R. 30.  Senate resolution encouraging the Business-Education Alliance to continue working for an effective organizational structure for state education governance. Whereas, the elementary and secondary student population in Vermont’s schools should be performing at a sufficiently high level to meet the educational challenges of the 21st century, and Whereas, both a new state-wide vision and an effective organizational structure for state education governance are essential for preparing children to meet these challenges, and Whereas, a clear state-wide vision is necessary so that children in every Vermont school are offered the highest quality curriculum, and Whereas, strong leadership and accountability in the state of Vermont’s system of educational governance and the most effective organizational structure are vital if we are to update the materials and teaching methods used in Vermont’s public schools, and Whereas, recent test scores in some Vermont schools [...]

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By Senators Campbell, McCormack, Nitka, Shumlin, White, Ayer, Carris, Kitchel and Mullin, S.R. 29.  Senate resolution relating to the Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission. Whereas, the state of Vermont entered into the Connecticut River Flood Control Compact along with the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut on September 8, 1953, and Whereas, the Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission was created by the compact to provide a joint or common agency through which the signatory states may more effectively cooperate in accomplishing the objective of flood control and water resource utilization in the basin of the Connecticut River and its tributaries, and Whereas, central to the compact is the agreement of the down-river states of Connecticut and Massachusetts to reimburse the up-river states of Vermont and New Hampshire for the amount of taxes lost to their political subdivisions by reason of federal ownership of lands, rights and other property taken [...]

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By the Committee on Rules, S.R. 28.  Senate resolution relating to amendments of the Permanent Rules of the Vermont Senate. First:  Senate Rule 39 is amended to read as follows: VII OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS 39.  During the regular session held in the first year of the biennium no bill may be introduced on or after the fiftythird calendar day of the session except by consent of the Senate, unless it is introduced by or with the consent of the Rules Committee, or is introduced by the Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on Finance.  During the regular session held in the first year of the biennium bills may be introduced by a senator or a standing committee at any time. During any adjourned session of the biennium (excluding the customary weekend adjournments), no bill may be introduced unless it has previously been filed with the Legislative Drafting Division of the Legislative Council and approved for printing by the sponsor no less than twentyfive calendar days preceding [...]

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By Senators Lyons, Ayer, Bartlett, Carris, Collins, Condos, Coppenrath, Cummings, Doyle, Flanagan, Hartwell, Illuzzi, Kitchel, Kittell, MacDonald, Maynard, Mazza, McCormack, Miller, Mullin, Nitka, Racine, Scott, Sears, Shumlin, Snelling, Starr and White, S.R. 27.  Senate resolution designating April 30 as Walk @ Lunch Day. Whereas, getting simply 30 minutes of moderate physical activity such as a brisk walk at least five times a week can result in significant health benefits, such as lowering the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or hypertension or type 2 diabetes, and improving the health of muscles, bones, and joints, and Whereas, the United States Department of Health and Human Services estimates the annual cost to treat illness and chronic disease that inactive lifestyles cause is nearly $1,000 for every family in America, and Whereas, physical activity is vital to the well-being of all Americans, and National Walk @ Lunch Daysm  is an opportunity for Americans [...]

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By Senators White and Shumlin, S.R. 26.  Senate resolution relating to expressing strong opposition to, and urging effective and immediate congressional action to stop, the government of the People's Republic of China's human rights violations in the geographic area known as Tibet. Whereas, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, and reaffirmed by all United Nations member states, provides in part: “Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.  Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, nonselfgoverning or under any other limitation of sovereignty.[...]

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By Senators Scott, Cummings and Doyle, S.R. 25.  Senate resolution in support of the creation of a veterans' transitional housing facility in central Vermont. Whereas, according to federal government statistics, one-fourth of the nation’s homeless population consists of United States military veterans, and Whereas, according to The Veterans Place, Inc., an organization founded to create a transitional housing facility for veterans in central Vermont, there are an estimated 150 homeless veterans in the state, and approximately 30 of these individuals reside in central Vermont, and Whereas, because of this state’s proportionally large number of homeless veterans, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has ranked Vermont high on the priority list for the receipt of grant money for transitional assistance, and Whereas, although a significant number of these homeless individuals are veterans of the Vietnam conflict, some served during Operation Desert Storm or even more recently during [...]

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