Lawmakers in Vermont and New Hampshire head back to the Statehouse today to begin the 2018 legislative season.
Lawmakers will be back in Montpelier to debate several big-ticket issues this session:
Marijuana Legalization
When lawmakers adjourned from the one-day June veto session they left unfinished a final vote on a proposal to approve the use of recreational marijuana. The bill would allow people who at least 21 years old to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana. It was approved by the Senate during a June veto session after lawmakers addressed a number of the concerns expressed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott when he vetoed the original legislation passed in May. Republican opponents say they don’t have the votes to block the legislation, and Scott has said he would sign it. Nevertheless, it remains unclear what the Legislature will do.
State Revenues
Vermont policymakers do not know the full effect on the state of the federal tax reform bill signed last month by President Donald Trump. Uncertainty created by the federal law will confront Scott administration officials and lawmakers as they craft the 2019 state budget.
Education Funding
In November, the Scott administration predicted a steep increase in the education property tax would be needed unless action was taken. Scott, who is continuing his push from last year to fund government without increases in taxes and fees, is expected to offer a plan to counter that possible increase. Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson has said she would like to look for ways to restructure the education financing system.
Lake Champlain Cleanup
Vermont has been working for years to clean up Lake Champlain by reducing the pollutants that are flowing into the lake from rivers and streams. In recent years, the pollutants have caused regular late-summer algae blooms in parts of the lake. Scientists are still working on the best way to accomplish the cleanup goal while lawmakers figure out a way to pay for it. The state will have to spend an estimated $1 billion over the next 20 years to address the problem. In October, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore proposed $22 million a year through at least 2024 that would be paid for through the capital bill, money usually used to pay for large construction projects.
Granite State lawmakers are starting the new year by finishing up old business.
The second half of the two-year Legislative session starts today, when both the House and Senate meet to vote on more than 100 bills they delayed action on last year. The House is expected to take at least two days to plow through its list, while the Senate calendar is considerably shorter.
Here are a few of the topics they’ll tackle:
Election Law
The Senate committee on elections law is recommending passage by the full Senate of a bill aimed at ending confusion over the terms “residency” and “domicile” for voting purposes by making them synonymous. Supporters argue doing so would reduce election fraud and ensure that only New Hampshire residents vote in the state, but opponents say it amounts to a poll tax because college students would have to declare residency in order to vote, thus becoming subject to residency requirements such as obtaining a driver’s license and registering their cars.
Lead Poisoning
One of the bills the House will consider got a boost on Tuesday from Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who announced his support for requiring blood testing for lead in all children age 2 and under, bringing the action level for lead in a child’s blood in line with federal standards and providing $6 million in loan guarantees for property owners for abatement projects. The Senate-passed version would have provided grants instead of loans.
School Choice
The House also will take up an overhauled version of a Senate-passed bill that would provide parents with the state’s basic per-pupil grant of roughly $3,000 to be used for private school tuition or home schooling. To qualify, parents would have to have a household income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty limit, live in an underperforming school district, have a child with an individual education plan or tried unsuccessfully to enroll a child in a charter school or get an education tax credit.
Opponents argued the program would violate the state Constitution, which says no person shall be compelled to pay to support a religious school.
Family Leave
Supporters of a bill to create a family and medical leave insurance program say doing so will address some of the state’s key challenges, including maintaining its workforce, caring for an aging population and recovery from the opioid crisis by providing leave for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child or serious illness — including substance use disorders — of a spouse, civil union partner, child, parent or grandparent. Opponents argue it amounts to a tax disguised as an insurance premium that creates an unneeded social program.
Sexual Assault
The Senate will consider two related bills, one that would eliminate the statute of limitations on prosecuting any sexual assault or incest case and another that would remove the limit in cases when the victims were under age 18. The Senate Judiciary Committee is recommending that the first bill be killed and the second be amended to create a commission to study the issue.