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FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2000
At nine o'clock and thirty minutes in the forenoon the Speaker called the House to order.
Devotional Exercises
Devotional exercises were conducted by the retired Reverend Ward Wilson of the United Church of Christ church, Wells River.
Memorial Service
The Speaker placed before the House the following name of a member of past sessions of the Vermont General Assembly who had passed away recently:
Homer D. Perkins of Stockbridge
Session of 1947
Thereupon, the members of the House rose for a moment of prayer in memory of the deceased member. The Clerk was thereupon directed to send a copy of the Journal to the bereaved family.
House Bills Introduced
House bills of the following titles were severally introduced. Pending first reading of the bills, on motion of Rep. Tracy of Burlington, the rules were suspended and the bills were read the first time by number and referred as follows:
H. 752
By Rep. Corren of Burlington,
An act to reduce smoking by minors;
To the committee on Health and Welfare.
H. 753
By Reps. Freed of Dorset, Hube of Londonderry, LaBarge of Grand Isle, Livingston of Manchester, Mazur of South Burlington, O'Donnell of Vernon, Richardson of Weathersfield and Voyer of Morristown,
An act relating to statewide comparables for nonresidential property valuation;
To the committee on Ways and Means.
H. 754
By Reps. Gervais of Enosburg, Barbieri of Wallingford, Barney of Highgate, Bourdeau of Hyde Park, Buckland of Newport Town, Colvin of Bennington, Cross of Winooski, Marron of Stowe, Masland of Thetford, Mazur of South Burlington, Molloy of Arlington, Perry of Richford, Rusten of Halifax, Stevens of Newbury, Vincent of Waterbury and Wheeler of Burlington,
An act relating to providing notice to schools where juvenile offenders are enrolled;
To the committee on Education.
H. 755
By Reps. Darrow of Dummerston and Maslack of Poultney,
An act relating to the state police and a penalty for failure to report officer misconduct;
To the committee on Government Operations.
H. 756
By Rep. Alfano of Calais,
An act relating to mental health and developmental disability judicial proceedings;
To the committee on Health and Welfare.
H. 757
By Reps. Mazur of South Burlington and Colvin of Bennington,
An act relating to telecommunications planning;
To the committee on Commerce.
H. 758
By Rep. Sullivan of Burlington,
An act relating to mobile home parks losing grandfather status upon ceasing to operate;
To the committee on Natural Resources and Energy.
H. 759
By Reps. Mazzariello of Rutland City, Flaherty of South Burlington, Krasnow of Charlotte, Parizo of Essex, Poirier of Barre City, Sweaney of Windsor and Woodward of Johnson,
An act relating to access to laboratory testing;
To the committee on Health and Welfare.
H. 760
By Rep. Maslack of Poultney,
An act relating to registration by citizens not owning firearms;
To the committee on Government Operations.
H. 761
By Rep. Maslack of Poultney,
An act relating to inmates placed out-of-state;
To the committee on Institutions.
H. 762
By Rep. Maslack of Poultney,
An act relating to executive branch member testimony;
To the committee on Government Operations.
H. 763
By Rep. Maslack of Poultney,
An act relating to requiring that a student pass a course in military training in order to graduate from high school;
To the committee on Education.
Bill Referred to Committee on Appropriations
H. 621
House bill, entitled
An act relating to the education and training of committed children;
Appearing on the Calendar, carrying an appropriation, under rule 35a, was referred to the committee on Appropriations.
House Resolution Referred to Committee
H.R. 33
Reps. Valsangiacomo of Barre City, Blanchard of Essex, DePoy of Rutland, Flaherty of South Burlington, Gretkowski of Burlington, Hudson of Lyndon, Kinsey of Craftsbury, Maslack of Poultney, McGrath of Ferrisburg, Metzger of Milton, O'Donnell of Vernon, Peaslee of Guildhall, Randall of Bradford, Sheltra of Derby, Smith of New Haven and Starr of Troy offered a House resolution, entitled
House resolution relating to straw pole in response to Baker decision;
Whereas, the House of Representatives of the state of Vermont seeks the guidance of the voters concerning the granting of the privileges and/or advantages of law heretofore awarded to the marriage of one man to one woman, being hereafter awarded to marriage of domestic partnerships of people of the same sex in accord and to the orders of the Supreme Court in the Baker vs. State of Vermont decision, now therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives:
That each town in the state of Vermont will, by separate ballot, put this question to the voters attending the town meetings in their respective towns as part of the proceeding on that particular day and that the town officials of each town forward the results of said vote to the state representatives and senators elected from their respective districts, and be it further
Resolved: That upon passage of this resolution, a copy be forwarded within 24 hours to the Secretary of State who will forthwith notify all towns of this resolution and include a copy of a suggested ballot to accomplish this request by the legislators for this nonbinding referendum.
Which was read and, in the Speaker's discretion, treated as a bill and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Joint Resolution Adopted in Concurrence
J.R.S. 77
The Speaker placed before the House a joint resolution, entitled
Joint resolution relating to weekend adjournment;
By Senator Mazza,
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
That when the two Houses adjourn on Friday, January 28, 2000, it be to meet again no later than Tuesday, February 1, 2000, at ten o'clock in the forenoon.
Which was read and adopted in concurrence.
Third Reading; Bills Passed
House bills of the following titles were severally taken up, read the third time and passed:
H. 712
An act relating to captive insurance companies;
H. 733
An act relating to livestock dealers.
Favorable Report; Third Reading Ordered
H. 682
Rep. Hudson of Lyndon, for the committee on Government Operations, to which had been referred House bill, entitled
An act relating to the legislative apportionment board;
Reported in favor of its passage. The bill, having appeared on the Calendar one day for notice, was taken up, read the second time and third reading ordered.
Action on Bill Postponed
H. 301
House bill, entitled
An act relating to unfair methods of competition;
Was taken up and pending the question, Shall the House concur in the Senate proposal of amendment? on motion of Rep. Milkey of Brattleboro, action on the bill was postponed until the next legislative day.
Resolutions Adopted
The following resolutions were severally taken up and adopted on the part of the House.
J. R. H. 169
Joint resolution honoring Professor Allison Stanger of Middlebury College.
J. R. H. 170
Joint resolution welcoming the visiting students and faculty from the Affiliated High School of south china Normal University.
J. R. H. 171
Joint resolution congratulating Carlton "Pudge" Fisk on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
H. R. 31
House resolution supporting the Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault programs to end sexual and domestic violence in Vermont.
Adjournment
At ten o'clock and five minutes in the forenoon, on motion of Rep. Fyfe of Newport City, the House adjourned until Tuesday, February 1, 2000, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, pursuant to the provisions of J.R.S. 77.