Journal of the House
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2006
At one o'clock and fifteen minutes in the afternoon the Speaker called the House to order.
Devotional Exercises
Devotional exercises were conducted by Pastor Abraham Gross of Cavendish Baptist Church, Cavendish, VT.
Message from the Senate No. 6
A message was received from the Senate by Mr. Marshall, its Assistant Secretary, as follows:
Madam Speaker:
I am directed to inform the House that the Senate has considered House proposal of amendment to Senate bill entitled:
S. 18. An act relating to liability resulting from the use of genetically engineered seeds and plant parts.
And has refused to concur therein and asks for a Committee of Conference upon the disagreeing votes of the two Houses;
The President announced the appointment as members of such Committee on the part of the Senate:
Senator Campbell
Senator Illuzzi
Senator White
House Bills Introduced
House bills of the following titles were severally introduced, read the first time and referred as follows:
H. 618
By Reps. Pugh of South Burlington, Larson of Burlington and Martin of Springfield,
An act relating to increasing the age limit for children in need of care and supervision;
To the committee on Human Services.
H. 619
By Rep. Pillsbury of Brattleboro,
An act relating to public defenders;
To the committee on Judiciary.
H. 620
By Rep. Jewett of Ripton,
An act relating to limitations on liability for municipal and state landowners;
To the committee on Judiciary.
H. 621
By Reps. Rusten of Halifax, Chen of Mendon, Errecart of Shelburne, Hube of Londonderry, Komline of Dorset, Marron of Stowe and Nitka of Ludlow,
An act relating to option for local education property tax;
To the committee on Ways and Means.
S. 190
Senate bill, entitled
An act relating to the number of witnesses required to attest to a will;
Was taken up, read the first time and referred to the committee on Judiciary.
Favorable Report; Third Reading Ordered
H. 593
Rep. Peterson of Williston, for the committee on Ways and Means, to which had been referred House bill, entitled
An act relating to education property tax rate adjustments;
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 pending the question, Shall the bill be read the third time? Reps. Marron of Stowe and Hube of Londonderry moved to amend the bill as follows:
By striking Sec. 1 and inserting in lieu thereof Secs. 1 and 2 to read:
Sec. 1. FISCAL YEAR 2007 REDUCTION OF EDUCATION PROPERTY
TAX RATES AND APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE
For fiscal year 2007 only, the education property tax imposed under subsection 5402(a) of Title 32 shall be reduced from the rates of $1.59 and $1.10 and shall instead be at the following rates:
(1) the tax rate for nonresidential property shall be $1.47 per $100.00; and
(2) the tax rate for homestead property shall be $0.98 multiplied by the district spending adjustment for the municipality, per $100.00;
of equalized education property value as most recently determined under section 5405 of Title 32.
Sec. 2. REPEAL
32 V.S.A. § 5402b(b) (requiring the commissioner to recommend a proportional adjustment to the applicable percentage if the commissioner recommends an adjustment to the nonresidential and homestead education property tax rates) is repealed.
Pending the question, Shall the House amend the bill as recommended by Reps. Marron of Stowe, et al? Rep. Marron of Stowe asked and was granted leave of the House to withdraw his amendment.
Thereupon, third reading was ordered.
Joint Resolution Referred to Committee
J.R.H. 52
Reps. Wright of Burlington, Kilmartin of Newport City, Adams of Hartland, Allaire of Rutland City, Allard of St. Albans Town, Baker of West Rutland, Bartlett of Dover, Bostic of St. Johnsbury, Branagan of Georgia, Canfield of Fair Haven, Clark of Vergennes, Dates of Shelburne, DePoy of Rutland City, Donaghy of Poultney, Dunsmore of Georgia, Endres of Milton, Errecart of Shelburne, Helm of Castleton, Houston of Ferrisburgh, Hube of Londonderry, Hudson of Lyndon, Johnson of Canaan, Kennedy of Chelsea, Komline of Dorset, Krawczyk of Bennington, Larocque of Barnet, Larrabee of Danville, LaVoie of Swanton, Lawrence of Lyndon, Louras of Rutland City, Marcotte of Coventry, McAllister of Highgate, Miller of Elmore, Morley of Barton, Morrissey of Bennington, Niquette of Colchester, O'Donnell of Vernon, Parent of St. Albans City, Peaslee of Guildhall, Rodgers of Glover, Shaw of Derby, Sunderland of Rutland Town, Valliere of Barre City, Winters of Swanton and Winters of Williamstown offered a joint resolution, entitled
Joint resolution urging the resignation of Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman;
Whereas, Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman is currently sitting in Chittenden County, and
Whereas, on Wednesday, January 4, 2006, Judge Cashman sentenced a defendant to a minimum term of 60 days as punishment for the defendant’s admitted repeated sexual assaults on a young girl during the time the child was 6‑10 years old, and
Whereas, Judge Cashman stated that he issued this extraordinarily short sentence, despite the state’s attorney’s recommendation of a minimum eight-year prison term, to expedite the defendant’s eligibility for the sexual offender rehabilitation program, and
Whereas, Judge Cashman also declared that after 25 years, he no longer believes in punishment, and
Whereas, in accordance with Chapter I, Article 6, of the Constitution of the State of Vermont, all officers of government are servants of the people and are accountable to the people in a legal way, and
Whereas, the Vermont Constitution, in Chapter II, § 64, recognizes that punishment of long duration can serve as a deterrent to crime, and
Whereas, Chapter II, § 64 of the Vermont Constitution also requires that the punishment consider the protection of the victim and the reparation of injuries done to the victim, which was specifically rejected in this sentence, and
Whereas, while judges may disagree over the specific duration of a criminal sentence, the minimum 60-day sentence issued in this case is so short that it is beyond the bounds of any degree of reasonability, and
Whereas, Judge Cashman’s sentence, by expressly rejecting punishment and failing to provide for the protection of the victim, violated Chapter II, § 64, of the Vermont Constitution, and
Whereas, although Judge Cashman’s sentence did not otherwise violate a sentencing guideline or statute, its failure to observe Vermont constitutional requirements and its total inappropriateness in this circumstance, in combination with the judge’s public declaration that he no longer believes in punishment, makes him unfit to continue as a judge on the Vermont state bench, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly urges, in the strongest possible terms, that Judge Edward Cashman resign immediately from the Vermont state bench, and be it further
Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Judge Edward Cashman at the Chittenden County District Court in Burlington and to Chief Justice Paul Reiber at the Vermont Supreme Court.
Which was read and, in the Speaker’s discretion, treated as a bill and referred to the committee on Judiciary.
Joint Resolution Referred to Committee
J.R.H. 53
Reps. Hube of Londonderry, Allaire of Rutland City, Allard of St. Albans Town, Ancel of Calais, Audette of S. Burlington, Baker of West Rutland, Bartlett of Dover, Bostic of St. Johnsbury, Botzow of Pownal, Branagan of Georgia, Brooks of Montpelier, Chen of Mendon, Clark of St. Johnsbury, Cross of Winooski, Darrow of Dummerston, Deen of Westminster, Donahue of Northfield, Dostis of Waterbury, Dunsmore of Georgia, Emmons of Springfield, Errecart of Shelburne, Fallar of Tinmouth, Fisher of Lincoln, French of Randolph, Haas of Rochester, Heath of Westford, Howrigan of Fairfield, Hunt of Essex, Jewett of Ripton, Keogh of Burlington, Kilmartin of Newport City, Klein of East Montpelier, Komline of Dorset, Larocque of Barnet, Larrabee of Danville, Larson of Burlington, Leriche of Hardwick, Livingston of Manchester, Maier of Middlebury, Marron of Stowe, Miller of Shaftsbury, Minter of Waterbury, Monti of Barre City, Nease of Johnson, Niquette of Colchester, Nitka of Ludlow, O'Donnell of Vernon, Parent of St. Albans City, Partridge of Windham, Pillsbury of Brattleboro, Potter of Clarendon, Pugh of S. Burlington, Reese of Pomfret, Rodgers of Glover, Rusten of Halifax, Smith of Morristown, Sunderland of Rutland Town, Sweaney of Windsor, Tracy of Burlington, Valliere of Barre City, Westman of
Cambridge and Winters of Williamstown offered a joint resolution, entitled
Joint resolution urging the federal government to simplify the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program;
Whereas, health care costs are a major expense for all Vermonters and especially for older Vermonters who often have limited incomes and many health care expenses, and
Whereas, one of the major methods for seniors to lower their health care costs is the federal Medicare program that since 1965 has paid a significant segment of hospital and physician outpatient services’ expenses, and
Whereas, in response to a strong demand from across the country, Congress adopted, and on December 8, 2003, President Bush signed, Public Law No. 108-173, “An Act to amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a voluntary prescription drug benefit under the Medicare program” (the Act), and
Whereas, the Act did not establish a single or even a few prescription drug options, but rather it authorized a national total of hundreds of policy choices through Medicare Part D, starting on January 1, 2006, and
Whereas, over 40 million Americans are eligible to purchase a Medicare prescription drug policy, and
Whereas, unlike under the Veterans’ Administration prescription drug program, Medicare Part D is prohibited from negotiating for the lowest possible prices, and
Whereas, the confusion that Vermont seniors now face as they select a prescription drug plan is mind boggling as they are confronted with 44 different plans with premium options ranging from $7.32 to $65.58 per month and a broad array of drug formularies and cost-sharing arrangements, and
Whereas, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preliminary administration of the Medicare prescription drug program has been problematic as the website intended to provide information to consumers was late in going online, the center has been unable to process all of the applications received, and the CMS senior helpline has directed callers to local area agencies on aging which are already inundated with prescription inquiries, and
Whereas, according to a scientifically designed national survey of eligible subscribers that the respected and nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation conducted, only 20 percent of seniors intend to enroll in a plan, 37 percent will not enroll in a plan, and 43 percent are too confused to decide, and
Whereas, the many available options are confusing the persons the federal legislation was designed to help, and even health care experts are at times confused, and
Whereas, a much simplified administrative structure would be a far more efficient and sane method to deliver Medicare prescription drug services, and
Whereas, it is imperative that the confusion, disappointment, and frustration that the potential beneficiaries are experiencing be halted, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly urges the federal government to redesign and simplify the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program, and be it further
Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to President George Bush, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, and the members of the Vermont Congressional Delegation.
Which was read and, in the Speaker’s discretion, treated as a bill and referred to the committee on Human Services.
Adjournment
At two o’clock the afternoon, on motion of Rep. Sunderland of Rutland Town, the House adjourned until tomorrow at one o’clock and fifteen minutes in the afternoon.