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Friday, January 19th, 2007
It is hard to believe that another week has already passed. We have been spending very little time on the floor of the house, so I will report on what we have been discussing in the Institutions and Corrections committee.
The only bill we worked on this week was in regard to allowing county courthouses to bond for capital improvements. Currently, county courthouses get all of their capital funds from the state but, they would like the authority to borrow funds for improvements. I understand that this will be proposed as a committee bill as soon as we get all of the details worked out.
We heard testimony on several high profile issues this week. We had a joint meeting with Senate Institutions to hear testimony on the State office building in Bennington. We heard from the commissioner of Building and General Services (BGS) and the health department as well as from two employees and the VSEA on the status of the building. The state is currently setting up modular units on the site to house the operation while more in depth testing is completed. Extensive testing has been ongoing but, nothing has been detected to date. The anticipated cost of this move, and up to two years rental of the units is, $3.3 million.
A second joint meeting was held with the Senate to discuss the Vermont State Hospital replacement project. The current proposal is to build a new very expensive and smaller stand alone unit on the Fletcher Allen Campus. This seems to be progressing very slowly. There are mixed opinions about this project.
We spent a few hours with BGS personnel discussing the Statehouse expansion plans. We had a joint meeting with House Judiciary to discuss the increasing costs of corrections and to brainstorm about what might be done to curve these increases in the future.
Global warming and climate change continue to be the buzz around the statehouse. These are important issues but, I am hopeful that property tax reform, health care costs and affordable housing do not get lost in this debate. I have signed onto a bill that will keep the property tax discussion alive.
Lastly, several people had expressed an interest in reviewing proposed legislation that might affect their profession or hobbies but, I am embarrassed to report that I have misplaced my list. If you have any interest in doing this for me please email me ASAP.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
I can be reached here at the Statehouse by calling 1-800-322-5616 or by my cell 373-5960; My website address is Don Turner Jr.com or e-mail me at dturner@leg.state.vt.us. Thank you and have a great week.