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Friday, February 15th, 2008
This week at the Statehouse, was filled with stress and emotion for me. As I have stated over and over again, there is shortage of affordable workforce housing in our state. This is creating a significant economic problem for the State. There is a need to pass legislation this session that will enable the creation of new housing units for these people, our families. However, I feel that my opportunity to influence change is now and I must continue to express my position on this issue whether it is popular or not with the current legislative leadership.
Our committee spent most of Tuesday reviewing and making the final adjustments to the housing creation bill. This bill became controversial late last week with the addition of the rental preservation portion and the proposed Act 250 criterion 9(L) changes. The bill now creates a rental property task force and would mandate an annual registration fee, as well as regular inspections provided by private inspectors at substantial cost to landlords for all rental properties. It also, would make it much more difficult for anyone to develop property outside the Vermont neighborhoods designated areas. I have received many emails from constituents urging me to oppose the bill. We finally voted on the entire bill late Tuesday afternoon, the vote was 4-3-1 in favor of the bill. Unfortunately, I ended up voting against the bill. This was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make in the legislature to date. I have spent so much thought, time and energy trying to create a good law to address this critical need, and I couldn’t believe that I was being forced into voting against it because of politics. Hopefully, the other committees can make substantive changes to the bill so, it will be better and I can ultimately support a housing creation bill. I also, will continue to discuss the issue with colleagues in hope of gaining support for further modifications on the house floor if necessary.
As with the past two sessions, I am very concerned about what it costs us to live here in Vermont. Property taxes, healthcare costs, energy costs and transportation costs continue to spiral out of control. These costs are increasing at far greater rates than our paychecks. I feel that we have to do something this legislative session to start addressing these issues. I am happy to report, on Thursday; the house passed a comprehensive energy bill that is designed to save consumers on their future energy costs.
One of the things I enjoy most about serving in the legislature is hosting friends and constituents at the Statehouse. If you would like to visit the Statehouse please feel free to contact me to arrange a date and time. I enjoy representing you and your concerns in Montpelier. I am also very interested in hearing from you during the session or at anytime throughout the year. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions, comments or issues of concern. I can be reached at the Statehouse by calling 1-800-322-5616 or by cell at 373-5960. My e-mail address is dturner@leg.state.vt.us. My web-site address is www.donturnerjr.com. Thank you and have a great week.