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Saturday, February 6th, 2010
My last few articles have been spent highlighting what is happening in committee. The reason for this is that at the beginning of each session very little time is spent on the House floor debating legislation. By far, much more time is spent in committee sifting through proposed legislation that has been directed to us by leadership based on committee jurisdiction. However, as we move deeper into the session, our time commitment swings as a pendulum with it. Therefore, in the middle of the session will be spending approximately half of our time on the floor and the other half in committee and then by the end of the session we will spending all of our time on the floor and no time in committee.
The committee process is generally very successful in working out peoples differences on a particular issue. The committee usually works on the proposed bills based on their overall importance to Vermonters. However, many times politics finds its way into the process and it is hard to understand why a certain proposal has taken priority. With that understood, we accomplish our committee work by listening to the interested parties and then attempting to formulate collaborative language to address the issue at hand based on each of our own life experiences and philosophy. Believe it or not, many bills get voted out of committee unanimously even though they are made up of people from all parties.
This week my committee, Commerce and Economic Development spent most of its time listening to background and update information on several topics of our jurisdiction. The topics included: workers compensation, the Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC), private activity bonds, Broadband and the Uniform Commercial Code.
The workers compensation testimony included the Department of Labor and representatives from the labor unions. We are scheduled to hear from the private sector on this issue next week. In regard to VEPC, we got a historical outline of the entity from its beginning from Rep. Kathy Keenan, Chris D'Elia former executive director and Fred Kenney current executive director. This was very informative and should be helpful as we move forth with our discussions of economic development in Vermont. The information on private activity bonds from the Treasurers office and Jo Bradley, Director of Vermont Economic Development Authority was also informative. These entities all have a very important role in the future of Vermont's economy.
On Friday, I brought Dempsey Cronin and Allie Davis two seventh grade students to shadow me while I work at the Statehouse. I also met in the morning with Craig Adams, President of KR Adams Inc who was visiting for Employers day. In the afternoon, I met with teacher Joanne Davidman and a group of students representing the Gay Straight Alliance at Milton Jr.Sr. High School. I also had the pleasure of meeting Dawn Palandito who is a resident of Milton and Masters student in social work. Hosting friends and constituents at the Statehouse is one of the things I enjoy most about serving in the legislature. If you would like to visit the Statehouse please feel free to contact me to arrange a date and time.
As your representative, I look forward to representing you and your concerns in Montpelier. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I am very interested in hearing from you. During the session, I can be reached at the Statehouse by calling 1-800-322-5616 or by cell at 373-5960. My email address is dturner@leg.state.vt.us. My web-site address is www.donturnerjr.com. Thank you and have a great week.