by Rep. Gina Galfetti
The conditions in the Statehouse this 2024 session are extremely tense. Now, more than ever, voices of reason are being ignored as individual agendas are being pushed forward. The money from the Fed has dried up and we are facing huge budgetary shortfalls. Warp speed is fully engaged in an effort to jam through legislation with as little debate as possible. We are scrambling to fix the broken system that was created in the form of Act 127 and fix education funding, pushing for more legislation to help us meet the unrealistic goals of the Global Warming Solutions Act and trying to line our own pockets with pay raises in the name of equity.
The primary problem this year is the speed at which legislation is being handled. The Budget Adjustment Act was the first bill fast-tracked. The Governor’s recommendations were largely ignored and issues such as flood relief took priority. While indeed we needed to get critical funding to flood impacted communities, we swept the fact that we were again extending and expanding the hotel voucher program. The BAA is now in the Senate and is being sliced and diced there but ultimately, we will once again overspend.
The next big problem is Act 127 and the 5% cap on a tax rate increase and weighted pupil calculations. The Act’s cap essentially encouraged school districts to spend beyond a 5% increase to draw down money for what was over and above the 5%. As a result, Vermonters are now facing a potential 20% property tax increase. And buckle up because, despite the removal of the cap and delaying budget votes so that districts can return to the drawing board and propose reasonable budgets, we will still be facing a 18 percent increase depending on where the weighted pupil average puts one’s district as either positive or negative. This is unacceptable! Vermonters cannot afford this, period. We are at our breaking point and the super majority appears to be completely oblivious!.
Finally, we have a bill, H. 289, which is currently in the Ways and Means Committee that will increase fees for a program which would create more renewable energy in the grid. It would do this by generating over $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years that will be picking the tax-payers pocket in the form of another fee on your power bill. We have an alternative to this by allowing the Department of Public Safety to deal with administering the program with a price tag of about $260,000.00. Why would we want to spend 4 times more than what is needed?
All and all, players in the Super Majority are steam-rolling the process. Committee Chairs are not taking testimony from crucial witnesses and ignoring any voice of dissent. I have used the word “we” throughout this update because all of us sent here are part of the legislature and I am proud to serve Barre Town and Williamstown. However, with only 36 peers in the Republican Caucus we can only hope to make bad legislation less bad in committee or through floor amendments and that is not in the spirit of a true democratic process. But I hope that you, my constituents, know that I will be doing everything I can to be that voice of reason – and of dissent when it’s necessary- in a legislative body that appears to have lost its collective mind.
Gina Galfetti is the Representative for the Washington/Orange District and can be contacted at: 802.461.3520 or ggalfetti@leg.state.vt.us
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Categories: Rep. Gina Galfetti's Floor Report
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
will you be tense when you pay a 20 percent increase in your property tax bill/// nothing to see folks/// just another day at the vermont zoo///
“players in the Super Majority are steam-rolling the process” It’s called panic under the Golden Thunder Dome. They did the same thing in 2020 on Zoom meetings to push through garbage legislation according to the Master. Their time is running out – they know it and it’s only going to get much worse before it implodes upon itself. See all the warnings about national security threats? Expect more Zoom meetings in your near future, if there is any web connection not hacked or restricted, perhaps regional banks shuttered, and lockdowns in various places and spaces. The gators are death rolling indeed!
Thanks for the update. Its disappointing and disingenuous for most of the readers and commenters here to feign outrage or concern. They voted for this and should be gleeful that they;
1. Selection of Unelectable Candidates: The Vermont GOP has consistently chosen candidates who are not viable in the eyes of the majority of Vermont voters. This approach has alienated a substantial portion of the electorate.
2. Ineffective Messaging: The party’s communication strategy has failed to resonate with or address the concerns of most Vermont residents. This disconnect has further diminished the party’s appeal and relevance.
3. Disregard for Voter Preferences: By ignoring the liberal inclinations of the state’s voters, the Vermont Republicans have positioned themselves contrary to the public’s interests and priorities.
I’m sure one day, 8 track cassettes will make a comeback.
Re: “Its disappointing and disingenuous for most of the readers and commenters here to feign outrage or concern. They voted for this and should be gleeful…”
Mr. Arnold, what evidence do you have that ‘most of the readers and commenters here…. voted for this’?
And is it your opinion that ‘the readers and commenters here’ represent a voting majority of Vermont’s electorate?
Did you ‘vote for this’?
You voted for this by knowingly running unelectable Protest Candidates, Ineffective, alienating, and unpersuasive messaging (know your audience), disregarding and disrespecting the larger voter base you need to win elections.
Focus on getting elected and not on being right.
Re: “You voted for this by …”.
And just how do you know how I voted on anything?
Re: “Focus on getting elected and not on being right.”
Even if it means being dishonest?
Mr. Arnold, sir you are delusional. You assume, incorrectly, that we are all in the “GOP”. Maybe delusional is not the correct word. But Mr. Page has asked us to remain courteous and respectful.
And you would have Conservatives/Republicans/Libertarians abandon ethics and morals just to get elected. How then, would that make a GOP any different than a Dem? You want us to focus on getting elected. Okay. What are you doing sir? What have you done in the last 3 plus years?
We will wait before commenting any further to hear what you, Mr. Tom Arnold has personally done to further a more conservative legislation and state atmosphere.
Waiting…..
Thank you Gina. Sadly, you are in the minority. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for you. It is also frustrating for those not being allowed to testify in committees. I have given up even attempting to. That is wrong!
DemoProg legislators are as irresponsible and impulsive with the resources available to them as the junkies and deadbeats that they have been enabling through honor-system benefit programs…
Thank you for your vigilance, and reporting of the facts Gina. It’s too bad that you are in such a small minority of truely responsible public servants. There was a time when even Democrats honored their service to their constituents. Now they only honor what they want, because their constituents are viewed as being too ignorant to know what is best for them. True “Statesmen” of the past must be rolling in their graves over the direction that modern day politicians have devolved in.
I once heard it said, “The best thing the Legislature could do this year, is to stay shut and stay home.” Think…….
We live in a one party state with mail in voting, and Marxists organized to control it. There is a reason the legislature is unresponsive to the people—they don’t need our support.
Gina thank you for being a moderate voice of common sense and reason.
Representative Gina Galfetti is a bright light, in the Republican Party. It should recognize her legislative skills and take advantage of this poli-sci grad.
She is doing what she can to sidetrack S.5
She cares deeply about her constituents whose homes and lives have been uprooted. Some lost heating systems and wait for months to have it replaced. She is considering an amendment that can expand the State Weatherization Assistance Program. It will help her constituents receiving heat oil assistance. They would be eligible for a grant to have their home weatherized, She titles it the Healthy Homes Act. It can replace S.5.
It would be a cameo moment for the Vermont Republican legislators to seriously consider supporting her when the Program budget is taken up by the Appropriations Committee.
Well, fellow VDC readers… we could all show up to the State House next week. Anyone care to coordinate that effort?
I would do it, if I thought any of you would actually show up. I would say we need to show up on Thursday and ask to be heard. I am awaiting a response from Ms. Galfetti on just what we, the average citizen can do. I have written all the letters I can write. It’s now time to show them a person with a pulse and not an electronic bunch of words.
Well?