by Rep. Gina Galfetti
It would appear that House Democrats and Republicans have gotten off on the wrong foot. The Budget Adjustment Act passed recently was contentious for good reason. What should have been a simple act of balancing the budget after looking at the year’s expenditures became a policy bill. It subverted previous compromises that had been struck last session regarding the hotel voucher program and directly influenced policy to extend the program.
Democrats added a 1.8 million dollar appropriation to the bill that will extend the hotel voucher program until the end of June and remove the 80 day cap for occupancy. This is a policy that should have been introduced in a stand alone bill and worked through the process. The Legislature would have had plenty of time before the original April deadline to negotiate a compromise. The bill would have moved through the proper channels and been considered by both sides thoughtfully. Instead the Democrats decided to slide through the extension and change in policy in the BAA. Not a good indicator that they will live up to their pledge to “ reach across the aisle ”.
The bill was completely divided along party lines. Republicans presented compromises but the message fell on deaf ears and the legislation was slammed through in a manner that was reminiscent of the past sessions of the super majority. Luckily, if changes are not negotiated in the Senate and the Governor vetoes the bill we do have the votes to uphold his veto. Being able to uphold the veto is an effective tactic. However, the problem of going through the process this way adds significant time and wastes resources in the building. Time and resources that we should be spending on more important matters like school funding, public safety, health care and reversing and revising punitive environmental policy.
On that note, besides wasting resources and refusing to compromise on the Budget Adjustment Act, the Democratic majority controls who chairs what committees. As a result many pieces of legislation that would address these important issues have not been taken up for consideration. A great example is a bill that was introduced to remove the lawsuit provision from the Global Warming Solutions Act. The GWS lawsuit provisions opens the state up to lawsuits when the benchmarks for carbon emissions goals are not met. As a matter of fact there is already one lawsuit in the pipeline. Many many more will follow.
Who will pay to litigate the cases and pay any damages awarded? Answer: Vermonters!
With Democrats stalling and digging in so far this session the hopes of speedy legislative work that Vermonters so desperately need are fading. This is not acceptable. Voters sent a message to the super majority and destroyed it. Vermonters voted for change, for affordability, for relief! They sent a message that they can’t maintain the unbridled increases in the property taxes in this state. They sent a message that they didn’t feel safe. They sent a message that punitive environmental policy is not the way forward. Why aren’t Democrats listening?
Gina Galfetti is the Representative for the Washington/Orange District and can be contacted at: 802.461.3520 or ggalfetti@leg.state.vt.us