Senators supporting marijuana decriminalization have found a compromise with House Speaker Shap Smith, who was expected to block any bill on the issue once it reached the House.
According to Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, the Speaker has agreed not to stop an amendment to S.138 – a bill initially dealing with search warrants – that calls for a summer study on decriminalization by the Nonviolent Misdemeanor Sentencing Review Committee of quantities of one ounce or less.
The amendment will be discussed on the Senate floor Wednesday.
The amendment is a compromise between two competing amendments to S.138; one from Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, which removed jail time for possession of minor quantities, and another from Sens. Philip Baruth, D-Chittenden, Tim Ashe. D/P-Chittenden, and Benning, which called for decriminalization of quantities under one ounce, with a civil penalty Benning compared to a “traffic ticket.”
Any decriminalization legislation would have been ineffective without Smith’s support.
“We knew no matter what we did in the Senate, Shap Smith in the House was going to block it,” Benning said. “So no matter what we did, if we eliminated any kind of prohibition against marijuana altogether in the Senate, it was going to stop dead in its tracks as soon as it got to the House door.”
Benning, a criminal defense attorney, said one of the benefits of decriminalization would be that it would free up state and police resources spent on cases of minor possession.
“We haven’t ever actually tallied up the amount of money it costs to go through the system, and the ultimate goal is to combat the actual use of marijuana, which we’ve never been successful in doing. So rather than continuing to batter our heads against the wall and do something expecting a different results, get rid of prohibition,” Benning said.
Sears also felt a study on the issue would be an effective approach.
“It seems to be a reasonable compromise to study it. The misdemeanor review committee is a very appropriate place to have it studied. It’s made up of the administration, the courts, as well as a former trooper and legislators,” he said.
~Erin Hale
Lawmakers question Speaker’s stance on utility merger
House Speaker Shap Smith said last week he doesn’t want the Legislature to intervene in the CVPS/Green Mountain Power merger case now before the Public Service Board.
“I prefer that we not pass legislation that interferes with open dockets with the Public Service Board,” he said. “If at some point in time if you continue to do that you begin to question whether we should have a Public Service Board at all.”
That view, however, appears to run counter to the Speaker’s position in 2008 when he reported on a bill that required the Public Service Board to “investigate” whether smart meters presented a viable opportunity for ratepayers to save money on electricity costs. The Senate bill, S.209, was touted by House Democratic leadership at the time and Smith reported on the money portions of the legislation for the House Ways and Means Committee. Only one vote was cast (by Rep. Bud Otterman) in opposition.
Proponents of a payback amendment say this is proof that the Legislature has the authority to weigh in on an open docket before the Public Service Board.
A group of lawmakers has proposed a provision that would make the CVPS/Green Mountain Power merger contingent on a $21 million cash pay back to ratepayers — the amount was borrowed from consumers in a 2001 bailout deal.
Rep. Paul Poirier, I-Barre, a backer of the Browning amendment, says the argument that lawmakers shouldn’t interfere in a board case doesn’t hold up.
“We’re not setting precedent,” Poirier said.
Critics say the Shumlin administration’s agreement on Tuesday to require the utilities to make payments to weatherization and efficiency programs for ratepayers doesn’t go far enough. They want CVPS to provide a cash payout to consumers.
Poirier insisted that it’s not right for Gaz Metro to take $21 million from ratepayers for investments in efficiencies because he said that’s “something they are required to do anyways.”
Smith ruled that an amendment proposed by Rep. Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington, was not germane to a renewable energy bill that passed on the floor last week.
A legislative official says the legislative action taken in 2008 and the current proposal are very different. The 2008 legislative directive was for a fact finding investigation; it was not a proscriptive requirement in a contested case before the board, the official said. AARP Vermont is a party to the proceedings and has aggressively pressed for a cash payback to ratepayers.
Smith has said legislation that would affect the quasi-judicial proceedings now under way would not be appropriate.
Smith didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The Browning amendment, sponsored by 70-plus legislators, is in House Appropriations and may not re-emerge this session.
Smith said last week lawmakers have other means to express their opinions to the Public Service Board. For example, they could write a letter.
Senate sends migrant ID proposal to study committee
Sen. Philip Baruth, D-Chittenden, gave an eloquent speech (partly in Spanish) about the plight of migrant dairy workers who are isolated and confined to the farms where they work because they don’t have legal identification. In some cases workers have been unable to obtain food or timely medical care because they cannot drive legally.
Baruth’s bill, S.238, would enable all migrant workers, regardless of immigration status, to obtain driver’s licenses without having a Social Security number.
Senators agreed to study the issue further.
The legislation passed unanimously.
Sen. Randy Brock, the Republican candidate for governor, issued a statement afterward, explaining why he supported the bill.
“Let me be clear: I support immigration reform and a rational, national guest-worker policy,” Brock said. “I strongly support legal immigration, and I have gone on record calling for changes to federal law. I sympathize with the plight of migrant farm workers. I wish they could come and work here in the light of day. But, my vote in favor of this bill does not suggest that I support granting driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. I do not.
“I am simply voting for a study of an issue that, to date has been inadequately scrutinized. Studies, as members of this body well know, are often places where bad bills go to die,” Brock said.
House business on fast track
Pretty soon there won’t be much more for House members to do. On Tuesday the House passed the conference committee report for the replacement system for the Vermont State Hospital with no discussion and glowing comments from Republicans. The miscellaneous tax bill, which in past years has been a major bone of contention, was approved on second reading on a voice vote. The $60 million capital budget adjustment plan was also OK’d with little fanfare on Tuesday. The proposal sets aside $18 million for Irene-related recovery infrastructure.