Legislative Wrap-up: Emergency housing
Lawmakers cut the amount the state can spend on emergency housing for the homeless.
Margolis: This isn’t the end of Dems’ income tax reform efforts
Both houses probably lacked the votes to override a Shumlin veto, and whatever the final outcome, challenging a governor of their own party to veto a tax bill risked making that party appear incompetent, if not ludicrous.
Session comes to an end: Lawmakers leave citing social changes, conservative budget
If the Democratic majority in the Senate and House could be described as fiscally conservative, their policy decisions on a handful of social issues were liberal, even uber liberal.
Campaign finance reform failure means caps on donations unlikely to occur until 2016 campaign cycle
Differences between House, Senate versions stall progress until January.
Budget-writers find $10 million in reductions
Sen. Jane Kitchel and Rep. Martha Heath set out to make $10 million in reductions without touching human services programs.
House passes end-of-life bill, 75-65, after rejecting handful of amendments
Opponents made one last stand Monday evening against S.77.
Lawmakers put off fight with Shumlin
House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell decided to scuttle a plan to change the income tax code and give modest tax breaks to more than 200,000 Vermonters this year.
Employer assessment and premium charges set to finance health insurance exchange
The estimated 118,000 Vermonters who will purchase insurance on the exchange will be charged 1 percent of their annual premium.
Legislature lifts restrictions on growing hemp in Vermont
Producers of the crop could still face federal penalties.
Advocates for child-care, deputy state’s attorneys unions vow to return next session
Effort to merge the proposals fell through in final days of session.
