Floor work begins in the Vermont House of Representatives this week, and the Gun Owners of Vermont will be at the Statehouse to push back on a Senate proposal to require background checks for all gun purchases.
The first item on the agenda? Banning microbeads, the little plastic bits found in soaps and personal care products. Wastewater treatment plants can’t filter the beads out and environmentalists say the synthetic material poses a risk to fish who feed on the beads, mistaking them for eggs. Microbeads have been found on the shore of Lake Champlain and in waterways across the nation, including the Great Lakes. Illinois outlawed products with microbeads last year.
The bill before the House, H.4, which has broad partisan support, would prohibit the manufacture and sale of the products in Vermont, effective Jan. 1, 2017, and 2018, respectively. There are alternative, natural abrasive materials that industry can use as substitutes including cocoa shell, oatmeal, calcium carbonate and silica.
The House is wasting no time moving ahead with the budget adjustment act, which will go to the floor on Thursday. The House Appropriations Committee will pass the bill out today. The governor’s recommendation reduced spending by $12 million, the bulk of which will be used to help balance the fiscal year 2016 budget.
Lawmakers will need all the carryover they can get. The budget gap for 2016 has grown from $94 million to $112 million, thanks to flagging tax receipts. The state’s economists downgraded tax revenues for 2016 in a meeting with the Emergency Board last week.
The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs has reserved the Statehouse Cafeteria from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The federation is encouraging members to come to talk with lawmakers about why they oppose the Senate proposal to require background checks for all gun purchases.
