Reporting from Montpelier

[Barbara]

First, if you wish to email me please use bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us as my address.  I am checking that religiously while at work. My other addresses and phone numbers are still valid but messages left there may not be recieved as promptly during the week.  I hope to continue to be at Foothill's Bakery around 10 AM Monday mornings for an hour or so in case anyone wants to catch my ear in person. 

My first week was awe inspiring and historic and I feel privileged to be Fairfax's Representative in our State House.  In the vote for Governor I echoed the result from Faifax of November 4th's election and cast my ballot for Mr. Milne.  I have been placed on the Transportation Committee and hope to serve Fairfax and Vermont well there.

[mkr]

Thank you so much for your update!  I also appreciate you providing your vote.

Looking forward to your future updates!

[johnmitchell]

Barbara
  I think your committee assignment is great!  It is one I wanted and never got.  I know you will do well in Montpelier for Fairfax and look forward to the dialog throughout the session.  If you need any advice call me.  I think you will find that not many folks choose to communicate with you unless it is a hot topic.   John M ( former representative for Fairfax)

[nhibbard]

Thanks for the update. I appreciate you letting us know your vote and going with the community choice. What kind of things do they allow you access to to help with all your new decisions? (Do you get a staffer?)

[kpplus2]

Thanks Barbara, I appreciate your vote for the  people. Thanks again, and I also appreciate the transparency/communication from your Montpelier interactions and on goings down at the state house.

[Barbara]

Unfortunately I have an appointment tomorrow that prevents me from being at the bakery but please continue to contact me at bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us.

This past week the Transportation Committee had meetings with employees of the many bureaus within VTrans and received the 3-ring binder that is the Transportation budget. 
I signed on to a few bills that I believe are important for Fairfax as well as Vermont at large.  They were on the topics of the Lake cleanup, with an alternative funding plan that does not include a new tax/fee; a moratorium on unfunded mandates to the local budgets; and support for mentoring programs such as Mobius.  The days are full of information and I am still learning the best way to manage all the overlapping requests on my time.

[nhibbard]

We should get rid of the LC-142 form for the renters rebate and give a state tax credit for housing in it's place. I honestly don't think the rebate should exist at all but if it does, cut the admin cost on landlords, renters and state employees by making it a credit based on purely income.

[kpplus2]

finally the state maybe looking into why our local gas prices are higher then the southern part of our state and .50 or more higher then the national average. It was also stated today that our local gas retailers profit margin is double compared to the surrounding areas? More competition is in order here!!

http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/story/d/story/lawmakers-take-aim-at-gas-prices-in-nw-vermont/42776/AB9rrZzHsUylcZRUIwPz5A

[Barbara]

Tomorrow, Monday, January 26, I will be at the Swanton Municipal complex at 8 AM for the Franklin County legislative breakfast.  Please come join me and the other members of our delegation.
This week I learned that it is impossible to keep up with the full text of all the bills as they are introduced and sent to committee.  Veteran legislators have told me most will never come out of committee and to the floor for a vote. I recommend anyone interested in learning what has been introduced visit the website:  legislature.vermont.gov  Feel free to contact me on any bill you  have questions about. 
Thursday afternoon we held three roll call votes on two resolutions.  My votes were recorded as a Yes to amend JRH 1 and a No to deny passage of the resolution which requested Fairpoint to settle their current labor dispute.  I found the wording to favor one side in the dispute and with negotiations being conducted in DC under a media black-out, I felt it was inappropriate for our body to pass this resolution. The third roll call vote was in support of JRH 1 which recognized the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the 50th anniversary of Planned Parenthood in Vermont.  I voted Yes in support of a person’s right to reproductive freedoms.
My committee attended the hearing on Northern Vermont gas prices.  Testimony was given from several parties but did not provide a comprehensive rationale for the higher rate in portions of Vermont.  It has not escaped my notice that the stations in Montpelier are about a quarter cheaper than here in Fairfax.

[kpplus2]

Thanks Barbra,

Question. The number one issue last election season was property tax reform. Can you tell us from the state house how many bills have been introduced to address this issue?
Thanks
Keith

[rogers9993]

Barbara,

I'm sure the billionaire NY hedge fund owners and millionaire senior executives who live in North Carolina appreciated your no vote on the Fairpoint resolution. However I'm not sure the the 25+ Fairfax residents affected by the strike who are fighting to prevent our good middle class  jobs from being moved out of state and overseas appreciate it. In the future I would hope you would stand with the people you are supposed to represent and not the out of state interests of billionaires.

 Thank You,

Chris Rogers

[Mike ODay]

Barbara,
The VT delegation in Washington DC has already signed onto a sternly worded letter to Fairpoint CEO Paul Sunu, that they are very concerned about the service quality, 911 outages that mostly effect our most at-risk Vermonters, the elderly. Your no vote at the state level was a slap in the face to workers, and meant little to Fairpoint. Your vote to not support your constituents who work for Fairpoint , who are now in their 15th week without a check over the draconian terms imposed by Wall Street hedge funds is ludicrous. You were not asked to use public dollars, you were not asked to spend a dime, only to encourage a private company to negotiate fairly with its employees. If that task is too difficult for you comprehend, I dare say 104A will be a dirt road with you on the transportation committee. If the school kids go to visit you in Montpelier, I hope you can tell the 25 Fairpoint workers kids from Fairfax why you don't support their mommies and daddies getting a fair contract.

[RidgeRunner]

Barbara,

Thank you for the excellent job you are doing in Montpelier and thank you for keeping us informed of your votes.

While I did not read the wording of the bill, I agree with you on your vote regarding Fairpoint.  Anything our legislature puts forward on this matter should be neutral to both sides.  Poorly written legislation can just as easily run businesses and jobs out of the state as can excessive taxes.  I really don't like unions and I certainly don't like them trying to use VT government as a bargaining tool.

Keep up the good work

[Mike ODay]

I think more townspeople should read the language before agreeing with Barbara's vote, and also understand that a resolution is not a piece of legislation, it is formal way of asserting a position, not enacting a law. Holding elected officials to account when they impact your livelihood is a just common sense. To stick to dogma on an issue you have not read up on belongs to the Fox Channel.

[nhibbard]

Anyone want to post the link to look at? I haven't even seen the resolution. I'm also not sure what both sides are offering at the table.