Email blast sent to supporters March 6, 2017. Subscribe!

Friends,

Tomorrow is Town Meeting Day; please be sure to get out and participate in our direct democracy! For as much media attention as national and statewide politics get, what happens in our towns and local communities has a far greater impact on your daily life than what happens in D.C. or Montpelier. A group in Stowe has put together a guide on how to participate in Town Meeting, check it out!

Legislature:
Lawmakers are on break this week to attend their local town meetings. They will come back to a number of issues next week with only days left before the crossover deadline. The major ones will be water quality funding, reforms to the Act 46 school district consolidation law, marijuana legalization, 90% renewable by 2050 goal, carbon tax study, animal cruelty legislation, and the state budget.

A notable bill that has already made crossover is the ethics bill (S.8) that was passed unanimously by the Senate last month. The House Government Operations Committee is expected to take it up after the crossover deadline. CFV is gearing up to push this bill through committee and enact meaningful ethics legislation this year!

The Budget:
Members of the House Appropriations Committee have whittled the budget gap from $72 million down to $18 million by rejecting many of Governor Scott’s new spending initiatives and keeping most of the cuts he proposed, with the notable exception of the education funding proposal that was voted down by the House last month.

It’s unclear that mechanisms the Legislature might use to close the remaining gap. There seems to be little appetite for new spending unless it is directed to lake cleanup – $30 million in new revenue has been proposed. Cuts to existing programs like working lands or the Vermont Veterans Home have not been taken off the table. The current budget does not fund the early learning or higher education initiatives proposed by the Governor.

Support CFV’s sustainable budgeting initiative.

Vote for Vermont:
This week we take you inside the Statehouse! Learn about the history of Vermont’s seat of government.

Legislative Updates:
This week in our Legislative Update we covered the water quality funding bill, the State Board of Education, the budget writing process, and how the REAL budget gap is actually $84 million.

Thank you for your continued support,

Benjamin Kinsley
Executive Director
Campaign for Vermont Prosperity

CFV is a non-profit advocacy group that is supported by Vermonters just like YOU. If you have read something above that has piqued your interest please consider making a donation so we can continue to advocate for non-partisan solutions that create prosperity for ALL Vermonters.

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