Energy & Technology – The Energy & Technology Committee (E&T) on which I serve has three areas of responsibility over Vermont’s infrastructure: energy, telecommunications and information technology (IT). In the six weeks of this session, we’ve been pretty active in each of these areas.
The president’s State of the Union address is a tradition of our democracy that allows the head of the executive branch of the government to express his vision for America. It usually addresses a broad range of issues at a high level and is short on detail. Whether or not you agree with what is said, at least you get a pretty good idea of where the speaker is coming from. This got me thinking about my own communications, so I thought I’d try to deliver my own vision of what I try to accomplish as I serve as your representative in Montpelier.
Most people recognize that climate change is happening, that it is caused by burning fossil fuels and that it has serious environmental and health consequences. The challenge to our generation is how to counter the trend of increasing concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The most obvious action is to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.
Patience and persistence: these are two qualities that I learned are essential to working in the Legislature. The issues that the Legislature has to address are often very complex and do not lend themselves to simple solutions. Measures that are enacted sometimes fail to have the desired effect and have to be tweaked by subsequent legislation.
The Legislature met last week in a veto session to address the statewide budget and education property tax bills….
As I write this late Friday afternoon on May 12, I should be home in Charlotte. Instead, I am…
By the time you read this, the Vermont Legislature will be within days of adjournment. You’ve probably heard the…
Our new president’s use of executive orders to try to fulfill some of his campaign promises, particularly regarding immigration,…
Any controversial issue under consideration by the Legislature will generate a lot of emails and phone calls, both pro…
The Doyle Poll, created and still conducted by former Senator Bill Doyle, has been a tradition of Town Meetings…
Our three branches of government, Executive, Legislative and Judicial, form an effective system of checks and balances. The executive…
Although it is still early in the session, the Vermont House has already done some noteworthy work. Faced with…
The Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier is nicknamed “The People’s House.” For one thing, it is where legislators do “the…