Passed the House: H.505, this bill allows towns eligible under FEMA to defer its December payment into the education fund to February 28. This is the second bill that the House passed that should provide much-needed relief to towns struggling in the aftermath of Irene.

My Committee Work

Judicial restructuring: My committee heard an update on the status of the major judicial restructuring law we passed last session. According to the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, the restructuring has been very successful. It has enabled the court to begin eliminating furlough days. This is a practice that most courts in the country instituted as a way to save money. Having the courts closed, even one day a month, however does not meet the needs of the people. We are glad to hear this situation will be remedied.

Chief Justice Reiber also testified that the restructuring helped keep the courts open after Irene. The Chelsea and Woodstock courthouses were without power after the flood. Because of the reorganization and centralization of the court system, people were able to go to White River Junction for services. This would not have been allowed under the prior structure.

Conservation Easements—H. 553: I have introduced H.553 that will establish a process regarding amendments (changes) to conservation easements. In some cases, an amendment may become necessary or desirable. Examples include solar panels on the land, cell towers in a barn, adding or reducing land. These are circumstances that the easement drafters never could have predicted. Under the bill, a special panel of the Vermont Natural Resources Board would have to review and approve all major amendments. Neighboring landowners, the municipality and general public would receive notice and have an opportunity to express their support or opposition before a decision is made on the proposal. This is an important and needed process. A copy of H.553 and a summary of the proposal, together with other background material about amendments, can be found on the Vermont Land Trust’s website, www.vlt.org.

Protection of Vulnerable Adults: H.413: We took more testimony on H.413, a bill I introduced to give prosecutors another tool to protect our elderly and vulnerable adults in residential care and other health facilities.

Capitol Police—H.503: This is a bill that I introduced on behalf of our Sergeant-At –Arms and the capitol police, the law enforcement department of the State House Complex. This bill would require that law enforcement officers hired to serve in the capitol police department be trained and certified by the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford. The testimony from the chief of the Capitol Police stated that the capitol police department is a department just like one that services a municipality or the state with full law enforcement authority and should therefore be trained and certified. The capitol police are an integral part of the public’s safety as we serve here at the State House and the public participates in the democratic process. This bill passed the House.

Mortgage Relief/Irene Work: I am continuing to work with the Vermont Bankers Association to help homeowners who are experiencing difficulties with their banks. My committee is looking at legislative needs regarding foreclosures.

Lack of State Hospital Effect on Juridical System and Individual Rights: We heard testimony from the Commissioner of Mental Health, Patrick Flood and members of his legal team. Many problems exist due to the lack of a state hospital. There was a courthouse in the state hospital where competency and other hearings where held. This was a central location that better served the needs of justice. We were particularly interested in the impact of defendants who need to now be transported to Brattleboro where all court proceedings are taking place.

Other Work: Mad River Valley Hub

I had the great pleasure of attending the official grand opening of the Mad River Food Hub (MRFH). Congratulations to Robin Morris and many others who have brought this exciting and important project to fruition. The food hub is a facility that provides a host of services for entrepreneurs and furthers the values of Farm-to-Plate, Buy Local and sustainable agriculture as an economic engine for our state. Refrigerator and freezer space is available for farmers and producers to store their products, as well as distribution services to local markets. There are two commercial grade state-inspected meat-processing rooms and the first-in-the-state licensed facility where meat and vegetables can be processed together. Certification is pending for USDA approval. When that occurs, products will be able to be sold out of state.

The MRFH was created as an L3C, which is a privately owned entity with a social mission that does not depend solely on public funding. This new status was created by the Legislature in recent years. Funding for the MRFH project came from a number of sources including private investment.

One of the exciting aspects of MRFH is that small business entrepreneurs who want to develop a product can rent the facility space on a daily basis at an affordable price. 28,000 pounds of food have been processed since October.

Resources

Irene Recovery Report: This 70-page report presents the Irene related efforts to date and provides a blue print for ongoing recovery actions. A copy can be found at: http://www.vtstrong.vermont. gov/Portals/0/Documents/Irene_ Recovery_ R eport_ Jan_ 2012.pdf

Legal services: FEMA has established “Disaster Legal Services” (1-800-889-2047) that should provide free legal help.

Foreclosure Help: There is an organization called NeighborWorks of Vermont that helps people who are going through foreclosure (802-476-4493).

Please stay in touch: mgrad@leg.state.vt.us, 828- 2228 (State House), and 496-7667.