1539 Monday, May 8, 2000
Journal of the House
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Monday, May 8, 2000
At ten o'clock minutes in the forenoon the Speaker called the House to order.
Devotional Exercises
Devotional exercises were conducted by Speaker Michael Obuchowski of Rockingham.
Pledge of Allegiance
Speaker Michael Obuchowski of Rockingham led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Message from the Senate
A message was received from the Senate by Mr. Marshall, its Assistant Secretary, as follows:
Mr. Speaker:
I am directed to inform the House that the Senate has considered bills originating in the House of the following titles:
H. 188. An act relating to diesel fuel tax.
H. 209. An act relating to giving certain towns the option of having planning commission and board of adjustment appeals be heard on the record before the environmental court
H. 671. An act relating to tax credit for substantial rehabilitation of historic buildings.
H. 738. An act relating to professional regulation.
H. 831. An act relating to processing small claims court fees.
And has passed the same in concurrence with proposals of amendment in the adoption of which the concurrence of the House is requested.
Pursuant to the request of the House for a Committee of Conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on Senate bill entitled:
S. 146. An act relating to Vermont Independent School Financing Authority.
The President has appointed as members of such Committee on the part of the Senate:
Senator Doyle
Senator Greenwood
Senator Bahre
Message from Governor
A message was received from His Excellency, the Governor, by Ms. Kate O’Connor, Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs, as follows:
Mr. Speaker:
I am directed by the Governor to inform the House that on the fifth day of May, 2000, he approved and signed bills originating in the House of the following titles:
H. 598 An act designating the state song
H. 848 An act relating to zoning of registered or licensed family child care homes
H. 849 An act relating to penalties, dairy sheep, nonpoint source water pollution and large farm operations
Bill Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
S. 200
House bill, entitled
An act relating to fingerprinting and criminal history records;
Appearing on the Calendar, affecting the revenue of the state, under the rule, was referred to the committee on Ways and Means.
Senate Proposal of Amendment Concurred in; Action Messaged
to Senate Forthwith and Bill Delivered to Governor Forthwith
H. 738
The Senate proposes to the House to amend House bill, entitled
An act relating to professional regulation;
First: By striking out Sec.14 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Sec. 14. 26 V.S.A. § 1257 is amended to read:
§ 1257. UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
(a) A funeral director shall not engage in unprofessional conduct.
(b) Unprofessional conduct means:
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(11)(4) Failure to make available at the licensee's place of business, by color picture or display, the three least expensive caskets, as available. For the purposes of this section and related administrative rules, the three least expensive caskets shall include one cloth, one metal, and one wood casket.
Second: In Sec. 44, § 4185 of 26 V.S.A., by striking out subsection (b) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
(b) The director shall adopt general rules necessary to perform his or her duties under this chapter, maintain and make available a list of approved programs for continuing education, and by January 1, 2001, in consultation with the commissioner of health, the Vermont medical society, and the Vermont chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, adopt specific rules defining the scope and practice standards, including risk-assessment criteria, based at a minimum, on the practice standards of the Vermont Midwives Alliance (VMA) and the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and defining a protocol and formulary for drug use by licensed midwives, including anti-hemorrhagic drugs and oxygen.
Third: In Sec. 44, by striking out § 4186 of 26 V.S.A. in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
§ 4186. ADVISOR APPOINTEES
(a) The secretary of state shall appoint two licensed midwives and one physician, licensed under chapter 23 of this title and who has professional experience with home births, to serve as advisors in matters relating to licensed midwives. They shall be appointed for staggered five-year terms and shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary. One of the initial appointments may be for less than five years.
(b) The midwife appointees shall not have less than three years' experience as midwives qualified to be licensed under this chapter during the period immediately preceding appointment and shall be actively engaged in midwifery during their incumbency.
(c) The office of professional regulation shall investigate complaints regarding licensed midwives or applicants for licensing or renewal and, when appropriate, refer them to an administrative law officer established under subsection 129(j) of Title 3.
(d) The director shall seek the advice of the persons appointed under this section in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Such appointees shall be entitled to compensation and expenses as provided in section 1010 of Title 32 for attendance at any meeting called by the director for this purpose.
Fourth: In Sec. 44, by striking out 26 V.S.A. §4188 in its entirety and renumbering the remaining sections to be numerically correct
Fifth: In Sec. 46, by striking out 26 V.S.A. §4410 in its entirety and renumbering the remaining sections to be numerically correct
Sixth: By adding a new Sec. 54 to read as follows:
Sec. 54. REVIEW AND REPORT ON PROFESSIONAL REGULATORY FEE POLICY BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE
In consultation with the secretary of administration or designee, the attorney general or designee, the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Interboard Advisory Committee, the secretary of state shall review and recommend alternative options for professional regulatory fee policy, articulated in section 124 of Title 3, addressing the variability of Vermont markets for regulated professional services, the variability in numbers of practitioners in each profession, and the ability to pay or transfer the cost of the fees onto the consumer as the ultimate beneficiary of the program. The secretary of state shall report the results of the review and any recommendations to the House and Senate Committees on Government Operations, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means on or before January 1, 2001.
Which proposal of amendment was considered and concurred in.
On motion of Rep. LaBarge of Grand Isle, the rules were suspended and action on the bill was ordered messaged to the Senate forthwith and the bill delivered to the Governor forthwith.
Joint Resolutions Adopted
Joint resolutions of the following titles were severally taken up and adopted on the part of the House;
J. R. H. 267
Joint resolution congratulating the Town of Halifax on the occasion of its 250th Anniversary.
J. R. H. 268
Joint resolution congratulating Mark Rodgers on being named as the recipient of the 1999 National Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder Award.
J. R. H. 269
Joint resolution honoring the first USA-National Karate Federation (NKF) New England Junior Olympics.
Senate Proposal of Amendment Concurred in with an Amendment
thereto and Messaged to Senate Forthwith
H. 837
The Senate proposes to the House to amend House bill, entitled
An act relating to assuring a livable wage for all working Vermonters;
By striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSES
(a) The General Assembly finds that any Vermonter, employer or employee, who works full-time should receive wages and employment benefits that are fairly commensurate with the value of the services rendered. Wages and employment benefits together with supplemental public benefits should provide an income sufficient to pay for basic human needs.
(b) There are still many public policy and economic questions that require further research and analysis in order to find ways, both legislative and otherwise, to reduce or eliminate the livable income gap for Vermonters without creating negative economic or fiscal impacts.
(c) Extensive and appropriate statistical data on employment, taxes, education, workforce training and economic development issues is needed to make informed policy decisions. To this end, it is necessary to establish standardized benchmarks, using consistent methodology, with which to measure progress toward a state economy that can support a livable income for all Vermont wage earners.
Sec. 2. 32 V.S.A. § 5828b is amended to read:
§ 5828b. EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT
(a) A resident individual or part-year resident individual who is entitled to an earned income tax credit granted under the laws of the United States shall be entitled to a credit against the tax imposed for each year by section 5822 of this title. The credit shall be the greater of
(1) the applicable percentage; or
(2) 25 32 percent
of the earned income tax credit granted to the individual under the laws of the United States, multiplied by the percentage which the individual's earned income that is earned or received during the period of the individual's residency in this state bears to the individual's total earned income. For purposes of this section, "applicable percentage" means the percentage of federal income tax liability specified in section 5822 of this title, as amended from time to time.
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Sec. 3. 32 V.S.A. § 9775 is amended to read:
§ 9775. RETURNS
(a) Every person required to collect or pay tax under this chapter shall, where the sales and use tax liability under this chapter for the immediately preceding calendar year has been (or would have been in cases when the business was not operating for the entire year) $1,000.00 or less, pay the tax imposed by this chapter in quarterly installments on or before the 25th day of the calendar month succeeding the quarter ending on the last day of March, June, September and December of each year. In all other cases, except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, the tax imposed by this chapter shall be due and payable monthly on or before the 25th (23rd of February) day of the month following the month for which the tax is due. Payment by electronic funds transfer does not affect the requirement to file returns. The return of a vendor of tangible personal property shall show his receipts from sales and also the aggregate value of tangible personal property sold by him, the use of which is subject to tax under this chapter. The return of a recipient of amusement charges shall show all those charges and the amount of tax thereon. The return of a telecommunications service provider shall show all receipts on which a tax must be paid by a purchaser and the amount of tax thereon.
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(e) A person who otherwise is required to file and pay tax monthly and who, on or before June 1, demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that at least 50 percent of its sales during the immediately preceding calendar year were sales of building materials to contractors for the improvement of real estate, and those sales were made on credit terms with an average credit period of at least 40 days, may file and pay taxes in quarterly installments.
Sec. 3a. 32 V.S.A. § 5914(c) is amended to read:
(c) With respect to each of its nonresident shareholders, an S corporation shall for each taxable period be liable for all income taxes, together with related interest and penalties, imposed on the shareholder by Vermont with respect to the income of the S corporation. An S corporation shall declare estimated tax, and shall pay estimated tax, including applicable interest and penalties, on such liability in the manner and at the times specified for individuals in subchapter 5 of this chapter; provided, however, that an S corporation with a single shareholder and a tax liability under this section of $250.00 or less in the prior year, and an S corporation with two or more shareholders and a tax liability under this section of $500.00 or less in the prior year, may file the entire estimated amount on or before the fourth payment date, January 15. For purposes of this subsection, "estimated tax" means an amount equal to the highest federal marginal tax rate in effect for individuals multiplied by the rate prescribed under section 5822 of this title multiplied by the shareholder's pro rata share of the income attributable to Vermont.
Sec. 3b. 32 V.S.A. § 5920(c) is amended to read:
(c) With respect to each of its nonresident partners or nonresident members, a partnership or limited liability company shall for each taxable period be liable for all income taxes, together with related interest and penalties, imposed on the partner or member by Vermont with respect to the income of the partnership or limited liability company. A partnership or limited liability company shall declare estimated tax, and shall pay estimated tax, including applicable interest and penalties, on such liability in the manner and at the times specified in subchapter 5 of this chapter; provided, however, that a partnership or limited liability company with a single partner or member and a tax liability under this section of $250.00 or less in the prior year, and a partnership or limited liability company with two or more partners or members and a tax liability under this section of $500.00 or less in the prior year, may file the entire estimated amount on or before the fourth payment date, January 15. For purposes of this subsection, "estimated tax" as used in subchapter 5 of this chapter shall mean an amount equal to the highest federal marginal tax rate in effect for individuals multiplied by the rate prescribed under section 5822 of this title, multiplied by the partner's or member's pro rata share of the income attributable to Vermont, reflected on the partnership's or limited liability company's declaration of estimated tax of the taxable period.