167 TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2002
Journal of the House
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2002
At ten o'clock in the forenoon the Speaker called the House to order.
Devotional Exercises
Devotional exercises were conducted by Brian Abbott of the Church of Christ, Scientist, Montpelier.
Pledge of Allegiance
Page Alison Kathlyn DeGraff of Middlebury led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Joint Resolutions Placed on Calendar
The Speaker placed before the House the following resolutions which were read and in the Speaker’s discretion, placed on the Calendar for action tomorrow under Rule 52.
J.R.S. 98
By Senators Morrissey and Sears,
Joint resolution congratulating Brent C. Lederer of Arlington Boy Scout Troop #334 upon attainment of the rank of Eagle Scout.
Whereas, scouting is a movement that challenges, inspires and guides young people toward high achievements and high values as expressed in the Scout oath, law, motto and slogan, and
Whereas, the rank of Eagle is the highest rank in Boy Scouting, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank requires mastery of difficult challenges in diverse areas, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank also requires demonstration of good character and community service, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank not only indicates difficult achievement itself, but also demonstrates the courage and tenacity to pursue a goal over a long period of time, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank confers upon the Eagle Scout an honor that will dignify him for the rest of his life, and
Whereas, only a minority of scouts ever attains this rank, and
Whereas, at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor held on December 28, 2001, Brent Lederer was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates Brent C. Lederer for his special achievement of attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Brent C. Lederer in Arlington.
J.R.S. 99
By Senators Morrissey and Sears,
Joint resolution congratulating Benjamin M. Boyd of Wilmington Boy Scout Troop #461 upon attainment of the rank of Eagle Scout.
Whereas, scouting is a movement that challenges, inspires and guides young people toward high achievements and high values as expressed in the Scout oath, law, motto, and slogan, and
Whereas, the rank of Eagle is the highest rank in Boy Scouting, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank requires mastery of difficult challenges in diverse areas, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank also requires demonstration of good character and community service, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank not only indicates difficult achievement itself, but also demonstrates the courage and tenacity to pursue a goal over a long period of time, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank confers upon the Eagle Scout an honor that will dignify him for the rest of his life, and
Whereas, only a minority of scouts ever attains this rank, and
Whereas, as his special Eagle project, Benjamin Boyd planned and supervised the construction of ten shelf units (consisting of 30 shelves) at the new Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, and
Whereas, at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor to be held on January 28, 2002, Benjamin will be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates Benjamin M. Boyd for his special achievement of attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Benjamin M. Boyd in Wilmington and to Troop # 461 Committee Chair Donald Gehring in Wilmington.
J.R.S. 100
By Senators Morrissey and Sears,
Joint resolution congratulating Dustin L. Mack of Wilmington Boy Scout Troop #461 upon attainment of the rank of Eagle Scout.
Whereas, scouting is a movement that challenges, inspires and guides young people toward high achievements and high values as expressed in the Scout oath, law, motto, and slogan, and
Whereas, the rank of Eagle is the highest rank in Boy Scouting, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank requires mastery of difficult challenges in diverse areas, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank also requires demonstration of good character and community service, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank not only indicates difficult achievement itself, but also demonstrates the courage and tenacity to pursue a goal over a long period of time, and
Whereas, attainment of Eagle rank confers upon the Eagle Scout an honor that will dignify him for the rest of his life, and
Whereas, only a minority of scouts ever attains this rank, and
Whereas, as his special Eagle project, Dustin Mack planned and supervised the building of two doublesided bookshelves for the Jacksonville, Vermont Public Library, and
Whereas, at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor to be held on January 28, 2002, Dustin will be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates Dustin L. Mack for his special achievement of attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Dustin L. Mack in Wilmington and to Troop # 461 Committee Chair Donald Gehring in Wilmington.
J.R.S. 101
By Senator Illuzzi,
Joint resolution urging the United States Congress to actively facilitate sufficient famine relief to the people of Afghanistan.
Whereas, the people of Afghanistan, a largely agricultural nation, regardless of their ethnic background, have been the tragic victims of continuous turmoil for over two decades, and
Whereas, while much of the international media attention has focused on the military and political events that continue to engulf this nation of approximately 30 million persons, the country’s horrible famine conditions must be an immediate concern, especially during the frigid and extremely harsh Afghan winter, and
Whereas, despite the nearly perpetual military conflict since 1979, Afghanistan’s agricultural production was hampered but, nonetheless, still functioning at reduced capacity, and
Whereas, beginning in 1998, successive annual summer droughts have devastated the fields of Afghanistan, making farming a difficult, if not impossible, pursuit, and
Whereas, the military maneuvers that comprise “Operation Enduring Freedom” exacerbated Afghanistan’s famine conditions, and
Whereas, in the fall of 2001, estimates placed the number of starving persons within the country’s borders at 5,000,000, and
Whereas, the food rations which the United States airdropped, representing less than one percent of the needed nourishment, hardly alleviated the problem, and
Whereas, the extremely unstable conditions during the fall made overland delivery of foodstuffs a nearly impossible task, and
Whereas, for example, a United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) convoy carrying 200 tons of food was seized, while another 260 tons of food, in a different convoy, was destroyed by shots fired from an unidentified source, and
Whereas, the World Food Program (WFP) was forced this autumn to suspend shipment of wheat (the most urgently needed commodity) into the nation due to the volatility of the military situation, and
Whereas, through February, Afghanistan requires a minimum of 52,000 tons of food, and
Whereas, the mere availability of food is insufficient, there must be safe and reliable transportation routes, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly calls upon the United States Government to exercise the maximum effort possible, in coordination with the international relief agencies, to assure delivery of vital food supplies to the millions of starving people in Afghanistan, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send copies of this resolution to President George Bush; U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell; U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert; U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey; U.S. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle; U.S. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott; and the members of the Vermont Congressional Delegation.
House Bills Introduced
House bills of the following titles were severally introduced. Pending first reading of the bills, on motion of Rep. Doyle of Richmond, the rules were suspended and the bills were read the first time by number and referred as follows:
H. 628
By Reps. Obuchowski of Rockingham and Partridge of Windham,
An act relating to cancellation, termination or nonrenewal of a workers’ compensation policy;
To the committee on Commerce.
H. 629
By Reps. O'Donnell of Vernon, Webster of Brattleboro, Darrow of Dummerston, Deen of Westminster, Milkey of Brattleboro, Obuchowski of Rockingham, Partridge of Windham, Pillsbury of Brattleboro and Rusten of Halifax,
An act relating to the Southeastern Vermont Career Education Center;
To the committee on Education.
H. 630
By Reps. Anderson of Woodstock, Crawford of Burke, Hooker of Rutland City, Hube of Londonderry, Kitzmiller of Montpelier, Waite of Pawlet and Wheeler of Burlington,
An act relating ot sale of malt and vinous beverages;
To the committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs.
H. 631
By Reps. Hingtgen of Burlington, Alfano of Calais, Aswad of Burlington, Bohi of Hartford, Brooks of Montpelier, Connell of Warren, Cross of Winooski, Darrow of Newfane, Darrow of Dummerston, Donovan of Burlington, Driscoll of Burlington, Emmons of Springfield, Fisher of Lincoln, Hooker of Rutland City, Hummel of Underhill, Jordan of Middlesex, Kainen of Hartford, Kiss of Burlington, Larson of Burlington, Masland of Thetford, Milkey of Brattleboro, Nuovo of Middlebury, Osman of Plainfield, Partridge of Windham, Pillsbury of Brattleboro, Sweaney of Windsor, Waite of Pawlet, Webster of Brattleboro, Woodward of Johnson and Zuckerman of Burlington,
An act relating to income taxation of capital gains;
To the committee on Ways and Means.
H. 632
By Rep. Sweaney of Windsor,
An act relating to use tax exemption for temporary storage;
To the committee on Ways and Means.
H. 633
By Reps. Alfano of Calais, Connell of Warren, Donovan of Burlington, Hooker of Rutland City and Kitzmiller of Montpelier,
An act relating to reimbursement for acupuncturists;
To the committee on Commerce.
H. 634
By Reps. Zuckerman of Burlington, Alfano of Calais, Barney of Highgate, Bohi of Hartford, Darrow of Dummerston, Deen of Westminster, Donovan of Burlington, Driscoll of Burlington, Emmons of Springfield, Grad of Moretown, Hingtgen of Burlington, Hooker of Rutland City, Jordan of Middlesex, Kiss of Burlington, Larson of Burlington, Lippert of Hinesburg, Nuovo of Middlebury, Osman of Plainfield, Paquin of Fairfax, Partridge of Windham, Pillsbury of Brattleboro, Seibert of Norwich, Starr of Troy and Woodward of Johnson,
An act relating to state income tax rates;
To the committee on Ways and Means.
H. 635
By Reps. Kilmartin of Newport City, Bolduc of Barton, Goodridge of Albany, Hall of Newport City, Shaw of Derby and Sheltra of Derby,
An act relating to a free hunting and fishing license for a member of the National Guard who is on active duty;
To the committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources.
H. 636
By Reps. Koch of Barre Town, Alfano of Calais, Allard of St. Albans Town, Connell of Warren, Cross of Winooski, DePoy of Rutland City, Driscoll of Burlington, Endres of Milton, Gervais of Enosburg, Grad of Moretown, Helm of Castleton, Hooker of Rutland City, Howrigan of Fairfield, Jordan of Middlesex, Kennedy of Chelsea, Larrabee of Danville, Livingston of Manchester, Monti of Barre City, O'Donnell of Vernon, Osman of Plainfield, Pugh of South Burlington, Seibert of Norwich, Stevens of Essex, Sweaney of Windsor, Symington of Jericho, Vincent of Waterbury, Voyer of Morristown, Wheeler of Burlington, Woodward of Johnson and Zuckerman of Burlington,
An act relating to birth defect information being included on birth certificates;
To the committee on Health and Welfare.
H. 637
By Rep. Keenan of St. Albans City,
An act relating to municipal representation on regional planning commissions;
To committee on Local Government.
Senate Bill Referred
S. 120
Senate bill, entitled
An act relating to proration of property taxes upon transfer
Was taken up, read the first time and referred to the committee on Local Government.
Message from the Senate No. 13
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 a joint resolution originating in the House of the following title:
J.R.H. 188. Joint resolution in memory of former Representative Mary M. Evelti of Burlington.
And has adopted the same in concurrence.
Executive Order #01-06 Referred
The Speaker placed before the House an Executive Order relating to changes in the organization of the executive branch of the government of Vermont pursuant to the provisions of 3 V.S.A. §2002, which was read the Clerk as follows:
STATE OF VERMONT
Executive Department
E X E C U T I V E O R D E R
WHEREAS, the Governor, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 41 may make such changes in the organization of the executive branch or in the assignment of functions among its units as he considers necessary for efficient administration, and
WHEREAS, it is desirable to streamline and reorganize the departments and divisions of government by combining certain activities to avoid duplication and improve the coordination and effectiveness of services, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Industry ‘s V.O.S.H.A. Division and the Department of Health’s Occupational Health Division currently receive a grant from the U.S.D.O.L. O.S.H.A. program to conduct an approved state occupational safety and health program and a grant to operate an occupational safety and health consultation and training program, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Industry’s V.O.S.H.A. Division is considered by the federal department of Labor to be the chief responsible party for administering the grants and enforcing occupational safety and health laws, and
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor and Industry’s V.O.S.H.A. Division already handles the actual issuance of citations, and prosecution of both occupational safety and occupational health violations, and
WHEREAS, these grants will be more efficiently administered if the separate components are consolidated into a single program through the transfer of the Division of Occupational Health’s duties and responsibilities described in 18 V.S.A. §§ 1415-1418 from the Department of Health to the Department of Labor & Industry.