"6-7:30 pm Act 185 Implementation Issues, Public Hearing"
Reaches right out and grabs you by the throat, doesn't it? Who wouldn't skip dinner to talk about "implementation issues." If the hearing conflicts with your favorite show, well that is why they invented TIVO.
Actually, while the legislature chose to announce the event in haiku fashion on its website, it did
provide a bit more info in a "release." Though we weren't on the mailing list, we can provide this excerpt:
The Ways & Means Committee will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January9, 2008 to hear comments on Implementation Issues related to Act 185, Education Finance Simplification, which was passed in 2006. The hearing will be held from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in Room 10 of the Statehouse in Montpelier. Those wishing to comment on property tax adjustments or on how individual taxpayers and individual administrators have been affected by the Act's changes are welcome to comment to the committee at this time.
Translation: The legislature passed a law that made household incomes a matter of public record. We don't see what all the hubbub is about, so we'll hold a public hearing after publishing public notice at the last minute, declare victory when nobody shows up, and move on.
Perhaps the committee will read and consider Wendy Wilton's examination of Act 185 and the prebate issue. Then call for more hearings and a genuine discussion.
Comments