Running Out Of Time

With only a few hours left in the legislative session, three large items of business remain unfinished in Montpelier and are likely to be unresolved, still, at adjournment, probably this weekend. 

Left hanging fire are:

* A 2010 budget which the legislature is frantically knocking together and that Governor Douglas will almost certainly veto.  These questions then follow:
a) are there enough votes for an override?
and
b) if not, can the administration and the legislature reach some kind of compromise without taking all summer to do it?

* The renewables legislation that requires the utilities to purchase power generated by wind, solar, and methane at rates favorable to the producer.  This one should pass but without enough votes to insure an override.  The costs to  consumers are too high for some lawmakers.

* The Yankee decommissioning bill.  The situation here is opaque.  The bill could pass with or without sufficient votes to insure an override. The legislature could decide – even if the bill does pass – not to send it to the Governor and wait until next year. 

The whole thing has the feel of freshman dorm during finals week; with people pulling all-nighters and cramming and wishing they had done the work earlier in the term instead of wasting time watching television or debating the existence of God. 

The legislature has been in session since January and in none of these matters is it working at the mercy of events.  The budget numbers have, admittedly, been altered as new (and depressing) revenue projections came in and as the feds delivered on promised stimulus money.  But there is this thing called "contingency planning."  The legislature has a fine record when it comes to spending unanticipated revenues.  It needs to discover reverse gear.

Decommissioning and renewables were there all along for the legislature to study and debate and, ultimately, vote up or down. 

If a special session is required – as looks increasingly likely –  perhaps the legislators should work without pay to make up for the time when they were being paid for no work.

Comments

[GreggB]

Huh- I don't understand I thought they finished with gay marriage? Snatching victory from the evil Douglas. Assuring rainbows of freedom and prosperity for VT. Or was coming after capital gains the big finish?
Seriously they did the same thing last year, reality doesn't play well with the children(of any age) in VT. Remember there isn't the public will or candidates to replace them with- Love the suck or leave.

[Bob Zeliff]

I think your analogy to freshman dorm room is good and applies equally to Douglas as the legislature. They both see this as a political game which must have winners and losers. Vetoes and overrides...is that success??? Right now Vermonters are the losers.
Real leadership whose interest is focused on the people has been lost to politics as usual.

[Mark Shepard]

Nothing new under the sun. This was the same during my two terms. They have far too much time on their hands. The legislature should be in regular session every other year and regular session should be done by the end of February. Then on the other years, just a one-week budget adjustment session.

No time for them to use Vermont to advance radical ideas for the obvious purpose of getting campaign money from those pushing such ideas.

Round and round we go, down at the same time. We are not on a circle, but rather a helix and going downward.

[Ed G. Mann]

I was under the impression that multitasking was derigueur in the Legislature.
At least, according Messrs. Shummy and Shap, jongleurs extrordinaire who told us that during the great social investment of our time.

So why are we still watching this show at this late date?

Tickets to this revue are more expensive than prime box seats at the new Yankee Stadium.

And far less rewarding.

[David Usher]

While the claim is an unprecedented revenue shortfall and the ideological need to change course on how we get our electricity, the crisis is one of leadership. Taxpayers and Vermont deserve better.

Now, who's willing to run for office in 2010 to change the dynamic?

[aynerand]

I don't think its fair or accurate to place Douglas in the same manner as the legislative leadership. He has been stating for more than a year that real fiscal problems existed and needed to be confronted head on. Instead the legislature has played to the VSEA, waited for the feds to bail us out with stimulus (still our money btw), passed gay marriage and advanced a special rate scheme for their renewable energy supporters.

Shumlin himself has been qouted as saying that the worsening revenue picture was "not a surprise" I think it is very clear where the problem lies.