Funk s position is the second time he has vowed not to enforce a new state law.
Last fall, Funk sided with reproductive rights advocates and abortion providers when they sued the state over a slate of strict anti-abortion laws passed last summer by Republicans. A district attorney purposefully disregarding current, duly enacted laws by the legislature is a grave matter that threatens our justice system and has serious consequences, Lee, without mentioning Funk by name, posted on Twitter at the time.
Ragan chairs the House Government Operations Committee. In a letter to Funk on Tuesday, he asks Funk to confirm the recent statement was accurately reported in the media and requests a prompt reply.
Marc Nadel A couple of years ago, Winooski City Manager Jessie Baker had a frustrating problem. A staffer was performing all the duties of a human resource director, but Baker could not give her the job title because it was not in the city s charter. Winooski would need to update the document through a lengthy process that required both a town-wide vote and legislative approval. By the time the issue came up for a vote last November, the staffer had already left for another position where she could have access to that title, Baker told
Seven Days. Voters did ultimately support making the numerous charter changes, including the administrative one. But the Onion City is one of 10 municipalities seeking to amend their local charters this legislative session and most are still waiting for state lawmakers stamp of approval.
ZOOMED OUT
Leonine Public Affairs House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, announced on Friday the decision to table a proposal to address the unfunded liability in the state pension system. The proposal, which was being considered in the House Government Operations committee, included a one-time state investment of $150 million and reduced benefits and raised costs for teachers and public employees paying into the fund.
The pension system is estimated to have an unfunded liability of about $3 billion and pressure has been mounting for the state to address the shortfall. But the House proposal was met with stiff opposition from teachers, public employees and unions, and legislators of all parties have been receiving increasingly high volumes of communication from constituents opposing the plan.
“We’ve had some situations where people have gotten that public information and have used that to harass and picket and threaten us at our homes,” Kelli Stargel, the Lakeland Republican and bill sponsor, says. (NSF)
The House and Senate are advancing proposals that would create a public-records exemption for information about lawmakers, including their home addresses and phone numbers, but opponents question how the measures would interact with a requirement that lawmakers live in their districts.
Supporters of the proposals (SB 1488 and HB 1207) said an exemption would increase safety for lawmakers, as they have received threats and seen groups of people show up at their homes.
Thu, 04/01/2021 - 11:17am meganj
By:
Emerson Lynn
The Legislature has before it at long last a proposal to address the solvency of the state’s pension system. There is nothing in the proposal for anyone to like. It’s full of pain and regret and expense. It’s the embodiment of what happens when a problem is recognized but its solution is deferred. For decades.
The proposal unveiled by the House Government Operations committee essentially follows the recommendation by state Treasurer Beth Pearce, who said in January there was little choice but to ask retirees to work longer, pay more, and to receive less in retirement. With $5.6 billion in unfunded liabilities, she said Vermont’s pensions are in a state of crisis.