House Speaker Shap Smith discusses balancing the state budget and other key legislation being debated. Plus, VPR’s Ross Sneyd provides analysis of the week’s news.
House Speaker Shap Smith discusses the state’s budget problems, the future of Vermont Yankee, education funding and spending and health care reform legislation.
Budget
talks have dominated the first few days of the legislative session in Montpelier. The state faces a projected $150 million deficit
in 2011. And now members of the Vermont Legislature say they’ll take a five
percent pay cut to help deal with the budget.
Top
legislators say the focus of the 2010 session will be on jobs, the economy and
on producing a balanced budget. The
Democratic leaders of the House and the Senate say now is not the time to raise
taxes or expand social programs. And they vowed to keep an open mind as the
Vermont Yankee nuclear plant seeks approval to operate for another 20 years.
There’s
a good chance that the date of Vermont’s 2010 primary election is going to be moved up by
several weeks so that the state will be in compliance with new federal
regulations for overseas ballots.
State
government faces another year of declining revenues and almost-certain budget
cuts. So the Legislature is looking for 30 million dollars
in efficiencies throughout government.
Vermont
lawmakers are still looking for ways to cut costs. Two legislative committees
will meet this week to grapple with the state’s ongoing budget problems.