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Journal of the House ______FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2001 At nine o'clock and thirty minutes in the forenoon the Speaker called the House to order. Devotional Exercises Devotional exercises were conducted by Reverend David Smith of Mt. Carmel Community Church, Rutland. Message from the Senate No. 54 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 bill originating in the House of the following title: H. 23. An act relating to wine tastings by manufacturers or rectifiers in second class license establishments. And has passed the same in concurrence. The Senate has on its part adopted a joint resolution of the following title: J.R.S. 57. Joint resolution relating to weekend adjournment. In the adoption of which the concurrence of the House is requested. Joint Resolution Adopted in Concurrence J.R.S. 57 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution relating to weekend adjournment; By Senator Shumlin, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That when the two Houses adjourn on Friday, April 20, 2001, it be to meet again no later than Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at ten o’clock in the forenoon.

122 JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE 123 Was taken up and adopted in concurrence. 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.H. 106 Joint resolution congratulating the 2001 Vergennes Union High School Commodores Division II championship boys’ basketball team Offered by: Representatives McGrath of Ferrisburgh and Houston of Ferrisburgh Whereas, throughout the 2000-2001 basketball season, the boy Commodores on-court performance was always at the highest possible plateau of interscholastic athletic performance, and Whereas, when the Commodores defeated rival Windsor High School by the overwhelming margin of 70-38 in the Division II semifinal playoff, there was no question that they had decisively earned a berth in the final game against the Lamoille Union High School Lancers, and Whereas, the encounter with the Lancers proved challenging and exciting as the Commodores completed the first half with a narrow three-point 24-21 lead, and Whereas, recognizing the historic significance of the occasion, the Commodores commenced the third quarter with a stunning 8-2 scoring advantage, and Whereas, although the Lancers valiantly attempted to remain in contention, the Commodores, sparked by the team’s top scorer, Jesse Epstein, triumphantly defeated Lamoille Union High School 71-56, and captured their first Division II championship since 1985, and Whereas, Vergennes Union High School’s most impressive final record of 23 victories, and merely a single defeat, is attributable to the outstanding team work of players Ben Epstein, Liam Quinn, Richard Krayewsky, Logan Becher, Michael Clark, Jason Ouellette, Jeff Krauss, Nate Schmidt, Ian Nimblett, Matt Krayewsky, Davin Torrey, Jesse Epstein, Eric Evarts, Sam Quinn and Jim Darragh, and their supportive corps of team managers, Sean Laflam, Tyler Maynard and Will Hastings, and Whereas, the superb leadership and support of head coach Gene LeBeau who, based on his team’s outstanding performance, was chosen as Vermont 124 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2001 Coach of the Year for the 2000-2001 interscholastic basketball season was an important factor in the team’s rousing success, and Whereas, assistant coaches Peter Quinn and Ed Cook and athletic trainer Amy Pudvar were vital contributors in this most memorable season of Commodore boys’ basketball, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly congratulates the Vergennes Union High School Commodores 2001 Division II championship boys’ basketball team, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Gene LeBeau at Vergennes Union High School. J.R.H. 107 Joint resolution requesting Congress to increase federal support for special education Offered by: Representatives Obuchowski of Rockingham, Deen of Westminster, Partridge of Windham and Tracy of Burlington Whereas, it is the policy of the State of Vermont to ensure general and special educational opportunities for all children, and Whereas, special education costs in Vermont have risen from $51.3 million in fiscal year 1990 to an estimated $124 million in fiscal year 2000, and Whereas, there are over 8,000 students in Vermont who receive special education services, and Whereas, the federal government has committed itself to provide 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools for funding special education programs (see 34 C.F.R. § 300.701(a)(1): “the maximum entitlement is equal to the number of children with disabilities aged 3 through 21 in the State who are receiving special education and related services, multiplied by 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools in the United States”), and Whereas, the federal government passed the “Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995” (P.L. 104-4, March 22, 1995, 109 Stat. 48) which stated that “the Federal Government should not shift certain costs to the States, and the States should end the practice of shifting costs to local governments, which forces many local governments to increase property taxes,” and Whereas, since 1983 the federal government has short changed Vermont $248,000,000.00 in special education funding, and

JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE 125 Whereas, the federal government contributed only approximately seven percent of special education funding in the last fiscal year, which is substantially less than the promised 40 percent, and Whereas, the federal government’s failure to appropriate special education funding at the level that it is legally committed to expend places a heavy strain on all Vermont property taxpayers who are already overburdened trying to provide a quality education for Vermont students, and, unfortunately, is exacerbating the conflict between local property taxpayers and educational constituencies, and Whereas, in response to Vermont’s, and every other state’s, financial burdens that are directly attributed to funding federally-mandated special education programs, U.S. Senator James Jeffords has announced that he will lead a bipartisan effort to increase special education funding to the 40 percent level, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly urges President George W. Bush, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle, Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Richard Armey, and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt to immediately increase federal special education funding to 40 percent, the level to which Congress previously committed the federal government, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to President George W. Bush, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle, Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Richard Armey, and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt. Bill Referred to Committee on Appropriations H. 53 House bill, entitled An act relating to eliminating mandatory retirement for sheriffs; Appearing on the Calendar, carrying an appropriation, under rule 35a, was referred to the committee on Appropriations. 126 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2001

Committee Bills Introduced House committee bills of the following titles were severally introduced, read the first time and, under the rule, placed on the Calendar for notice tomorrow. H. 495 Rep. Crawford of Burke, for the committee on Education, introduced a bill, entitled An act relating to regional technical centers; H. 496 Rep. Marron of Stowe, for the committee on Ways and Means, introduced a bill, entitled An act relating to executive branch fees. Committee Relieved of Consideration and Bill Recommitted General, Housing and Military Affairs H. 483 Rep. Palmer of Pownal moved that the committee on Appropriations be relieved of House bill, entitled An act to stimulate the development of affordable housing; And that the bill be recommitted to the committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs, which was agreed to. Joint Resolutions Adopted in Concurrence Joint resolutions of the following titles were severally taken up and adopted in concurrence. J.R.S. 55 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution honoring Mary W. Rowe on the 50th anniversary of her directorship of the North Country Chorus; J.R.S. 56 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution congratulating Rutland Herald Editorial Page Editor David Moats on winning the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.

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Joint Resolutions Adopted Joint resolutions of the following titles were severally taken up and adopted on the part of the House; J.R.H. 103 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution thanking the fire and rescue departments and ambulance services that volunteered in the clean-up following the Westminster freight derailment; J.R.H. 105 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution honoring Father Philip Branon of South Hero on the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a Roman Catholic priest. Joint Resolution Adopted J.R.H. 104 Joint resolution, entitled Joint resolution relating to congratulating Rutland Herald Editorial Page Editor David Moats on winning the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing; Was taken up and pending the question, Shall the House adopt the resolution? Rep. Osman of Montpelier demanded the Yeas and Nays, which demand was sustained by the Constitutional number. The Clerk proceeded to call the roll and the question, Shall the House adopt the resolution? was decided in the affirmative. Yeas, 108. Nays, 18. Those who voted in the affirmative are: Adams of Hartland Brooks of Montpelier Donovan of Burlington Alfano of Calais Carey of Chester Dostis of Waterbury Amidon of Charlotte Clark of St. Johnsbury Doyle of Richmond Angell of Randolph Cleland of Northfield Driscoll of Burlington Aswad of Burlington Colvin of Bennington Emmons of Springfield Atkins of Winooski Connell of Warren Endres of Milton Audette of South Burlington Crawford of Burke Fisher of Lincoln Baker of West Rutland Cross of Winooski Flory of Pittsford Barney of Highgate Dakin of Colchester Follett of Springfield Bohi of Hartford Darrow of Newfane George of Middlebury Bolduc of Orleans Darrow of Dummerston Grad of Moretown Bostic of St. Johnsbury Deen of Westminster Heath of Westford Bourdeau of Hyde Park DePoy of Rutland City Hingtgen of Burlington 128 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2001 Hooker of Rutland City Mann of Leicester Rosenquist of Georgia Houston of Ferrisburgh Marron of Stowe Rusten of Halifax Howrigan of Fairfield Masland of Thetford Schiavone of Shelburne Hube of Londonderry Mazur of South Burlington Scribner of Bristol Hudson of Lyndon Milkey of Brattleboro Severance of Colchester Hummel of Underhill Miller of Shaftsbury Shaw of Derby Johnson of Canaan Molloy of Arlington Smith of New Haven Jordan of Middlesex Monti of Barre City Stevens of Essex Keenan of St. Albans City Morrissey of Bennington Sweaney of Windsor Kennedy of Chelsea Myers of Essex Sweetser of Essex Keogh of Burlington Nitka of Ludlow Symington of Jericho Ketchum of Bethel Nuovo of Middlebury Towne of Berlin Kiss of Burlington O'Donnell of Vernon Tracy of Burlington Kitzmiller of Montpelier Obuchowski of Rockingham Vincent of Waterbury LaBarge of Grand Isle Osman of Plainfield Vinton of Colchester Larocque of Barnet Otterman of Topsham Voyer of Morristown Larose of Richford Palmer of Pownal Webster of Brattleboro Larrabee of Danville Paquin of Fairfax Webster of Randolph Larson of Burlington Partridge of Windham Wheeler of Burlington LaVoie of Swanton Peaslee of Guildhall Winters of Williamstown Lippert of Hinesburg Pillsbury of Brattleboro Wood of Brandon Little of Shelburne Pugh of South Burlington Woodward of Johnson Livingston of Manchester Quaid of Williston Zuckerman of Burlington Those who voted in the negative are: Allaire of Rutland City Hall of Newport City Mullin of Rutland Town Crowley of West Rutland Helm of Castleton Randall of Bradford Duffy of Rutland City Kilmartin of Newport City Sheltra of Derby Goodridge of Albany Kirker of Essex Valliere of Barre City Gray of Barre Town Krawczyk of Bennington Weeks of Wallingford Haas of Rutland City Maslack of Poultney Willett of St. Albans City Those members absent with leave of the House and not voting are: Allard of St. Albans Town McGrath of Ferrisburgh Starr of Troy Anderson of Woodstock Metzger of Milton Waite of Pawlet Brown of Walden Pembroke of Bennington Westman of Cambridge Davis of Cavendish Pike of Mendon Winters of Swanton Gervais of Enosburg Reese of Pomfret Wright of Burlington Kainen of Hartford Rogers of Castleton Young of Orwell Koch of Barre Town Schaefer of Colchester Mackinnon of Sharon Seibert of Norwich Rep. DePoy of Rutland City explained his vote as follows: “Mr. Speaker: It is true that I have not agreed with the Rutland Herald’s editorials regarding certain issues in the past. I am sure this will not change in the future as well. I do, however, recognize the magnitude of such and award being

JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE 129 bestowed upon my home town newspaper and I extend my sincere congratulations to David Moats and his staff.” Rep. Howrigan of Fairfield explained his vote as follows: “Mr. Speaker: I voted yes, not because of the editorial quality. The collections of materials printed, needed many quotes. The award should go to Representative Lippert.” Rep. Mullin of Rutland Town explained his vote as follows: “Mr. Speaker: This House just voted overwhelmingly to improve J.R.S. 56 which has almost identical language. What a waste of our time and taxpayer’s money to have a roll call vote on a simple resolution of congratulations that has already been approved. There are more important issues that we could, and should, be spending our time on.” Rep. Kilmartin of Newport City explained his vote as follows: “Mr. Speaker: The Pulitzer Prize is awarded after satisfying several cumulative tests, two of which are moral purpose and sound reasoning. In my opinion, David Moats editorials, on what are now known as civil unions, fail each of these tests. The prize is now one of political correctness, not of moral purpose.” Third Reading; Bills Passed Senate bills of the following titles were severally taken up, read the third time and passed in concurrence. S. 61 Senate bill, entitled An act relating to Vermont life and health insurance guaranty association;

S. 86 Senate bill, entitled An act relating to approval of postsecondary institutions. Committee Relieved of Consideration and Bill Committed to Other Committee H. 483 130 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2001 Rep. Palmer of Pownal moved that the committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs be relieved of House bill, entitled An act to stimulate the development of affordable housing; And that the bill be committed to the committee on Ways and Means, which was agreed to. Message from the Senate No. 55 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 on its part passed Senate bill of the following title: S. 137. An act relating to certificates of public good and nuclear generating facilities. In the passage of which the concurrence of the House is requested. The Senate has considered a bill originating in the House of the following title: H. 347. An act relating to definitions in the public water supply chapter. And has passed the same in concurrence with proposal of amendment in the adoption of which the concurrence of the House is requested. The Senate has considered joint resolutions originating in the House of the following titles: J.R.H. 97. Joint resolution offering support and encouragement to Vermont’s workforce investment act partners. J.R.H. 98. Joint resolution congratulating Andre Bouvier of Boy Scout Troop #543 of Bristol upon his attainment of rank of Eagle Scout. J.R.H. 99. Joint resolution honoring Polly and Patsy Casanova for their outstanding proprietorship of the Route 30 County Seat Market in Newfane. J.R.H. 100. Joint resolution designating June 7, 2001 as Nursing Assistant recognition Day. J.R.H. 101. Joint resolution designating the months of September, October and November 2001 as United Way months in Vermont. J.R.H. 102. Joint resolution in honor of George A. Dunbar, Sr. And has adopted the same in concurrence.

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Adjournment At ten o’clock and twenty minutes in the forenoon, on motion of Rep. Hudson of Lyndon, the House adjourned until Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, pursuant to the provisions of J.R.S. 57.