SmartTranscript of House Session: 2025-01-15-3:00 p.m.

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[Chair ]: Will the house please come to order and members kindly take their seats? Good afternoon. [Speaker 1 ]: Good afternoon. [Chair ]: Members, the devotional this afternoon will be led by Reverend Peter Augie of the Waterbury Congregational Church. [Reverend Peter Augie ]: Good afternoon. In the winter of nineteen eighty six, I was a college sophomore with great plans to spend a junior year abroad at the Aberdeen School of Forestry at the University of Aberdeen. Simultaneously, however, I was growing weary of studying mitochondrial metabolism and more interested in reading Plato and Dostoevsky. That said, my interest in forest never waned and my wife, knowing that, gave me a book for Christmas called How to Love a Forest by the Bolton, Vermont forester, Ethan Tapper. Tapper is not a trained philosopher, but he thinks like one. He begins chapter five about a devastating windstorm in central Vermont a few years ago by remarking that a great human temptation is to trade one misunderstanding for another. In this case, the biological knowledge of forest succession with an idealizing of old growth forests. One of my philosophical mentors similarly says, we ought to seek simplicity and then mistrust it. The simplicities Tapper wants to avoid are two, that the forests are linear and that there is an ideal forest. In the world of forestry, the simple story is succession: cleared land, followed by pioneer species, followed by grasses, and then sun loving shrubs, and sun loving trees and shade loving trees and finally, the succession forest or the old growth forest, the ideal forest. Tapper notes that our tendency is to idolize old growth forests as the desired and glorious end of the long line into forests, but it doesn't work that way. No matter how much we love a particular tree or forest, it just doesn't work that way. In sixteen thirty seven, Rene Descartes published an essay with that famous dictum cogito ergo sum, I think, therefore I am. That combined with Descartes' later assertion that the mind was nothing but extended extended substance led him later to conclude, I require nothing but myself in order to exist. This shift to the subject has has had disastrous consequences theologically, politically, and it turns out biologically. Tamper sets out the morning after that windstorm I mentioned to visit his first customer, Sarah, who is distraught that the pine forest she walked through every day and loved so dearly was destroyed. He writes, I can tell that for Sarah in this moment, hope seems beyond reach. The pine stand is a seed in her hand, hard, cold, and tiny. She cannot imagine that it will ever open again, that life will ever bloom from this lifeless thing. Today, this forest is a seed that cannot possibly become a flower. But Tapper's good news is that life is not mere individual isolated substance. It's connected process. The old trees of our forest leave gaps in the canopy when they crash, she says, and they're empty now. But later, the spaces between the trees will be revealed to be as generative and as precious and as beautiful as the trees themselves. The tiny, cold, hard seeds of our lives need flourishing communities like this or they die. May yours be lively and may the seeds of your new biennium be plentiful and fertile. Thanks. [Chair ]: Members, last night we received the news of the passing of governor Tom Salmon. Will you please rise and join me for a moment of silence? Members, we have five bills for introduction today. The first is House Bill thirty three, which is an act relating to expanding employee access to unpaid leave introduced by Representative Hedrick of Burlington and others. Please listen to the first reading of the bill. [Speaker 3 ]: H thirty three, an act relating to expanding employee access to unpaid leave. [Chair ]: Now the bill has been read the first time and is referred to the Committee on General and Housing. House Bill thirty four is an act relating to workforce leadership in Vermont, introduced by Representative Marcotte of Coventry and others. Please listen to the first reading of the bill. [Speaker 3 ]: H. Thirty four, an act relating to workforce leadership in Vermont. [Chair ]: Now the bill has been read the first time, and it's referred to the committee on commerce and economic development. House Bill thirty five is an act relating to emerging the individual and small group health insurance markets introduced by representative Houghton of Essex Junction. Please listen to the first reading of the bill. [Speaker 3 ]: H thirty five, an act relating to unmerging the individual and small group health insurance markets. [Chair ]: Now the bill's been read the first time and has referred to the committee on health care. House bill thirty six is an act relating to family forensic evaluators introduced by representative Goodnow of Brattleboro and Malone of South Burlington. Please listen to the first reading of the bill. [Speaker 3 ]: H thirty six, an act relating to family forensic evaluators. [Chair ]: Now the bill has been read the first time and is referred to the committee on judiciary. Finally, House Bill thirty seven is an act relating to the consolidation of Vermont school districts to align with career and technical education service regions introduced by representative Harrison of Chittenden. Please listen to the first reading of the bill. [Speaker 3 ]: H thirty seven, an act relating to the consolidation of Vermont school districts to align with career and technical education service regions. [Chair ]: Now the bill has been read the first time and is referred to the committee on education. Members, we have a joint Senate resolution to take up at this time. Jrs. Six is a joint resolution relating to weekend adjournment on January the seventeenth, twenty twenty five. It was offered by senator Baruth and was read and adopted on the part of the senate. Please listen to the reading of the resolution. [Speaker 4 ]: Resolved by the senate and house of representatives that when the two houses adjourn on Friday, January seventeen, twenty twenty five, they'd be to meet again no later than Tuesday, January twenty one, twenty twenty five. [Chair ]: Now, you've heard the reading of the resolution, and the question is, shall the House adopt the resolution in concurrence? Are you ready for the question? If so, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, please say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it and the resolution is adopted in concurrence. Are there any announcements? Member from Bennington. [Speaker 5 ]: Madam Speaker, even though he is from Texas, I would like to, wish my district mate a, happy birthday. I won't say how old he is, but I've been longer serving longer here in this body than his age. So he definitely is making me feel old. So I'll wish him a happy birthday that day. [Chair ]: Happy birthday, member. Member from Bridgeport. [Speaker 6 ]: Thank you, madam speaker. I would like to introduce a special guest, I have visiting the state house today. Elizabeth Keck is a native of New Jersey. She attended Rutgers University, where she received a bachelor of arts in psychology and minored in health and society and business administration. And upon graduation in twenty twenty three, she chose to move to Vermont. And ever since, she has just rolled up her sleeves and really been helping Vermonters. First, as a behavior interventionist, and now she is the third member of representative Logan and I's team, the Vermont coalition of runaway and homeless youth programs. So while we reduce our hours so that we can be here, she is holding down, all of the tasks and really ensuring that all of the federal funding we have coming in is being administered out and really working to stabilize youth and improve their futures. When she is not working, she is a huge fan of Vermont's green mountains. She loves to hike in the spring and summer and fall. And in the winter, she is a huge skier. So I would love for the body to, join me in welcoming welcoming her to the house and to Vermont. Thank you. [Chair ]: Will the guest member from Bridgeport please rise and be recognized? Member from Brattleboro. [Speaker 7 ]: Thank you, madam speaker. The Climate Solutions Caucus will be meeting have our first meeting tomorrow, Thursday at noon, and we will be in the pavilion building in room two sixty seven. We will also be serving pizza. Anyone who'd like to join, we'd welcome you. Thank you. [Chair ]: Member from Georgia. [Speaker 1 ]: Thank you, madam speaker. I'm delighted this afternoon to report to you that a friend has stopped by this afternoon to visit you and other members of the body, former member. Carl Rosenquist has been my partner in this job for about twenty five years. We have swapped back and forth the license plate for seat seventeen and the seat itself. He served first, then I took over, then he took it again. Now I've gotta turn back here. Carl has done a great deal for the town of Georgia and for Franklin County. I won't bother to go into all of it. I recently had to give a talk about Carl Rosenquist. He received an award up in the county, and they stopped me after a half an hour because I kept going on and on. So madam speaker, I'll just let you know that Carl is visiting with us and he is sitting in the back. Help me welcome him. [Chair ]: Will the former member please rise and be recognized? Member from Colchester. [Speaker 7 ]: Yes. I'd like to wish my district mate and one of my dearest friends a very happy birthday. [Chair ]: Happy birthday, member. Are there any further announcements? Member from Wheatsfield. [Speaker 8 ]: Thank you, madam speaker. I would like to call attention to a guest we have today. Cashel Higgins is a junior at Harwood Union High School. He lives in Waterbury, and he's going to be interning for rep representative Stevens from Waterbury. So he's here today, and he will be here, certain days throughout the session. And, I have had the pleasure to have worked with him this fall, and he is a wonderful, curious, positive, hardworking student who has a real interest in state and federal politics. So if you can give a warm welcome to Cashel Higgins. [Chair ]: Will the guest of the member from Waitsfield please rise and be recognized? Member from Waterbury. [Speaker 9 ]: Thank you, madam speaker. I don't often tell stories on the floor, but when the former member from Georgia came up to say hello in committee, I just have to it reminded me because I've been thinking about him recently. But we work together as budget buddies for the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living. And, you know, we go through all of the information and then, like, I mean, it's like, okay. Whatever you say, Teresa. I just want I just wanna remind all members that we should just take representative Rosenquist's advice and, you know, whatever we pass out of human services, everybody be good with. [Chair ]: Are there any further announcements? Member from Burlington. [Speaker 10 ]: Madam speaker, as we begin our second week, I would like to invite members to join in the formation of the rainbow caucus. Often, you can't tell if somebody's a child of the rainbow. Although, you know, there's alleged talk of certain detection like radar and such, but, that being said, if you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, pansexual, non binary, androgynous, asexual, queer, two spirit, a king or a queen, or any anything in between, a friend of Dorothy, a member of the family. If that's you, send me an email as we form the twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six rainbow caucus, and you and we'll, you know, get together and plan meetings and and some fun and some support. And so to end this announcement, madam speaker, I'd like to model for new members' decorum. May I quote the Scissor Sisters? [Chair ]: You may. [Speaker 10 ]: Let's have a kiki. Thank you. [Chair ]: Are there any further announcements? Seeing none. Member from Koultney, can you please offer us a motion to adjourn until Thursday, January sixteenth at three pm? [Speaker 1 ]: Madam Speaker, I make a motion this body stand in adjournment until Thursday, January sixteenth, two thousand twenty five at three PM. [Chair ]: You have heard the motion. Are you ready for the question? If so, all those in favor, please say aye. All those opposed, please say nay. The ayes appear to have it.
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