Meetings
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[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: We
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: are live. Conference committee on H955. We're back after break and some work on the tide. I think you've got something for us to look at. Could be a
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: little bit disjointed because with all going on and finance on Ledge Council time, there is some sort of policy language that Ledge Council has put together and will present. And then there are just some groupings that I have written here, we can just sort of go over, maybe we should just go over those first since we have that in our mind. So we would propose, on the best to have the house groupings map or the house grouping maps with the center grouping over it at the end of the week. That's this one. Anything with the house groupings, whether virtual or not. Okay, so first, talking about CISAs, we would propose the houses CISA regions with the adjustment of Milton being part of the Champlain Central Region, Oh, that's you. Thus sort of keeping that alignment of Grand Isle and the land bridge that exists with Chittenden County, where they seem to get their services and where most of the kids go to school and I'll also maybe email all the students who should. Now when it comes to grouping, number one, I would just propose this this isn't between yours and ours, but again, would just propose let's put CVSD and MMU together to at least have a conversation about becoming a superdifferent than showing the rest of the state and how it's done. It seemed very important to you to have Northfield and Williamstown, Payne Mountain from group 21 into group nine, I'm sorry, from group nine to group 21.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: And this is your group nine.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yes, this is our grouping. It's gonna make for, it's a pretty high number. But if it's important to you and the people there are desirous of it, I suppose we can give it a shot. I remain concerned that we are mixing CTE regions, so just to note that. Wells and Middletown Springs, putting that from group two into group three per year with West. And while I am nervous about breaking up an existing CISA, and I think it really needs to stay intact as possible because Stratton is sort of significantly different. You had a rather formal proposal from them or request from them. We can accept Stratton going from group six to group three. The other ones pretty much stuck with the house position, largely due to geography and population and CTE and the existing CSA.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Okay. It's gonna take a look.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: I am going to email this to all of you right now. And the group numbers are in fact, that are on the map are also the same ones that are in the. Send this to Daphne to send it to everybody. I'm happy to also walk through it again if that would
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: be helpful. No. I think if we have it in writing, we can go back and look.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: So, definitely, I just emailed that to you if you sent that to everybody else. So that's the mapping constructs. And I think probably we'd be ready to have RedCatzel present the language with further explanation.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: So can I ask a question? Yes. What did you do in the groupings? And maybe this is already answered. Don't know. Where did you put the islands in terms of their merger groupings?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Everything else stuck to the house map proposal.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Which is that they are with Milton and Colchester?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yes. Okay. Yes.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: And Essex Westford is
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yeah. I didn't do anything there.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: They're solo?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: They're still solo. Yes. You know, of those three large districts, I think two should talk, but three would be too much.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: So we're leaving them?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: We're done we're done with these.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Okay. And we're leaving those districts? Yes. Okay.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yeah. As as proposed of the house.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: With hesitancy. Yes. That's that's what you're proposing. Yes. Finalize. Yes. Yeah.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yeah. So the house map, but with the changes that were emailed to you and that I walked through.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: So in other things, we've, as we said, sort of acceded to your language on school construction and still have concerns about the legacy debt coverage. And you said you were gonna work on some sort of something, and I'm really happy to help figure that out with you if you want. With the what to do if the if a vote fails? Basically, you just include language that says that you have to pay for your legacy debt, which is 25%. And that will be done by the supplemental district spending. What if your supplemental district spending fails? You just don't vote on it. It's it's Oh, it's automatic? It's automatic. You just have to pay for your 25% of your legacy debt through your supplemental district spending. Oh, interesting. Okay. We will think about that. They've already approved it. John will have language. Okay. Thanks. He's got lots of things on his plate. He does. Okay. And then so what that leaves us, with that we're gonna go through with Beth is a contingency type thing, sort of a sunset on the definitions that we have talked about, a contingency around the topping off language. And I think that and then that just leaves us with one or two outstanding things from there to discuss. So, Beth, can you do Yeah. Thanks. Emily, if I'm sit here when you do it Yep. If you can get out of that. Can I ask another question about the maps? I'm sorry that we've No, it's really fun to talk about the maps.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: That's not what you said after we wrote.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: I know. I was thinking about the It's important. I'm sorry to be sarcastic. No, it's Okay. Franklin County and the Northeast Kingdom. You didn't say anything about those. Again The House map.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: The House map. With the changes I owe.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Okay, sorry. So rather than trying to break up the Senate map, you sort of took the House map and aceded to some of the Senate conditions. I see. Okay. That wasn't clear in your email, so it's not Sure. Thank you. Beth A. James, Office of Legislative Counsel. Are you sure you want me to share this language? Leanne spoke.
[Beth A. James (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Yep. Okay. We looked over it. Okay. Just trying to cover all my bases here. Yep. Thank you.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: We have hard copies?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: I don't think we have hard copies. Do want a hard copy? I
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: can it it's just a couple pages. Or Yeah. Okay. Four. So we have it we have it done.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Can send it to Daphne, but it will take me a second.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: That's fine.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Would you like me to send it to Daphne?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: You'd probably need to be posted in Yes.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: In this moment? Yes, please. Okay. You. And I'm gonna stop sharing my screen. Okay. Thank you. And, Beth, can you make copies?
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: Yes.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Thank you so much. Do we wanna wait to look at it until we get copies?
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: You know, just assumed you that, actually. I hate to say it, but I like to work
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: on I'll
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: talk about maps in the meantime. Talk
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: more about maps. It's like it's hard to do maps, almost.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: I'll tell you, the assistance of John Adams and his team has been really pretty phenomenal.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Yeah, amazing. Okay. Yep.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: Okay. Yeah.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: It's okay. All waiting for copies.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair)]: I'm gonna go see what's happening with the conference time. I'll be right back. Okay.
[Unidentified Senate conferee]: I want that second.