Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: We are live. We are live. I apologize. Kirby says he can go over the listening reports. So we'll get over those in a couple minutes. I haven't made a decision, but I'm looking for my life.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: So, Gulick, that of counsel, would you like me to share the file that Tucker that I need to write back?

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Yeah. Okay. That's. Thank

[Randy Brock (Member)]: you.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Oh, no. I'm it's my staff here. I've just got too many comments. I've just seen. Okay.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: So, yeah, do you mostly slide which reports you want to complete the most tremendous field? The first is the private activity bond advisory committee annual report. I don't I don't have a background on that one, but for any these things, I can go find

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: that the one that goes to the e board at least once a year, maybe plus. So

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: Do do do fifteen January.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That allows a certain amount of bonding to go to private activities that has traditionally gone to DSAC, DHFA, and the state colleges. And then anything that gets left over goes back and gets redistributed.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: So that's that's one. Do

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: we need to get that? I'm asking the committee. Do we need to get that one?

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: I don't think so.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: I don't think so. And and, again, you

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Oh, you're so yeah. Think okay.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: It's pretty obvious that we don't need it because we haven't gotten it and we haven't read it. And nothing's happened, but it has to be checked

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: And it goes to where it needs to go. Yes. It does. Okay. That's enough.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Need to keep a record of this and ask

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Charlotte is keeping a record.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Oh, okay. Great. Oh, sure. Me just go back to the last.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: It's not a good one. Came back online. Should we?

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Work at her. I'll text her if she's gonna find Okay. Thank you so much.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: The next is From the Department of Finance and Management, report on special funds created prior to the current fiscal year or is it 2018?

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Special funds created to prior.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That sounds more like something that a.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Yeah. It doesn't sound like that.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Goes to joint fiscal. It goes to appropriations.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: They probably just tagged us because we have the taxes and fees and Yeah.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That's a congregations.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Yeah. So

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: repeal on that? Yeah.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Is your intent just to remove for each of these decisions, your intent is to remove senate finance, or do you or do you mean to to just stop the report from happening? I think remove finance. Okay. We

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: can't remove anybody else.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Well, we see a report that is basically worthless, I think we probably have an obligation to at least suggest a bill or an amendment to get rid of the report. People aren't producing reports that nobody's getting.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: I can see where appropriations needs to We have don't.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: I'm just saying if we come across something that we're the only people getting the report and the report is worthless as far as we're concerned, we ought to figure a way to put

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: it Don't to a have to spin the next one, called other?

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Authorize the submission of plan for electronic filing fees from Act 191 of 2014.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Do do we track if one

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: of these are up on the web, how many people click on them? I just I wanna acknowledge that we're not the only audience for these reports.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Yeah.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: These are the advocacy groups, other agencies, departments, units We're saying we don't.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Yeah. Yeah.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: We But is there some sort of clickstream monitoring about if we publish these reports and if nobody ever clicks on that link or invokes that file?

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I I think it my understanding is and, again, this is like Tucker handles this, is that you're asked to do this so that so that new reports aren't issued that you don't need or want. And it's gonna be instances where Senate Finance specifically is supposed to receive this report. That's correct. And and I think this came about because there were a lot of reports out there that committees were no longer interested in. Right? So I think this process is to make sure that isn't happening even though there's not all these needless reports being issued.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: In 2014, we authorized submission of plan for electronic filing fees. Well, if we haven't done it by now

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I'm about to share with you this this it was section 25, I think. This is this is this relates to judiciary. Sorry.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: It's a tradition. This one's just going to waves and beams. It's a fee.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Electronic filing fee. The intent of the general assembly of the judiciary be authorized to fund the last thing that operated possible electronic caseload electronic filing systems. The courts, of course, authorize to submit to the general assembly for any specific plan for such fees, including the amount of each fee, the coverage and fee, use directional trigger and insufficient fees to take effect once funding for purchase It's possible to negotiate.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: This might be here.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Yeah. We should do

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: went through judiciary, but I know because somebody was talking about judicial fees the other day, and couldn't we do something. And it's a separation of powers, the judiciary gets really touchy if we try, I think it was court filing fees or something, yeah, and it is a separation of powers and they will manage their own fees, thank you very much. This is electronic filing. We take care of it in the morning. I'm not judiciary in the morning. Yeah. You guys take care of it.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Yeah. Section 25 of it over there. Six three thousand of act rule 91 from 2014? Yeah. I remember that. Okay. I know there's a big push about I know one of them that all struck me was the marriage license fee. Oh. And that one

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That would

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I would like to work because part of it goes first.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: There was a time where probably the last time money was very tight where if you just add a dollar or $2, there was marriage license that got hit, but there also was court fees,

[Randy Brock (Member)]: and

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: we ended up with people at a traffic violation, but they couldn't pay the $300 so we tacked off the ticket and they ended up driving with license suspended.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: And we waived a lot of those.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: We did. We had something like 30,000 Vermonters Dragon with suspended licenses. And it, by and large, was because they just couldn't come up with $300.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Right.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: So, that's why I didn't want a poll attachment fee two years ago when we were looking to fund your local television stations, because once you start,

[Randy Brock (Member)]: it

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: becomes fair game, and they're all good causes. This is the judicial?

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: No. This is I moved on to the next one, which is the enterprise fund. We're trying to find the provision that has the report.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Maybe that one we keep so that the committee knows what the governor and the emergency board is doing. You know, unless we set that or not.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: So, yeah, here's the reporting requirement. Honorable for January 15 this year, which economic and financial resources were made available pursuant to the section. Secretary of Commerce, the development will submit to a few different committees. A report on the resource made available from the fund. So to keep?

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: I think. It's more to the economic development and the budget process that's in here. Where's our

[Randy Brock (Member)]: copy of report for this Pardon? Where's our copy of that report for this year? Oh,

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: I'm sure it's online. Well, I'm not sure it's online.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Mean, that's the whole point is we keep getting reports, one of the questions is, are we getting reports at all in the first place?

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That would not have would we find it? I don't know.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: I don't think any of us remember, ever seen.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: I I don't wanna interrupt posted to somebody's website. Maybe gets a notice. If it's sent to our committee, I'd post it many of you But resources and reports. And I believe there also is legislative page where all of the reports go. So we can read it if we want it.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Would just be, sort of at random, would be answering, did we get this report? And that's the question is, we get this thing that we're going through with a zillion reports in it, and I don't know if they were ever produced, if they were ever sent to us. And obviously, if they were sent to us, did we do anything with them? And I'm sure those of you like that, Well, I'm sure would be

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: sent to us mean? It sounds like it may mean they're getting posted on the legislative website.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Yeah, maybe. You know what I'm Samantha? They

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: get directly sent here from the organization that produces them if we are on the list to receive it. They also get sent to some legislative page where all of them go. We didn't get sent directly. Different things on the recipient list. Yeah. The ones we ordered last year, we all got notice of the egg copies, but I've never got a notice with these. What is this?

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: This is the next one on your list. Should be section one of. Section human services shall report to the committee of policy request, and then move to the general assembly about January 15. So this is a general one that just goes out to the general assembly on long term care and Medicaid.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That should go to health and welfare. Yep.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: That one is marked like, Tucker had marked it appropriations, health care, human services, ways and means, finance. So it's it's here. The next report on this list, number 11, is a report on Medicaid program enrollment and expenditures from Caledonia of Vermont Health Access.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That's another one that goes to the e board twice a year.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Orderly. Do we pull it up?

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Does anybody want it? It's there. It goes to the eboard. I don't think anyone needs to send it to finance. Yeah. Mhmm. If something's going astute, we'll hear about it, and we can look into it.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: So, yeah, to clarify, I think what Tucker's asking is it's it's the options are repeal, extend, or retain. And repeal means under two VSA section 20 sub D.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Can't repeal it for all the other committees.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I think that's the question.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Okay. We need Tucker to talk to us at some point whenever he can.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I'm just gonna read you this. The this is this is 20 d. It's the intent of the general assembly that except for reports required by interstate combat and except by law, whatever agency agency required by law to submit an annual biennial or other periodic reports of general assembly, that requirement shall no longer be required after five years or after five years from the last date of the statutory or session law section containing the report was amended, whichever date is later. In each final session, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall prepare the zero to review a list of reports subject to this subsection. Report requirements shall only expire for similar to legislative enactment. So under that section, do you want to repeal because there's been five years for these and the law says you still have to actively repeal it, but we have to show you.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: I think I don't like the report, so I like verbal reports with bullets. I'm just thinking of joint fiscal. We spent two days with our two ledge councils just walk just the list of reports in one sentence what it was. There are 13 pages of reports that go to health and welfare. I can guarantee you even the chair who reads almost everything can't read all of those reports. So if we do nothing, they all get repealed?

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: No, you have to actively repeal them. That's why you're being so the question is for each one of these repeal, extend, or retain are the choices. I since many of these go to other committees besides yours

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Yeah.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: I that's where we need Tucker maybe because I don't I don't think you could unilaterally decide for all either committees Yeah. Appeal. No. I think maybe he's just gathering info.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: We need Tucker to come. Yeah. Give us one zero one on this before we spend money more. We just don't have time to No. Play these games. Yes. This is not.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: Is it just a hassle of figuring out who's on each committee every year and that this manual task of sending them the email? What if we globally just say in any statute that says to send a committee is really just a post on the relevant committee page? Is there some other way that in if the the impetus for this is just the task of sending emails, can we simplify that? I think

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: the impetus is to not have the reporting rate at all. If it's not something you want, then to not have the agency or whatever There

[Randy Brock (Member)]: could be tons of effort being put into producing reports that nobody wants to read, and that's not a good use.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: We're paying these people.

[Randy Brock (Member)]: Yeah.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: Yeah. My previous point is I just don't think we're the only audience. I think a lot of people read these reports that aren't legislators. Advocates, other tax entities, municipalities, planners.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: That's not our I mean, a lot of these maybe, but, you know, the per Medicaid per member per month, that's posted on about five websites.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: Well, I can verify for you that there's none of these reports are just ascended finance. Right. Only one of them is small it's ways and means in finance and that would be the Act 191, section 25 that

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: we looked at. We just looked at.

[Legislative Counsel (staff attorney, name not stated)]: That's and then the rest of them are to multiple committees. Yeah. There's one that's just ways and means. Don't let that out. Alright. I'll read subsidy covenants.

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: Alright. Thank you. Okay. Well if you can't you could send us an email telling us if we say we feel this and three other committees don't, what happens? And then so why should we spend time doing it? Because our time is I just feel them all and then we can start over if there's something we need. I mean, there's twenty years worth of reports. Whoever asked for it probably is his heir.

[Thomas Chittenden (Vice Chair)]: We're find out who uses that and repeal it all and see who says See if

[Ann Cummings (Chair)]: he complains. Go