Legislators traditionally take the week of Town Meeting off. It's supposed to be a "working" break, when legislators listen to constituents' concerns at town meetings or other venues.

If you see your legislators, you might ask them: 

• Do you support an open government bill to make public records more accessible (H. 73)?

• Do you favor an individual's right to make end-of-life choices, including a choice when to die if the victim of a terminal illness (H. 274)?

• Do you support a system of medical marijuana dispensaries so registered medical marijuana patients aren't forced to make "street buys" of pot (S. 17)?

• Do you favor prompt reporting and online posting of campaign finance reports? A chance to learn if a corporation is encouraging its employees to "bundle" contributions? And greater disclosure of candidates' financial background? (S. 20) 

You don't have to be an expert to ask these questions. Just expressing interest in public records, death with dignity, medical marijuana dispensaries, or campaign finance reporting sends a message to your legislator that you care about these issues and their civil liberties implications.

I'll update you below on each of these topics.  

The Town Meeting break is considered a halfway point in the legislative session. Bills are supposed to be voted out of committees and sent to the floor of the respective chambers before or within the week after the break. The idea is the other chamber "receiving" an approved bill needs time for its review,too.  

 This "crossover" means the legislature's pace quickens in late February and early March. There's a sense that it's time to make serious decisions about which pieces of legislation will move and which won't. Considering that 468 bills have been introduced, clearly the vast majority are going nowhere. They'll have a second shot for consideration during the second year of the biennium.

For now, the train for this session will largely be leaving the station when legislators return next week. So let your legislators know what you're concerned about.

If you have questions about legislation, contact us via e-mail. If you don't know who your legislators are, check out the directory on the legislative Web page. Legislators' bios and photos are posted on the Secretary of State's Web page.   

Public Records Bill Up For Grabs     

Atty. Gen. William Sorrell -- public records access not a problem

Members of the House Government Operations Committee got a homework assignment from their chair, Rep. Donna Sweaney before they left for the Town Meeting break: Come back and tell me what we should do about public records access.

It's a tall order. The committee has heard from numerous witnesses,  ranging from a national prison reform advocate to local officials.

Three alternatives to the administration's bill, H. 73, have been proposed. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns version is perhaps the most radical. It would drop the presumption that government records are public, setting up  instead a record-by-record determination of disclosure when the record is created. The open government coalition's draft focuses on the awarding of fees and costs to citizens who prevail in public records cases. Former legislator Tom Little suggested numerous structural but few major tweakings to the bill.

The committee appears to be headed in these directions:

• Elimination of Gov. Peter Shumlin's proposal for a "government transparency office." The "GTO" is seen as potentially more of a hindrance than a help in creating greater public access.
• Stronger language around the awarding of fees and costs to prevailing plaintiffs. For our open government coalition, this is a "must-pass" provision.
• No change to the current police records exemption. If there is a change, it will be taken up later in a separate bill. This is a disappointment, but we're hopeful there still might be legislation allowing greater access to police documents and videos. 
• Creation of a process to begin review of the 240-plus exemptions to the public records law. There is interest in involving Vermont Law School students in initial research.
• No indication yet whether to allow charges for "inspection" of public records. (Currently charges can only be assessed for "copying" of records.)

Attorney General William Sorrell testified that from his perspective, there aren't major access problems. "In some situations, I'm considered the dark lord of government secrecy," he told the committee. "I'm sorry, but I have a job to do. And when we go to court, we want to win."

The town clerk and treasurer of Milton, John Cushing, had a slightly different take. "This isn't a big issue for the clerks," he said. "We are custodians of public records, so we figure that if we have them, we have to release them." He explained that problems that may exist could be cleared up with better training opportunities for officials.

We have an open government resource page on our Web site. It contains links to Vermont's current public records, open meeting, and campaign finance disclosure laws. It also has links to the police records exemption in current Vermont law, the federal FOIA police records exemption law, the ACLU's testimony on H. 73, and other documents and links. 

, to die with dignity.

This is the third time the legislature has been asked to consider a bill. Previous efforts have faced an array of roadblocks, including lukewarm support from legislative leaders and a veto threat from the governor.

This year, House Speaker Shap Smith has said he would like to see a bill pass. Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell is lukewarm, but has said he won't stand in the way. Gov. Peter Shumlin is strongly in favor.

So the battle is on for winning the votes of a majority of legislators. Consideration of H. 274 will start in the House, and Speaker Smith has said he doesn't want the issue to come to the House floor without the votes for passage.

Patient Choices Vermont, a statewide group organized to advocate for the bill, is sponsoring a series of presentations this week around the state by George Eighmey. Eighmey, a lawyer, was instrumental in passing and implementing Oregon's first-in-the-nation death with dignity act. He served 12 years as executive director of Compassion & Choices of Oregon. an organization dedicated to providing non-judgmental information on end-of-life options.

George Eighmey

 

The presentation schedule is below. All events are free and open to the public. Light snacks will be available.

Wednesday, March 2nd

6:30 pm - 8 pm

St. Albans Historical Museum, 9 Church St. 3rd fl

Enter through rear of bldg. - elevator available

Thursday, March 3rd

12:30 pm - 2 pm

Middlebury Town Hall Theatre

68 South Pleasant (Merchant's Row - on the Green)

Thursday, March 3rd

6:30 pm - 8 pm

Mark Skinner Library in Manchester Center

48 West Rd, just off 7A

Friday, March 4th

6:30 pm - 8 pm

Hardwick Memorial Building, 3rd Fl., 20 Church St.

Enter through main door, up stairs; elevator available at Police Dept. entrance

Listen on the Radio

MARK JOHNSON SHOW-WDEV

Thursday, March 3rd

9:00 am - 11 am

Watch the Press Conference Video

"The hardest thing I have ever done was to care for my father as he suffered as he died," said Aaron Loomis of Burlington. "Every one of those final days my father would look at us, my sister, my brother, please help me end the suffering, but we could not grant his final wishes. Indeed my father had no choice." (Aaron's father, Warren Loomis, was a stalwart ACLU supporter.) Video on WCAX-TV Web site.  

Every time a medical marijuana bill comes up in the legislature, Vermont law enforcement sends an anti-drug message -- usually by convening a special panel where officers, in full uniform with guns, radios, and badges, testify en masse before legislators about how legal marijuana will only lead to more illegal marijuana in the state.

Never mind that everyday "street" marijuana is on the verge of being decriminalized. Or that medical marijuana patients are legally entitled to possess and use marijuana to control severe pain. Or that the state's No. 1 drug problem is alcohol.

Marijuana, in short, seems to suffer from an image problem. Yet even the American Medical Association now acknowledges its palliative effects.  

S. 17 attempts to get doctors, patients, caregivers, suppliers, and police working on the same page to help marijuana registry patients. The bill would create two dispensaries licensed and regulated by the Department of Public Safety.

A similar effort last year, approved by the Senate Government Operations Committee, stalled and never made it to the House. It's hoped that this year's bill, which is tighter and cleaner, can get to the governor's desk for his signature. 

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Here's What Else Is Going On At The Legislature  

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As Excited About Obama DOMA Decision As We Are?   

Edith Windsor click to watch interview