According to a story on VTDigger, Gov. Scott will be signing "executive orders" to consolidate several services, including moves impacting Lottery, Liquor Control, DII and Labor. Details remain vague on impact, but in advance of Scott’s announcement, the State Auditor posted this about one proposed move:
"The Agency of Commerce promotes development. One of the important tasks of the Dept. of Labor is to run the Unemployment Insurance and Workers Compensation programs. Putting Labor into Commerce could create an internal conflict of interest between business advocates and those who regulate the behavior of employers in the labor market. As we saw with the EB-5 program, it may not prudent to have both functions under the same roof."
January 4 marks the beginning of the 2017 Vermont legislative session. In advance, please click on the button below to read a special pre-legislative-session edition of the VSEA VOICE. Here’s some of what’s inside:
2017 VSEA Legislative Agenda;
Message from VSEA President Dave Bellini;
Profile of VSEA Leglislative Committee Chair Margaret Crowley;
Background on new House and Senate leaders;
Information about how to contact your legislators; and
A listing of all the new faces under the Golden Dome.
Like clockwork it seems, every legislative session, some lawmaker will sound an unfortunate call at the State House to privatize the care Vermont provides to its veterans residing at the Vermont Veterans’ Home in Bennington.
Each year, VSEA and its members at the Vets’ Home go to the State House to testify and educate lawmakers about why privatization is a bad idea, yet the threats keep coming. For this reason, VSEA is asking all our Facebook friends to please share this short video—in advance of the 2017 legislative session—with your Vermont friends far and wide.
Let’s work together to stop a debate about privatizing Vermont’s sole Veterans’ Home before it even starts!
