The biggest challenge for Vermont
lawmakers in 2014 is shaping up to be the budget. The Administration Secretary told members of
the Legislature Wednesday they’ve got some major challenges ahead, and that
includes a projected budget gap of 70-million dollars. House Speaker Shap Smith, who organized the
briefing Wednesday says money will dominate the session, from property taxes to
pension shortfalls to costs for health care.
A clearer financial picture is expected in January.
Efforts to bring back passenger rail service to western Vermont
are a big step closer to reality. Earlier today, a special legislative
committee authorized the Agency of Transportation to spend federal grant money
to upgrade the rails from Rutland
20 miles north to Leicester . Once the project is complete, all but 12 of
the 75-mile stretch between Burlington
and Rutland will have been
upgraded. State officials could apply as
soon as January for grants to upgrade the final 12 miles.
Gov. Peter Shumlin and other top state officials are in
talks with the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's owners about how to dismantle the
site and handle spent fuel after the plant closes late next year. Governor Shumlin, Attorney General Bill
Sorrell, Public Service Commissioner Chris Recchia and others met with
high-ranking Entergy Corp. officials yesterday and plan to meet again December
2. It's the first time state leaders have met with the company to discuss
decommissioning since the closing was announced in August.
Senator Patrick Leahy voted in favor of making a change in
the U.S. Senate filibuster rules. A
press release says these changes will ensure the Senate's ability to confirm
qualified nominees to judicial and executive posts. Officials say federal vacancies have hovered
around 90. Leahy, the President Pro
Tempore and the Senate's longest serving member, presided over the series of
procedural votes.
