Douglas delivers State of the State Governor to pursue Agenda of Affordabiliy for Vermonters

Author: Katherine N. Doorley

While it is a commonly known fact that the President of the United States is required by law to give a "State of the Union" address to Congress each year, it is less commonly known that most governors are required to do the same. Governor Jim Douglas '75 recently presented his "State of the State" message to the Vermont General Assembly, stressing what he has chosen to call an Agenda of Affordability for Vermonters.

The State of the State speech traditionally serves as an avenue for the governor to reflect upon the economic and social circumstances facing the state as well as to propose a legislative agenda for the new term. Douglas' speech closely followed the traditional model as he highlighted Vermont's agreement with the federal government to allow the state to control the Medicare and Medicaid health care funding programs as well as Vermont's low poverty rates and exceptional record in environmentalism.

Douglas' message had a common theme - an Agenda of Affordability. Throughout his speech he highlighted programs and proposals designed to ensure that each Vermonter has access to health care, job training and the education needed at a cost that does not present a burden. First among the highlighted programs was Douglas' new health care agenda. Douglas called upon the legislature to pass his health insurance plan which would make health insurance more affordable and would provide health insurance to all children in the state.

The second prong of Douglas' address was making Vermont a more affordable place to live and work. "Vermont has the sixth highest cost of living in the nation, despite no major metropolitan areas. Already, the flight of young people as a result of high expense and limited opportunities has helped make Vermont the second-oldest state in the country." In order to combat the youth flight, Douglas proposed a series of tax and business reforms that are designed to create jobs and lower the cost of living in the state.

"We must take action now to adopt an agenda of affordability for Vermont's families. We need to begin today to remedy the high cost of health insurance, to address surging property taxes and housing costs that are squeezing working Vermonters, to help employers create more good-paying jobs and to put a college education within reach of every Vermonter," said Douglas. Douglas pledged additional funding for education to ensure that those students who wanted to were able to afford college tuition, with special scholarships to those who choose to attend school in Vermont, since Vermont has the second highest number of students leave the state to attend college. Douglas also called for initiatives to bring environmentally friendly industries to Vermont and to transform the state into the "Silicon Valley of environmental industries."

One of the most controversial pieces of legislation passed in recent years is the Act 60 Education funding act which has significantly raised property taxes in some parts of the state. Douglas noted that, "if we expect to keep Vermont affordable for Vermonters, we must act now to dramatically curb the unsustainable growth in property taxes. Today I am offering a comprehensive property tax relief plan for Vermont families to return sustainability to school spending, and give real power back to the local voters and school boards. I am a firm believer in local control - but since Act 60 undermined that control, property taxes have spun out of control." In order to combat the rapid increase in taxes the Governor has proposed a cap on property tax growth as well as the elimination of machinery property tax for Vermont's farmers. Through measures such as these, Douglas expressed hope that the state would be able to curtail many of the rapid tax increases that have made living in Vermont so expensive.

Finally, Douglas addressed the issue of criminal rehabilitation. While the number is not large, there exists every year a number of former felons who are released back into the community at large who have never completed a rehabilitation program. Douglas called upon the General Assembly to provide additional funding for criminal rehabilitation programs, arguing that, "For the sake of our children and families, we must ensure that these extreme sexual and violent predators successfully complete treatment that will help prevent another victim before they are released into our neighborhoods among our children."

It now remains to the state legislature to act upon Douglas' proposals. However, whether or not the entirety of his program becomes law, Douglas' speech sent a clear message about his vision for the future of the state and its residents.