Rep. Ernie Shand
802-674-5021
02-18-2008 Recently, the House Commerce Committee received testimony concerning Worker's Compensation insurance in Vermont. We are interested in learning if misclassification of workers by employers may be driving up premiums and, if so, how to correct those misclassifications. We also are exploring the reports in which employees may be injured "off the job" and then reporting such an incident as an "on the job" injury. If true, this could be a driver of increased premiums. Another area of concern for us is the apparent lack of clarity as to who is an employee and who is an independent contractor. I think that we will be working on Worker's Compensation for a while.
The House Transportation Committee is working hard on the Transportation budget. They report that the pressures on this year's budget are tough, with some areas of focus receiving a small increase and others a decrease. Some examples are as follows:
∑ Bridge Maintenance - Overall spending on bridges increased by 8%. Unfortunately, the town highway bridge program has been reduced.
∑ Public Transit - This area received a modest increase of $520, 858 (2%), but testimony is expected to show that our transit providers are facing serious shortfalls in light of fuel prices, health care costs, and increasing maintenance costs on older vehicles.
∑ Town Programs - These were all level funded, except for the town highway bridge program, which the Governor's budget cut by 19.5%.
∑ Maintenance budget - This funds all of the state districts. It received a modest increase (1.8%), which will barely cover the costs of the employee payroll. This may have a direct impact on the state roads in this area, such as routes 131, 103, 106, 5 and I -91.
∑ Rail Budget--This budget has been reduced by 20.9%, which may mean that we won't be able to access some of the federal earmarks designated for our Vermont's rail infrastructure.
It seems to me that the Governor's recommended budget is an attempt to get by for another year without a long range vision. If we don't come to terms with widening gap between the anticipated revenues and the growing needs in transportation, we will be leaving the real costs of rebuilding (instead of maintaining) our transportation network to our children and grandchildren. I hope that the Transportation Committee will be able to find solutions to the financial consequences of letting our roads and bridges fall into disrepair due to the lack of maintenance.
I am always glad to hear from constituents. My Legislative e-mail is eshand@leg.state.vt.us the snail mail address is 115 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-5201. You can call the Statehouse and leave a message with the Sergeant at Arms 1-800-322-5616 or 802- call me at home 1-802-674-5021. My mailing address is 46 Old Bridge Rd., Weathersfield, VT 05089-0965. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 05 January 2009 16:35 |
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