walter carpenter's blog

A quick report on the House Appropriations Committee. It was not really that dramatic, unlike many of the other committees that we have sat in on. The committee passed S.88 by a vote of 7-3. Reps who voted no were: Helm, Winters, Acinapura. Steve Maier defended the bill, with representative George Till, D-Bolton, there as well and Robin Lunge, legislative council. They did add an amendment, which carried the entire committee, an amendment about funding which I will write more of later. It should be going up to the floor later on this week, perhaps Thursday or Friday. We'll see.

Long day in the committee room. Senator Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, read a letter that I believe came from a constituent of his. This person was writing about how ridiculous it is to keep jumping back-and-forth from Catamount and Vhap, each time his income rose or fell. The constituent complained how each time that this happened, he had to get new insurance cards, and was paying different premiums, deductibles, and co-pays with each one. The Rutland constituent was furious that some things covered under one program, were not under another; that he had to come up to reviews every six months.

Summary of House Health and Welfare Committee Hearings, Wednesday, February 17th: