Bold politicians allowed (celebrated even)

Many think that in order to be successful in politics, you have to be all things to all people. Well, not so in Vermont.

We are the land, after all, of Sen. Bernie Sanders. And this week, we elected Peter Shumlin as governor, a man who made marriage equality and single-payer healthcare central to his campaign.

In 2004, when Pres. Bush won his re-election, I was elected to my first term in the Vermont House of Representatives. This year, while the Tea Party wreaks havoc nationally, voters in Vermont re-elected to me 4th term, AND decided to change from a Republican Governor, to a Democratic Governor.

Thank you Vermont. It's wonderful to live here. Boldly.

Pot and Politics

Four leaders (Matt Dunne, Deb Markowitz, Peter Shumlin, and Doug Racine) vying to be the Democratic candidate for Governor declared support for deciminalizing small amounts of marijuana possession. That means they're calling for tickets rather than jail time. Doing so would also eliminate or vastly reduce the costs in our current system that go to judges, police, lawyers, and others with the current criminalization for people caught with pot.

That news follows a forum that I participated in at UVM, sponsored by Marijuana Resolve. Two TV stations covered the event, with news reports found here:

WCAX-TV: http://bit.ly/cSvVR9

WPTZ-TV: http://www.wptz.com/r/24587835/detail.html

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Get out & push!

On June 2, 2009, history was made.

It was the first time that the governor of the state of Vermont ever vetoed a budget. It was quite a disappointment. Negotiations broke down, and a compromise couldn't be reached.

But I joined with more than 2/3 of the House and Senate in over-riding the Governor's veto.

The way I see it, we're all in the family car, out of gas, and we must make it up the hill. Everyone pushes, even Grandma. That's what the budget we passed does.

Some opponents of this approach say that Buddy, the strongest person in the car, shouldn't be asked to help, because he might defect to New Hampshire.

I say that the rule is, "Less whining, more pushing."

What about the kids, when parents are arrested?

It wasn't planned.  

But when I testified last week in the House of Representatives about a bill protecting children when their parents are arrested, a voice from the back of room spoke up.  It was an 18-year-old Girl Scout, who happened to be there to visit the State House on an unrelated matter.

She asked, "Do you want to hear from the voice of a child?"  

The Chairwoman of the committee was surprised, but invited her to speak.  And so she did, saying that she hadn't planned to tell her story for the first time in public, no less here to the Legislature.

Bravely, with great force and candor, she articlulated clearly the toll it took upon her when her father had been arrested when she was seven years old.  Her testimony was not only very moving, it was indicative of how widespread this issue is.  For thousands like her, I believe that we must improve our policies.

Please read the article below, which includes this note:

"In Winooski last year, according to Graham, police arrested a woman while her 14-year-old child was at school. The boy returned to an empty house, where he subsisted alone for more than two weeks before school officials began to ask questions."

http://www.timesargus.com/article/RH/20090419/NEWS03/904190377/0/NEWS02

Marriage Equality

On Tuesday, April 7, Vermont became the first state in the nation to create marriage equality for gay men and lesbians, by an act of the Legislature.

We did this by over-riding the Governor's veto, with 100 votes in the House.

Stan Baker, a gay rights pioneer and friend, shares a victory hug here with me moments after passage.

He asked me, "How are you feeling?"

My answer, "Equal."

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Building Vermont's Economy

We can’t depend only on Washington and the federal stimulus package to see our way through this recession. Vermont is going to see its way through this storm. We will do that by working together creating jobs in the short-term, and building our infrastructure for long-term growth.

I've also been working on an economic development omnibus bill with my committee that creates new ways to strengthen our economy, along with investments in low-income entrepreneurs, renewed investment in the green economy, and strategies on how Vermont can get the most out of President Obama's Federal Stimulus Program.

Today, we passed a tentative bill out of our committee, knowing that much more work is needed before final passage.

Don't Blagojevich Me

I haven't been sleeping well. I'm worried about this guy: Blagojevich. And it's not just his hairdo.

We all know the adage: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Well in Illinois, the governor has the absolute power to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. And we all know how that one turned out, now don't we.

In Vermont, the governor has the absolute power to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. And I believe we need to change that.

I authored a bill to do just that -- give the power back to the voters.

See the Burlington Free Press article on the subject:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090227/NEWS03/902270309

Farm-to-Plate

Vermonters import over $2 billion worth of food every year. We should be buying much more locally. If we could grab just 10% of that imported food source, we'd create thousands of Vermont jobs.

This isn't just about supporting agriculture in Vermont. It's about jobs, and commerce.

So it's only fitting that as a member of the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee, I teamed up with Representative Christopher Bray from the House Agriculture comittee. We co-authored a bill that will create more local businesses for Vermont farmers, food processors, distributors, storage suppliers, and much more.

Called the Farm-to-Plate bill, it has the full support of two great non-profit organizations: Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and Rural Vermont.

See the news articles here:

Fox TV News: http://www.fox44.net/Global/story.asp?S=9852326


WCAX, Channel 3: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=9852218&nav=menu183_2


WPTZ, Channel 5: http://www.wptz.com/money/18727322/detail.html

Marriage Equality for All

Marriage Equality will be a hot topic in March.

I fully expect that it will pass in the Senate and the House, too.

As a co-sponsor of the bill (and as someone who will happily upgrade my civil union certificate to a marriage certificate with the wonderful man I've shared 10 years with), the vote will not come soon enough.

PS. Happy Valentine's Day

Time to Bond Now

Mom is thrilled.

Since I was assigned to the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee, she says, "Finally, your MBA from Stanford will be put to good use!"

While I'll stay involved in the prison reform legislation that I've helped write the past four years, and continue to push for more prison reform -- including supporting children of incarcerated parents -- my primary focus turns to Vermont jobs and limiting, if not reversing, the challenges of the recession in Vermont.

We must halt the slow-down in our economy with new jobs and a stimulus plan. House Speaker Shap Smith proposed a key piece of that plan on Jan. 7.

I wrote an editorial about it, including several reasons why the timing is ideal now to issue more state bonds.

You can read it here:


http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090118/FEATURES15/901180307/-1/RSS10

Governor Proposes Harmful Cuts

When times get tough, we need to stick together. As the State of Vermont faces an enormous budget crisis (like the rest of the nation) we need to remember our commitment to the most vulnerable Vermonters.

Do you think it's time to dip into the Rainy Day Fund? Or should we go ahead and make real cuts right now that will have multiplier effects to our economy and that may have long-lasting damaging effects, and will likely immediately work to raise college tuition, hurt working Vermonters, and cut vital services to children, the elderly, the poor, and so many of our environmental, forestry, and other vital projects.

Lorber Named 2008 Public Official of the Year

REP. LORBER NAMED PUBLIC OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR
BY VERMONT SOCIAL WORKERS

Lorber, Other Award Winners to be Honored at Annual Conference

Oct. 22, 2008 -- Montpelier, VT -- Rep. Jason P. Lorber (D-Burlington) was named 2008 Public Official of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers -- Vermont Chapter (NASW-VT), for his work on behalf of children whose parents are sent to prison.

In addition to Lorber's award, NASW-VT also recognized Ellen Fein, a licensed clinical social worker in Montpelier, as Social Worker of the Year, and Mark Hage, with the Vermont Education Association, as Public Citizen of the Year for his leadership and the work of the Vermont Campaign for Healthcare Security and Education Fund in expanding access to state-supported health insurance programs for all Vermonters.

"In these troubling economic times, the role and perspective of social workers are increasingly important," said Rilla Murray, executive director of the NASW-VT. "We particularly appreciate of the leadership of Rep. Jason Lorber, Ellen Fein, and Mark Hage and the Vermont Campaign. Each has supported the values of the social work profession, served the cause of social justice and provided inspiration to others in meeting challenges.”

"When parents are sent to jail, we have a moral responsibility to minimize the harm done to their children," said Lorber. "Those kids need to know that they did nothing wrong. We need to know that, too. And we need to take action."

Lorber worked closely with Director of Kids-A-Part Tara Graham, Rep. Sandy Hass (P-Rochester), and other key legislators on bills dubbed "Remember the Children" legislation. Lorber's leadership was critical in passing a new law in 2008 that requires the Vermont Department of Corrections to investigate how many thousands of Vermont children are affected by their parents' incarceration, and calls upon several agencies to recommend safeguards and improvements.

It Passed!

Legislation that I’ve been working on for the past three years became law this month.

It’s a prison reform measure that will save millions of dollars for Vermonters, improve community safety, and avert us from sending hundreds of inmates out of state (and our dollars with them).

It's been heralded as one of the defining pieces of legislation for the year. As it should be, especially given the context of Vermont's crime and prison outlook.

Vermont has a low and declining rate of crime, yet we continue to lock up more and more people, many for non-violent offenses. Despite the countless studies that demonstrate more cost-effective ways to deal with crime, Vermont government still needlessly spends tens of millions of dollars in added costs each year. But that’s going to start changing in a dramatic way. The new law, called Justice Reinvestment, will provide more alternatives to incarceration than we currently have by investing in drug and alcohol treatment programs, transitional housing, and community-based solutions.

It aims to reduce recidivism -- known as repeat customers to the prison system -- and is estimated to save, in reduced prison costs alone, $50-to-$200 million dollars over ten years. That’s some long-term planning and benefits that are well overdo. Justice Reinvestment seed money will come from the reorganization ofour prisons. The savings produced from Justice Reinvestment plus the prison reorganization savings will fuel not only further investments inalternatives to incarceration, it will provide tens of millions ofdollars left over to benefit tax-payers.

The key to the success of this effort stemmed from how we approached it from the get-go. Knowing that there were potential political landmines, we started out by involving not only all three political parties in Vermont, but also by involving all three branches of government --judicial, executive, and legislative. That’s extremely unusual inVermont. The end-result was a comprehensive bill that had overwhelming support.

Investing in alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders will not only save us millions, it will also make our communities safer.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Today the House passed S.373. I was proud to vote for this bill, which is a vote to protect Vermonters in the event that the Vermont Yankee nuclear will be decommissioned.

Now, it's up to the Governor to act.

The Gay Tax

Oh, hadn't you heard of the Gay Tax? It's one of the casualities of not having marriage equality for gay men and lesbians. To hear a commentary about the Gay Tax that I aired, click here:

Vermont Public Radio

Fresh Milk in Vermont

The House of Representatives will vote this week on H.616, a bill I co-sponsored that would allow unpateurized milk to flow more freely in Vermont.

If passed, this law will milk the trend toward buying local, foster more neighborly contact, help Vermont's small farms, and preserve a great way of life here in Vermont.

Plus, it will make cows happier (well, at least they'll be selling their milk for more).

More Education for Offenders

It’s not just a coincidence. Over 90% of young male adults who are in prison have no high school education. Here in Vermont, we’re currently doing something about that and thanks to pending legislation (H.135), we may soon be doing even more.

First, some background. Did you know that the Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT) is the state’s largest high school? Last year CHSVT became the nation’s first prison-based school to become accredited. That was a big deal. But it’s a bigger deal that offenders who get an education have lower recidivism levels. That's why we need more educational programming in our prisons.

Our committee hopes to pass a bill that mandates education for incarcerated men and women without a high school diploma until their 26th birthday (current law says up to their 23rd birthday). For those housed in Vermont prisons, they'll be required to attend CHSVT. For Vermont's inmates who are housed in other states (due to overcrowding), they'll be required to attend classes if such classes are offered (which aren't as good as schooling in Vermont, but it's still much better than no schooling).

The cost for all of this? Either nothing or a negligible amount, says the Department of Corrections (DOC), because we’ve already got the staff – adding the students is free or practically free. With more education, DOC believes that these offenders will be more successful reintegrating into society and getting jobs, and we’ll all benefit from that.

Remember the Children

What happens to a child when Dad or Mom is incarcerated? Do children get to see their parents? What if the parents are sent out-of-state to serve their time? Who cares for the children? Who pays for the care of the children? And what rights do the children have?

Those were some of the questions that were asked last fall at an overflowing conference in Vermont that focused on the needs of children of incarcerated parents.

This week, I'll be presenting three bills that I've authored, one on my own, and two with Rep. Sandy Haas (P-Rochester). Those bills H.734, H.735, and H.736, together with S.253 from Senators Miller, Condos, and Snelling are being called the "Remember the Children" legislation.

Remember the Children legislation calls upon key governmental agencies to focus on the needs of children when parents are arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned. One of the bills calls for a Children's Bill of Rights. The goal is to spark a discussion and find solutions that address the needs of these unintended victims of crime.

Click here for a news article that today discussed this important issue.

Hemp

I was proud to be a co-sponsor of the Hemp bill, H.267, which just passed the House of Representatives last week with tri-partisan support.

Now before you get too excited, please realize that this bill does not legalize marijuana. That's a common misconception. Instead, it calls for allowing production of industrial hemp.

Industrial hemp is not marijuana. In fact, you'd have to smoke several HUNDRED pounds of hemp to get a buzz.

The bill we passed simply says that farmers should be allowed to benefit from the production of hemp, once the Federal Government gives the go-ahead.

Will the Feds do that? My crystal ball is agnostic on that one. But the more states that standup to paranoia and misunderstanding, the more likely it will happen.

So, we took that first step forward. And perhaps once again, Vermont will lead the country.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I have many resolutions this year, including spending more time with Max (who’s now 19-months old), making more movies, doing more standup comedy, and finding time (somehow!) to ski at least a few days this winter.

Politically, I’m working on many issues. And one of my big legislative resolutions is to pass a bill that accomplishes three things: (1) make Vermont communities safer, (2) save taxpayer dollars (particularly on prison expenses), and (3) encourage alternatives to incarceration for many of our locked up Vermonters. Doing all three at once will be the jackpot, not only because of making such measures politically successful, but also because all three goals go hand-in-hand.

What many people don't realize is that putting more people in jail doesn't necessarily make us safer. That's partly because most of the people in prison get out. The vast majority only serve a year or two. And more than half of them end up back in prison within three years of getting released.

What we do not need is repeat "customers" for our prisons. Instead, let's find a way to get to the root causes of why so many of them continually commit crimes. For many of them, it's related to an alcohol or drug addiction that they have.

New laws and community programs will save us all money in the long run, and will make Vermont a better, safer, and more humane place to live.

Last week was the first one for the Legislature, which runs Jan. to May, give or take a couple of weeks. Campaign finance reform and renewable energy are among many hot issues to watch out for.