Burlington Free Press article from May 4, 2008

2008 Standout legislators

"TONY KLEIN From the energy-efficiency bill early in the session to the housing bill that was settled on the next-to-last day, Klein had a hand in crafting complicated, high-profile legislation. In most cases, he wanted the legislation to lean further left on the political scale than it does, but he was deft at finding paths that made bills palatable to a wider audience. As legislators sought to settle a yearlong stalemate over the energy-efficiency bill, for example, Klein came up with the idea of using existing revenues to start the program, then if the program proves itself, looking at using the gross receipts tax as a funding source.

PETER SHUMLIN Shumlin took issues surrounding the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant off the shelf and put them unexpectedly on the top of the agenda for the year. Like a dog that won't let go of a toy, he hung on and raised questions about the plant's long-term safety, its decommissioning fund and where its radioactive fuel is stored. The scrutiny raised a furor from business leaders concerned that it will hurt the state's electric rates. Shumlin also used shrewd parliamentary skills to withstand efforts all around him to repeal the two-vote school budget process created last year.

PHIL SCOTT The common-sense senator showed a willingness to think outside the box when he and fellow middle-of-the-roader Sen. Richard Mazza, D-Chittenden/Grand Isle, raised the idea of using a change in the capital gains tax to pay for roads and bridges. The idea petered out, and Scott instead set aside long-term reluctance to bond for transportation work next year. Scott's committee brokered an idea of remodeling the closing Dale Correctional Facility in Waterbury for the future Vermont State Hospital, offering a solution to lingering problems about the psychiatric hospital.

ANNE DONAHUE No legislator knows more about mental health and the state's psychiatric hospital. While decidedly not a single-issue policymaker, Donahue is dogged in her scrutiny of every bill for provisions that might affect Vermonters with mental illness. That's what brought her to her feet on the House floor to argue vigorously against a bill that most lawmakers believed would enhance parity for mental health care. Donahue said it reversed a decade of progress. She lost, but earned public praise from the lawmaker who rallied opposition to her amendment. Rep. Michael Fisher, D-Lincoln, told the House, "It is her advocacy over the years that keeps these issues before us and keeps us moving forward."

MARK LARSON Legislative leaders handed Larson a hot political potato in the final days of the session. They asked him to lead a committee assigned to vet an economic stimulus package that Gov. Jim Douglas unveiled two weeks before the scheduled end of the legislative session. Larson had to lead the evaluation mindful that in this election year Douglas would use any hesitancy as evidence that the Legislature, dominated by Democrats, didn't care about Vermonters' plight. Mild-mannered Mark led his bipartisan committee through the tricky political thicket, emerging with a stimulus package that lawmakers and the administration embraced.

SUE MINTER Minter was a woman on a mission this session. She wanted policy-makers to consider new options to finance critical road and bridge maintenance. The energetic lawmaker worked inside and outside the Statehouse to change minds about the possibility of bonding. She won approval for an analytical process to determine the feasibility of several bonding options so lawmakers will have recommendations next winter. She cheered as Gov. Jim Douglas made extra bonding for roads part of his stimulus package and applauded as State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding softened his stance as well. "This has totally been my issue and I can't believe I've been successful.""