Source: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2006/journal/SJ060413.htm
Timestamp: 2017-12-11 20:59:10
Document Index: 535873654

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 5411', '§ 2222', '§ 2024', '§ 2028', '§ 2028', '§7702', '§ 7814', '§7811', '§7771', '§7814', '§ 4284', '§ 4284', '§ 702', '§ 1040']

H. 858.
An act relating to the credit for affordable housing.
That when the two Houses adjourn on Friday, April 14, 2006, it be to meet again no later than Tuesday, April 18, 2006.
AN ACT RELATING TO A STANDARDS BOARD AND LICENSING HEARING PANELS FOR PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC EDUCATORS.
Senator Miller, for the Committee on Appropriations, to which the bill was referred, reported recommending that the bill ought to pass in concurrence, when so amended.
Thereupon, pending third reading of the bill, Senator Sears, on behalf of the Committee on Judiciary, moved to amend the Senate proposal of amendment as follows:
Third: In Sec. 25, 13 V.S.A. § 5411, by striking out subsection (c) in its entirety and by adding two new sections to be numbered Sec. 36 and Sec. 37, to read as follows:
Thereupon, on motion of Senator Mazza, the rules were suspended and the bill was ordered messaged to the House forthwith.
Rules Suspended; Proposal of Amendment; Consideration Interrupted by Recess
Appearing on the Calendar for notice, on motion of Senator Welch, the rules were suspended and House bill entitled:
Senator Leddy, for the Committee on Health and Welfare, to which the bill was referred, reported recommending that the Senate propose to the House to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
§ 2222a. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM REFORM; QUALITY AND AFFORDABILITY
(d)(1) The commissioner of health shall report annually on the status of implementation of the Vermont blueprint for health to the house committee on health care, the senate committee on health and welfare, and the health access oversight committee. The report shall include the number of participating insurers, health care professionals, and patients; the progress for achieving statewide participation in the chronic care management plan, including the measures established under subsection (c) of this section; the expenditures and savings for the period; the results of health care professional and patient satisfaction surveys; and other information as requested by the committees. The surveys shall be developed in collaboration with the executive committee established under subsection (b) of this section.
(a)(1) The secretary of administration or designee shall create a chronic care management program administered or provided by a private entity for individuals with chronic conditions who are enrolled in Medicaid, the Vermont health access plan (VHAP), Dr. Dynasaur, or catamount health.
(2) With the goal of including all individuals, the secretary may initially target the chronic care management program to certain groups of individuals to ensure successful implementation and quality of services and to maximize cost savings. Individuals with chronic conditions who are enrolled in catamount health shall be included in the chronic care management program upon enrollment. The secretary may provide a time period for implementing chronic care management to individuals currently enrolled in Medicaid, VHAP, or Dr. Dynasaur in order to allow sufficient time for health care professionals and the entity administering the proposal to identify and enroll these individuals.
Sec. 6. PREVENTION AND CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT; AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES; IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Sec. 7. PREVENTION AND CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT; STATE EMPLOYEES
(a) The agency of administration shall issue a request for proposals no later than January 1, 2007 for a single, private entity to provide coverage for health services for individuals with chronic conditions who are enrolled in Medicaid, the Vermont health access plan (VHAP), Dr. Dynasaur, or catamount health as provided for in section 703 of Title 18 and for health services for individuals enrolled in catamount health as provided for in chapter 19 of Title 33. The request for proposals shall provide that responses may allow an entity to accept the financial risk and administration of the programs, to administer the programs without accepting financial risk, or to provide for a combination of risk sharing.
Sec. 11. PREMIUM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; EMPLOYER‑SPONSORED INSURANCE
(3) A report on the anticipated budgetary impact of an employer-sponsored insurance premium assistance program for fiscal year 2008, including savings attributable to enrolling current VHAP enrollees in the premium assistance program established under this section and the cost of providing the subsidy to these enrollees.
(a) Except as provided for in subsection (b) of this section, the agency or administrator shall pay health care professionals using the Medicare payment methodologies at a level at least ten percent greater than for levels paid under the Medicare program. Payments under this subsection shall be indexed to the
Medicare economic index developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Subject to amendment in the fiscal year 2008 budget, the agency of administration shall establish individual and family premium amounts for catamount health under subchapter 6 of chapter 19 of Title 33. The agency shall establish family premium amounts by income bracket based on the individual premium amounts and the average family size. The individual
premiums shall be by income bracket as a percentage of federal poverty level (FPL):
Second: In Sec. 15, 33 V.S.A. § 2024(b) by striking out subdivision (2)(A) and inserting in lieu thereof a new (2)(A) to read as follows:
Third: In Sec. 15, 33 V.S.A. by striking out § 2028 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new § 2028 to read as follows:
Fourth: In Sec. 16 by striking out the first sentence in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following: Subject to amendment in the fiscal year 2008 budget, the agency of administration shall establish individual and family premium amounts for Catamount Health under subchapter 6 of chapter 19 of Title 33 for the first year in the amounts established in this section and shall index the premiums in future years to the overall growth in spending per enrollee in Catamount Health.
Fifth: By inserting thirteen new sections to be numbered Secs.25a through 25m to read as follows:
(A) an employee of an employer who does not offer to pay any part of the cost of health care coverage for its employees; or
(B) an employee who is not eligible for health care coverage offered by an employer to any other employees.
Sec. 25a, establishing an employers’ health care premium contribution assessment, shall take effect October 1, 2006, with the first premium assessments due and payable 30 days after the close of the quarter on January 30, 2007.
Sec. 25c. 32 V.S.A. §7702 (1) and (12) are amended to read:
(1) "Cigarette" shall mean the common article of commerce known by this name consisting of a small cylindrical roll composed in whole or in part of finely-cut tobacco, wrapped in paper or in any substance other than tobacco. “Cigarette” shall also mean the common article of commerce known as “little cigars” or “cigarillos”, or by a similar designation, consisting of a small cylindrical roll of the approximate size as cigarettes and wrapped in paper or other substance which may be or include tobacco.
(12) "Tobacco products" means cigars (except little cigars or cigarillos defined as cigarettes); cheroots; stogies; periques; granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and other smoking tobacco; snuff, snuff flour; cavendish; plug and twist tobacco; fine-cut and other chewing tobaccos; shorts; refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings and sweeping of tobacco, and other kinds and forms of tobacco, prepared in such manner as to be suitable for chewing or smoking in a pipe or otherwise, or both for chewing and smoking; but shall not include cigarettes as defined in this section.
Sec. 25e. 32 V.S.A. § 7814(b) is amended to read:
Sec. 25f. 32 V.S.A. §7811 is amended to read:
There is hereby imposed and shall be paid a tax on all tobacco products possessed in the state of Vermont by any person for sale on and after July 1, 1959 which were imported into the state or manufactured in the state after said date, except that no tax shall be imposed on tobacco products sold under such circumstances that this state is without power to impose such tax, or sold to the United States, or sold to or by a voluntary unincorporated organization of the armed forces of the United States operating a place for the sale of goods pursuant to regulations promulgated by the appropriate executive agency of the United States. Such tax on tobacco products shall be at the rate of 41 percent of the wholesale price for all tobacco products except snuff and other chewing tobacco which shall be taxed at the rate of $1.66 per ounce, or fractional part thereof, and is intended to be imposed only once upon any tobacco product. Provided, however, that upon payment of the tax within ten days, the distributor or dealer may deduct from the tax two percent of the tax due. It shall be presumed that all tobacco products within the state are subject to tax until the contrary is established and the burden of proof that any tobacco products are not taxable hereunder shall be upon the person in possession thereof.
Sections 25c. through 25g. and this section shall take effect July 1, 2006. On and after July 1, 2008, the cigarette tax under 32 V.S.A. §7771 shall be at the rate of 99.5 mills for each cigarette. On July 1, 2008, the floor stock tax imposed by 32 V.S.A. §7814 (b) shall be at the rate of 10 mills for each cigarette in the possession or control of a wholesaler or retailer who has more than 10,000 cigarettes on July 1, 2008, shall be reported by the wholesaler or dealer on or before August 25, 2008, and due and payable on or before September 25, 2008.
Sec. 25m. Sec. 1. of S.90 of the 2005 adjourned session is amended by striking 18 V.S.A. § 4284(a) and inserting in lieu thereof a new 18 V.S.A. § 4284(a) to read:
Sixth: By striking out Sec. 28 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new Sec. 28 to read as follows:
Seventh: By striking out Sec. 30 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new Sec. 30 to read as follows:
Eighth: By capitalizing “catamount health” wherever it appears in the bill.
Senator Bartlett, for the Committee on Appropriations, to which the bill was referred, reported recommending that the bill be amended as recommended by the Committee on Health and Welfare with the following amendments thereto:
First: In Sec. 5, 18 V.S.A. § 702 by striking out subsection (d)(1) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (d)(1) to read as follows:
Second: In Sec. 11, by striking out subsection (g) in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (g) to read as follows:
Third: By striking out Sec. 29 in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new Sec. 29 to read as follows:
Thereupon, the bill was read the second time by title only pursuant to Rule 43, and pending the question, Shall the recommendation of proposal of amendment of the Committee on Health and Welfare be amended as recommended by the Committee on Finance?, on motion of Senator Doyle the Senate recessed until 3:15 P.M.
At 3:55 P.M. the Senate was called to order by the President.
Thereupon, the question, Shall the recommendation of proposal of amendment of the Committee on Health and Welfare be amended as recommended by the Committee on Finance? was decided in the affirmative.
Thereupon, the pending question, Shall the recommendation of amendment of the Committee on Health and Welfare, as amended, be amended as recommended by the Committee on Appropriations?, was decided in the affirmative.
Thereupon, the proposal of amendment recommended by the Committee on Health and Welfare, as amended, was agreed to and third reading of the bill was ordered on a roll call, Yeas 25, Nays 4.
Those Senators who voted in the affirmative were: Ayer, Bartlett, Campbell, Collins, Condos, Cummings, Doyle, Dunne, Gander, Giard, Illuzzi, Kitchel, Kittell, Leddy, Lyons, MacDonald, Mazza, Miller, Mullin, Scott, Sears, Snelling, Starr, Welch, White.
Those Senators who voted in the negative were: Coppenrath, Maynard, Shepard, Wilton.
House Proposal of Amendment Concurred In; Bill Delivered
The House proposes to the Senate to amend the bill in Sec. 1, 12 V.S.A. § 1040(b), by striking out the following: “purposes of constructing, maintaining, or operating” and inserting in lieu thereof the following: the following purposes
Thereupon, on motion of Senator Welch, the rules were suspended and the bill was ordered delivered to the Governor forthwith.
Message from the House No. 72
H. 893. An act relating to extending pharmacy coverage due to Medicare Part D problems.
Message from the House No. 73
H. 883. An act relating to amending the charter of the city of Burlington.
H. 888. An act relating to sustainable funding of the Fish and Wildlife Department.
H. 710. An act relating to organization of supervisory districts.
H. 33. An act relating to the Uniform Mediation Act.
H. 611. An act relating to life threatening chronic allergies and illnesses in schools.
S. 103. An act relating to lawsuits arising from exercise of right to freedom of speech or to petition government for redress of grievances.
S. 106. An act relating to increasing the beverage container handlers’ fee and an ongoing evaluation of the bottle redemption system.
S. 182. An act relating to advisement of immigration consequences of pleading guilty to a criminal offense.
The Governor has informed the House of Representatives that on the 11th day of April, 2006, he approved and signed a bill originating in the House of the following title:
H. 655. An act relating to the towns and gores of Essex County.
The Governor has informed the House of Representatives that on the 12th day of April, 2006, he approved and signed a bill originating in the House of the following title:
On motion of Senator Welch, the Senate adjourned until eleven o’clock in the morning.