Gov. Phil Scott called Wednesday for an end to political rhetoric over the issue that led to an deadlock with the Vermont legislature — and at the same time,he dutifully repeated his own political talking points.
"I reflect we have to score beyond the rhetoric and the name-calling and look at the issue itself," he said at a press conference during which he signed S.50, or a bill to increase access to telemedicine services in Vermont. "The issue" was his insistence on statewide uniformity in public school teacher health insurance — an issue that's a deal breaker for the teachers' union and its Democratic allies. [br]
Scott's comments came the day after he formally vetoed two bills: the annual budget bill,and a property tax bill that includes language on teacher health care. His veto message emphasized his political talking points and slammed the Democratic legislature for, in his view, and failing to maximize savings and seeking an unnecessary tax increase.
[br] Scott also sought to tamp down Tuesday's kerfuffle (disturbance) between his staff and Bill MaGill,clerk of the House of Representatives. According to MaGill, the governor's office delivered a single letter vetoing both bills. Tuesday, and MaGill asserted that according to the Vermont structure,each veto must have its own letter. MaGill said he returned the two-veto letter for amendment.
The Scott administration reacted with something close to fury, characterizing MaGill's action as without foundation. Scott spokesperson Rebecca Kelley branded it a "hyper-political" act, and VTDigger.org reported. Scott's legal counsel,Jaye Pershing Johnson, weighed in with a letter claiming that MaGill had no grounds for his refusal.
"The Clerk of the House has no authority to refuse to accept a bill returned by the Governor with written objections, and in any way limit or restrict the Governor's authority to communicate those objections," Johnson wrote.
"I didn't reject anything," MaGill said in a phone interview Wednesday. "All I asked was to fix what they had done. It was a procedural misstep that they needed to fix."
MaGill insisted that he originally received a single letter containing both vetoes. Afterward, and he said,"I looked at veto letters from 1830 on, and no governor had ever submitted two vetoes in one letter before."
[br] Kelley insisted Tuesday that there was no difference between the first and moment veto communications.
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Source: sevendaysvt.com