March 1 Update
Hello Everyone! It has been a while since I have posted an update. I have had a virus for most of the month. It has been one of those viruses where you think you are getting better then it starts all over again. I have asthma and it makes it particularly challenging… you have to find the just the right mix of inhaled steroid and other meds to get you through… some may make the problem worse… some may not be enough. (Any of you with asthma will know just what I am talking about.) So, needless to say, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time in Augusta this month.
I do have some bill updates though.
My transportation bill to install a stoplight at the intersection of Route’s 132 and 126 is going to public hearing. The hearing date is Friday, March 6, at 9 AM in Transportation (Room 126, State House). This is a very important issue. It seems everywhere I go in Sabattus, someone mentions the need of this stoplight. If this issue is important to you, please e-mail me your comments ASAP (info@stacydostie.info) and I will present them to the committee.
I will be passing in my sponsor sheet for another bill this week. This bill is an act to restrict the size of political signs on vehicles. Many of you who watched my campaign will know that my opponent found a loophole in the political sign laws. He had large banners on his RV and plywood signs on a minivan. I am hoping to change the political sign laws to make them consistent and fair for every candidate. I will keep you updated on the public hearing date on this one.
Another bill that I put in for a constituent to allow the parent/guardian of a child to sign a waiver to remove the school from all liability if a child stays in school during a chicken pox outbreak, has been retracted and I have signed on with Senator Lisa Marrache who put in the same bill. I will update you when as to when this bill goes to public hearing.
I have one more of my bills that has been combined with another bill. I had put in to have the food stamp guidelines changed to the WIC guidelines or something similar. Because food stamps are a Federal program, I could not do this. Representative Bruce Bickford has put in a resolve to require the Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver to prohibit the use of food stamps for the purchase of taxable food items. I have signed on with Bruce to sponsor this bill. When this goes to public hearing, I will post the date here.
The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee will be meeting again this week to discuss the milk subsidy program. From what I understand, the Governor has allotted $2.1 million to the program. Now the deficit is $1.9 million. This is the deficit only until June 2009. Come June, the program has some bigger problems as they will be looking at a $13 million deficit. This is a hard and complicated issue for dairy farmers. Most of them want to stay loyal to each other and have no cuts to the program or equal cuts across the board. This presents a huge problem for small farmers who may not have the capacity to survive the cuts like the big guys do. It is being proposed that the small dairy farms be cut by 25% and the large dairy farms be cut by 35%. Looking at this from a business perspective, and putting loyalty aside, I see this as a smart solution.
That is all for now! I hope everyone stays healthy!
