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Senate leader Tim Ashe challenged his colleagues on Wednesday to bring legislation to the table this session that will raise the standard of living for the “other Vermont,” those in rural areas or urban pockets struggling to get by.

“I challenge each of you,” Ashe said upon being re-elected as the Senate president pro tem, “I challenge each committee you will serve on, and I challenge myself, to never let go of this one question, what can we do to improve life in the other Vermont?”

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Ashe, a Democrat/Progressive from Chittenden County, said this “other Vermont” is affected by a lack of both economic and social opportunity, and it is the role of the Senate to ensure that these Vermonters are taken care of.

Democratic legislators will do that once again by pushing for a $15 minimum wage and a paid family leave program, but a number of other ideas were exchanged during the party’s first caucus of the session (Democrats hold 24 of 30 seats in the chamber).

The initial priorities include a number of legislative proposals left over from last year, including bills increasing liability for toxic polluters, long-term funding to clean up polluted lakes, protecting consumers against “unconscionable contracts” with companies, addressing problems in the mental health system, ramping up the response to the opioid epidemic, and taking a hard look at the state’s education funding formula.

The Senate will also be discussing up to half a dozen changes to the Vermont Constitution. Ashe has already submitted a bill that would increase the governor’s term from two to four years — legislation that he said would spark a broader conversation about terms for statewide office holders and senators.

Some of his Democratic colleagues are also pushing legislation that would eliminate any reference to slavery in the Constitution, guarantee equal rights to historically marginalized groups and protect women’s right to abortions.

A few Democratic senators said they were already feeling uneasy about the changes.

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“I got a little flustered when I heard we are doing four constitutional amendments this year,” said Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington. “If we start using the Constitution to solve or alter today’s issues, we risk endangering it.”

The senators said their Republican colleague, Sen. Joe Benning of Caledonia, was also likely to propose a constitutional change guaranteeing privacy rights to citizens. Sen. Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington, said he was considering an amendment to guarantee the right to a clean environment.

Pollina also said the Senate should start talking about how to expand access to higher education to all Vermonters, realizing that it might take years before any changes actually come to pass.

Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, has said he plans to introduce a bill that would impose a mandatory waiting period on gun purchases — a law that is being championed by the parents of Andrew Black, who killed himself last month with a gun he purchased on the same day he died.

Sen. John Rodgers, who is one of the most conservative members of the Democratic caucus, said he would also be introducing gun-related legislation, focusing on the controversial ban of high-capacity magazines that passed last year.

One bill would create an exemption for magazines being used in shooting competitions, which he said were effectively ended in Vermont because of the magazine ban. The other would allow people to give or sell high-capacity magazines to their family members.

Unlike Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, Ashe did not announce committee assignments on the first day back at the Statehouse. He said he hoped to announce committee compositions Thursday.

Five new senators were sworn in. Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, replaced outgoing Claire Ayer; Sen. Corey Parent, R-Franklin, moved from the House to the Senate to replace Carolyn Branagan; Sen. Andrew Perchlik, D/P-Washington, took Francis Brooks’ seat; Sen. Cheryl Hooker, D/P-Rutland, replaced Peg Flory; and Sen. Jim McNeil, R-Rutland, will fill David Soucy’s seat.

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