PRESS RELEASE

 For immediate release
Contact:  Thuy Nguyen (802-828-2148)
September 13, 1999

Vermont Public Service Awards to be held in Orleans County

Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz will be kicking off the first Vermont Public Service Awards Ceremony in Orleans County on Wednesday, September 15, 1999. The ceremony will honor over 90 local officials who have served their communities for twenty or more years. One hundred and fifty people are expected to attend including honorees, friends, family and other local officials. The ceremony will begin with presentations by the North Country Union High School Color Guard and Newport Boys Scouts Troop 804. Keynote speeches by Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz and Senator Vince Illuzzi will follow the opening presentations. The ceremony will take place at the Elks Club in Derby from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. The event is open to the public. For further information, please call 1-800-439-8683.

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PRESS RELEASE

 For immediate release
Contact:  Thuy Nguyen (802-828-2148)
September 3, 1999

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Markowitz Reports Deficit Erased in Secretary of State’s Office

Montpelier -- Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz today released to Vermonters budget figures that show her office in good fiscal health. Markowitz said, "I am pleased to report that, for the first time in ten years, all accounts at the Secretary of State’s office are balanced." Markowitz said "when I first took office I found that not only did we have a $100,000 deficit in one of our special fund accounts, but $65,000 from our licensing fee fund account had improperly been used to cover general expenses of the agency and had to be repaid. For an agency whose total budget in 2.8 million dollars ($800,000 of which is from the general fund), this type of deficit is significant."

This year, after scrutinizing past use of the licensing fee fund, the legislature amended the law to restrict the use of licensing fees, and to make it clear that even a temporary transfer to cover general office expenses is impermissible. Markowitz said, "this legislative change makes sense. When a Vermonter gets a nursing or real estate license, the fee they pay should be based on the cost of administering the licensing program. It should not be used to cover the costs of other divisions of the Secretary of State’s office."

Secretary Markowitz said, "we tightened our belts and our budget numbers show that by July we were able to resolve the $65,000 deficit. This let us pay back the licensing fee fund and puts us in great shape as we begin the new fiscal year."

In addition, Markowitz said, "with the cooperation of the administration, we have resolved a longstanding $100,000 deficit in our notice publication fund." The Secretary of State publishes rulemaking notices, but each agency is required to pay the cost of publication from its own budget. In years past, the Secretary of State’s office fell behind in its billing. Markowitz said, "With the support of the administration each agency has paid a proportionate share of the defect so our books now reflect that all accounts are current."

According to Secretary Markowitz, not only are the books balanced but one fund in the office is doing particularly well. She said, "the campaign finance fund - money that will be available to publicly finance elections in accordance with the state’s new campaign finance law in the year 2000 – looks great. We have on hand $840,000, and we expect to reach the targeted amount of 1.2 million dollars by June, 2000." Money for this special fund comes from a tax on lobbyists and certain corporate fees. Markowitz said, "an additional $7400 was contributed by Vermonters who used the Vermont Income Tax return check off to add their individual support to this fund."

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