Speaker Smith Discusses 2012 Legislative Agenda

AP/Toby Talbot

Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith gavels the Legislature into session Tuesday, Jan. 3 in Montpelier.

Legislators have been back in session in Montpelier for a week, and the House and Senate are already getting down to business. We talk to House Speaker Shap Smith about a variety of issues facing the legislature in the coming months, including the ongoing and widespread impact of Tropical Storm Irene, health care, the controversial "Death With Dignity" bill and education funding. And he'll take your questions.

Also on the program, Tropical Storm Irene hit just as Vermont schools were getting ready to open for students. One of the schools particularly hard hit by the flooding that ensued was the Moretown Elementary School; two weeks after the storm, it was still too damaged for students to return. The school improvised by having students take field trips and attend classes in large tents set up on the school's recreation fields. Principal Duane Pierson worked from a makeshift office set up in a pop-up camper. Last week, VPR's Jane Lindholm traveled to Moretown to get an update on the school from Principal Pierson.