Mark_Larson

Mark Larson

Mark Larson

American politician

Mark Larson (born February 25, 1970) is an American politician from the state of Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Chittenden County in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011.

Quick Facts Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden 3-2 district, Preceded by ...

Political career

Larson was elected to the Vermont House in 2000, serving until 2011. He was vice chair of the Appropriations Committee and co-chaired the Health Care Reform Commission.[1]

On January 26, 2006, Larson introduced draft legislation to grant same-sex couples the right to marry and allow clergy to refuse to perform same-sex marriages if this would violate their religious beliefs. The bill failed in the General Assembly.[2] On February 6, 2009, Larson introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on behalf of 59 co-sponsors. Republican Governor Jim Douglas said economic and budgetary issues should be the legislature's first concern.[3] The State Senate approved its version of the legislation on March 23 by a vote of 26 to 4.[4] Douglas announced his intention to veto the bill on March 25.[5] On April 3, the House passed an amended version of the bill 95–52, several votes shy of a veto-proof two-thirds majority.[4][6] On April 6, 2009, the Vermont Senate approved the amendments made by the House.[4] The governor vetoed the legislation the same day.[7] On April 7, 2009, the Senate overrode the veto by a 23–5 vote and the House overrode it 100–49,[4] the first time since 1990 that a Vermont governor's veto was overridden.[8] Six of those voting in favor of the legislation were Republicans.[9]

Larson introduced H 202 on February 8, 2011, titled Single-Payer and Unified Health System.[10] The bill passed the House on March 24, 2011, with 94 votes in favor and 49 against.[10][11] The bill then passed the Senate on April 26, 2011, with 21 votes in favor and 9 against.[10][12] The conference report legislation passed the Senate on May 3, 2011, with 21 votes in favor and 9 opposed, and the House on May 4, 2011, with 94 votes in favor and 49 against.[10][13] Governor Peter Shumlin signed the bill on May 26, 2011.[10] Larson described Green Mountain Care's provisions "as close as we can get [to single-payer] at the state level."[14][15] Vermont abandoned the plan in 2014, citing costs and tax increases as too high to implement.[16]

After leaving the legislature, Larson became Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA).[17] He stepped down from his position in March 2015.[18]

Larson endorsed Vermont Progressive Party nominee Emma Mulvaney-Stanak in the 2024 Burlington mayoral election.[19]

Personal life

Larson lives in Burlington.[20]

References

  1. [1]
    "Representative Mark Larson". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Legal Marriage Court Cases — A Timeline". www.buddybuddy.com. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Porter, Louis (February 6, 2009). "Vt. House to introduce same-sex marriage bill". Rutland Herald. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  4. [4]
    "S.115". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  5. [5]
    Goodnough, Abby (March 25, 2009). "Gay Marriage in Vermont Faces Veto by Governor". New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  6. [6]
    Gram, Dave (April 3, 2009). "Vt. House advances bill for gay marriage". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  7. [7]
    "Governor Vetoes Same-Sex Marriage Bill". Local Vermont News. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  8. [8]
    Gram, Dave (April 7, 2009). "Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage, Overrides Governor's Veto". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  9. [9]
    Abel, David (April 8, 2009). "Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  10. [10]
    Project VoteSmart: H 202 - SINGLE-PAYER AND UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM - KEY VOTE.
  11. [11]
    H. 202
  12. [12]
    "Vt. Senate approves single-payer plan". Wcax.com. 2011-04-26. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  13. [13]
    H. 202 conference report.
  14. [14]
    American Medical News: Vermont approves universal health program. Archived March 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine May 16, 2011.
  15. [15]
    Owen Dyer (January 10, 2014). "US Health Reforms: America's first single payer system". BMJ. 348: g102. doi:10.1136/bmj.g102. PMID 24415734. S2CID 5142801. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014.
  16. [16]
    "Governor abandons single-payer health care plan" Archived July 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, December 17, 2014
  17. [17]
    Kinzel, Bob (2013-10-04). "Vermont Health Connect Gets I.R.S. Certification". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  18. [18]
    McCullum, April (2015-01-20). "VT Health Connect official Larson to resign". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  19. [19]
    Boronski, Tyler (February 15, 2024). "'Dems for Emma' unity event highlights Democrats support for Progressive Burlington mayoral candidate Emma Mulvaney-Stanak". WPTZ. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  20. [20]
    "Larson, Mark". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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