(Continuing GMD policy of promoting diaries by officeholders and officeseekers. – promoted by GMD)

I am glad Governor Douglas did not veto S.138, the bill to allow merchants to place a $10 minimum limit on credit card purchases to become law without his signature. I agree that this is a situation that needs to be addressed on a national level and join him in encouraging our congressional delegation to make that happen, but this is an issue we needed to address in Vermont immediately.

Vermont has been a leader on many issues and this is an important issue to lead once again. I trust business owners and feel quite certain that if they think setting a minimum purchase hurts their business, then they won’t set a minimum. Others are now free to do so.

I disagree that the Vermont bill will adversely affect business in Vermont. We heard testimony about fees and that is why we changed the original legislation. We were careful not to put at risk the use of certain credit cards in Vermont or to significantly reduce or eliminate the threat of loss of access to certain credit cards.

Once again, Vermont leads as the first state in the nation to pass legislation like this and I am proud to have been a part of that effort. We have taken one small step in helping Vermont merchants educate the public about the cost of credit cards and have enabled the merchants to save money. That sounds like a win to me.