Mark Larson
Mark Larson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Chittenden 3-2 district | |
| In office January 3, 2001 – August 17, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | James J. McNamara |
| Succeeded by | Jean O'Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 25, 1970 Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Bucknell University (BA) |
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.
Political career[edit]
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[edit]
Larson lives in Burlington.[20]
References[edit]
- ^ "Representative Mark Larson". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "Legal Marriage Court Cases — A Timeline". www.buddybuddy.com. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d "S.115". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ Goodnough, Abby (March 25, 2009). "Gay Marriage in Vermont Faces Veto by Governor". New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
- ^ Gram, Dave (April 3, 2009). "Vt. House advances bill for gay marriage". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
- ^ "Governor Vetoes Same-Sex Marriage Bill". Local Vermont News. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ Gram, Dave (April 7, 2009). "Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage, Overrides Governor's Veto". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
- ^ Abel, David (April 8, 2009). "Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Project VoteSmart: H 202 - SINGLE-PAYER AND UNIFIED HEALTH SYSTEM - KEY VOTE.
- ^ H. 202
- ^ "Vt. Senate approves single-payer plan". Wcax.com. 2011-04-26. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
- ^ H. 202 conference report.
- ^ American Medical News: Vermont approves universal health program. Archived March 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine May 16, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Governor abandons single-payer health care plan" Archived July 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, December 17, 2014
- ^ Kinzel, Bob (2013-10-04). "Vermont Health Connect Gets I.R.S. Certification". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
- ^ McCullum, April (2015-01-20). "VT Health Connect official Larson to resign". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Larson, Mark". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 19, 2024.