The Joint Rules Committee of the Vermont Legislature on Wednesday approved a vaccination and testing policy for legislators, legislative staff and members of the public who wish to enter legislative spaces in the Capitol Complex.
Three Vermont state lawmakers are leaving their tenures early, meaning they will not come back in January to finish out their terms. Local party committees along with the governor have begun choosing replacements to fill those seats.
During his weekly press conference Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott signaled support for the use of vaccine passports to visit service establishments such as restaurants and bars.
According to the Vermont Daily Chronicle Mask Mandate Scoreboard, 47 selectboards and city councils have either said no or are unlikely to raise the issue — an effective “no.”
Vermont will be awarding grant funding to communities where flooding has negatively impacted the environment, the governor said.
Werner Tree Farm, located on Painter Road in Middlebury, is one of five tree farms that participated in the national Trees for Troops program last year. Now the Middlebury farm has been listed as the best tree farm in Vermont by House Beautiful magazine.
On Monday night Burlington city councilors held a marathon session that included passage of a precedent-setting policy regarding the legal status of prostitution. The measure will ultimately go before the voters on Town Meeting Day in March.
Middlebury College is having an outbreak of COVID-19 cases even while its vaccination rate is reportedly 99 percent.
In one scenario, the state would make a one-time $75 million contribution, in addition to a recurring, dedicated $15 million revenue source in the annual state budget. The other scenario calls for a one-time $50 million contribution and recurring $40 million revenue source.
Vermont has new seats opening at the state, local and federal levels for the 2022 elections, and Republicans hoping to make gains are feeling emboldened by new polling numbers and a series of blunders by the Biden administration.
Vermont is now one of the first states to require health insurers to pay for the costs associated with at-home COVID-19 tests. The rule will cover 140,000 state residents who purchase commercial insurance and requires insurance companies to pay for the costs of FDA-authorized COVID-19 antigen tests.
Existing and under-utilized housing structures around the state will be getting a facelift through the Vermont Housing Improvement Program, Gov. Phil Scott said.