If the Vermont Legislature is to represent the people of Vermont fully, one should not have to be retired, living off a trust fund, be independently wealthy, or be self-employed to serve.
Senator Kitchel voted “yes” to override Governor Scott’s important veto of “the Clean Heat Standard” bill. That law would have increased the energy costs of growing and transporting food. Some farms’ viability would have been threatened.
The Democratic candidate for governor and an outspoken progressive columnist have chastised Gov. Phil Scott for his veto of H.728, which includes money to study “safe injection sites” for opioid users.
The bill invests $84.5 million of both state and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to address Vermont’s workforce shortage and provide local businesses and municipalities with resources to grow in the years ahead.
“From my standpoint, it seems counterintuitive to divert resources from proven harm reduction strategies to plan injection sites without clear data on the effectiveness of this approach.”
Gov. Phil Scott gathered with members of the Legislature and local housing partners at the Salisbury Square, a planned affordable housing neighborhood, in Randolph today to sign two historic housing bills.
Vermont finally undertook to shore up its underfunded, overpromising pensions system in Act 114. Unfortunately, vulnerabilities have exposed the pensions system to a profound blow in the recent stock market slide — the Act 114 “fix” will not come close to fixing this problem.
So I say to current legislators, for the benefit of the institution of a citizen legislature, please accept the temporary financial discomfort, serve your time honorably, and then go back to gainful employment as thousands of legislators past and present have done.
“Tax relief has always been my priority, but instead I’ve had to resort to preventing efforts to raise taxes over the last six years, so I’m encouraged the Legislature agreed with me this session that Vermonters need a break,” Scott said.
With approval from Gov. Phil Scott last Friday, the state of Vermont has a new bureaucratic responsibility to tally racial justice statistics from within all government operations.
Every time Vermont’s government sets out to fashion new magic, it creates yet greater inequities. Examples include the homestead exemption, the universal lunch program, universal daycare, net metering, Covid funds, and more.
On Thursday Vermont’s governor used his veto pen to strike down drug decriminalization through a proposed Drug Use Standards Advisory Board, but he allowed ranked choice voting in Burlington City Council elections.