House approves overhaul of election system featuring more mail-in ballots
The House gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make universal vote-by-mail a permanent feature of Vermont’s election system.
Roper: Vermont Climate Council wants ‘buttload’ more compensation
Yes, the Vermont Climate Council, the 23-member climate change task force whose numbers have swollen with the incorporation of a multitude of outside subcommittee members, want more money for themselves in their efforts to make your life less affordable.
Campaign for Vermont: Senate passes on broadband affordability
Many major bills have now been passed by both chambers. Some of which we are excited about, some of which could be better. Pension reform and student weighting factors are headed for summer study committees.
Deb Billado: Citizen voting
Civic engagement and voter participation is good — but it should be preceded by citizenship. The Senate’s decision sets up a slippery slope — should non-citizens be allowed to vote for state legislative positions? For governor? For Congress? For president?
Secretary of State’s office to spend millions on election system
The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday discussed the cost of S.15, a bill that would require Vermont to send live ballots to every voter on the statewide checklist with or without a request.
Roll Call: How your representative voted on letting 15-to 17-year-olds vote, hold elective office
H.361, an act relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the town of Brattleboro, passed in the State House of Representatives on April 29, 2021, by a vote of 102-41. The purpose of the bill is to allow children 15-17 years old to vote in local elections and on local issues, and to hold elective office.
Campaign for Vermont: Mini TIFs get the axe
The House Economic Development Committee tabled the project-based TIF program that advocates claimed would allow smaller towns access to this form of capital. Advocates for towns across the state have expressed concern that the Legislators don’t trust them.
John Klar: Progressives exploit BIPOC migrants to slander Vermonters
Vermont progressives point to disparities between the relative wealth of these new arrivals and that of surrounding white Vermonters, distorting statistics to label all Vermonters as white supremacists — and thus responsible for the impoverishment of these new arrivals. This is reminiscent of the equally “progressive” eugenics movement.
Sen. Randy Brock: Broadband bill like baking a cake
Imagine if you were baking a birthday cake and you had the benefit of having the Vermont Senate Finance Committee helping you. That’s what it’s like as we debate how to extend broadband throughout Vermont.
Climate Caucus wants $200 million in federal relief funds for green agenda
On Thursday Vermont’s Climate Caucus discussed plans by state leaders to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to transform the way people use energy, transportation, heating and more.
Campaign for Vermont: Economic development bill stumbles, plus update on pensions and mail-in voting
The economic development bill found itself in hot water this week as senators look to slash funding for a number of projects — some of which may be critical to economic recovery. The pension discussion is moving from the House to the Senate as well.
John Klar: Racist agenda reveals contempt for Vermont farmers
In a year when the Vermont Legislature is weighing slanderous legislation that alleges white Vermont farmers used Jim Crow and sharecropping laws to eject blacks from Vermont farmland, or that Vermonters committed genocide against native peoples, Xusana Davis has repeatedly sneered at Vermonters and Vermont dairy.