New representative calls Sen. Benning pot bill ‘heavy handed’
A new Vermont House member disputes a veteran senator’s claim that communities should be able to decide by next March whether to ask voters if a retail marijuana store is a good fit.
John Klar: A devotion to elitism
In her Feb. 3 Vermont House “devotional,” Rep. Mari Cordes, D-Lincoln, chastised Vermont and America for historic, unabated systemic racism and genocide. Our constitutions were condemned, and blatant racist statements stereotyping all white people went unchallenged.
34 towns decline retail marijuana vote
On Town Meeting Day at least 20 Vermont cities and towns will decide whether to allow retail marijuana. At least 34 towns won’t even have the question on the Town Meeting ballot.
5-year economic plan, sentence reduction, contractor registry, firearms seizure bills get review
In February, Vermont House committees turn from January’s “welcome back, here’s what happened when you were gone” reports from state officials and lobbyists, settle into their seats, and begin to look at bills.
Schools give unequal discipline based on race, gender? Senate wants to know
A bill under review by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday seeks more data on whether Vermont schools unfairly discipline racial minorities. Sponsors want this information to “understand what strategies are effective and to encourage the adoption of these strategies at the local level.”
New House bills tackle immunization, cannabis, fishing access use, rent control, police use of force – and more
Bills introduced into the Vermont House last week would eliminate religious exemption for immunization, protect the municipal right to prevent cannabis operations, ban rent hikes for two years, and more.
Indoor gun carrying ban would punish gun owners but not make anyone safer, 2A advocates say
The lawmaker behind a new gun law proposal tried Friday to persuade colleagues that Vermont needs a law to prevent gun owners from carrying firearms inside establishments such as hospitals, child care facilities and public buildings. Gun rights advocates say the law is unnecessary.
Gun carry ban opponent to senator: ‘It must be nice to have guards’
A bill sponsored by Sen. Philip Baruth, D-Chittenden, to prohibit carrying guns in some public places lacks support in the Senate Judiciary Committee, committee member Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, confirmed Thursday.
Lawmakers hear from town clerks that they can’t catch election fraud
Lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee heard from multiple town clerks last week about election fraud attempts in Vermont. The clerks said it’s difficult to detect fraud, and they don’t get a lot of training for this part of the job.
Roper: Push is on to expand Vermont sales tax to services
The Vermont Tax Structure Commission wants to expand Vermont’s 6% sales tax — currently limited to goods and a few singled-out services such as ski rentals — to everything but health care, and to reduce the overall rate to 3.6%. This is a terrible proposal.
$78 million in new taxes to pay for carbon reduction proposed
The state of Vermont should tax fossil fuels to fund carbon reduction programs required by carbon reduction mandates, a Jan. 15 report by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recommends. Estimated annual revenue from three proposed revenue sources would total $78 million.
The Ericka Redic Show: Gun carrying ban won’t prevent crime
In the second episode of “The Ericka Redic Show,” Ericka Redic discusses why gun control laws, such as S.30, won’t prevent crime.