Bill gives state another tool to ban police officers from working in Vermont
A House bill introduced Tuesday would give the Vermont Criminal Justice Council another powerful tool to find police officers guilty of law enforcement misconduct.
Supreme Court work-around on religious school tuition introduced in Senate
The Vermont Senate has introduced its long-promised work-around of a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring towns with no high schools to provide tuition to approved, independent religious schools.
Sen. Becca White explains why she doesn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance
“I worry that saying the pledge has been used as a litmus test for my patriotism or respect for service members, and it is not. It is a reflection on a religious belief, in the same way I’m sure many Christian Americans would struggle to say a pledge that said ‘Under Oden’ or ‘Under Zeus.’”
Beware blackouts on the road to electrification, environmentalist warns Senate chair
A Vermont environmental leader and 2020 candidate for governor is warning the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee that its plan to convert Vermont from fossil fuels to electricity will strain the state’s power grid.
Bill would remove tax exemption for politically active churches; also eliminate life without parole, and free health care for legislators
A House bill H.113 introduced by two southern Vermont legislators would ban tax exemptions for any church or charitable organization engaged in lobbying. Also, S.41 would eliminate a life without parole as a sentencing option.
Defense lawyer gets acquittal of police officer charged with assault, takes media to task
An Associated Press news story on the Friday, Jan. 18 acquittal of former St. Albans police officer Mark Schwartz for simple assault was lacking in crucial details, Schwartz’s lawyer Robert Kaplan of Burlington concluded. So he’s taken the news service to task.
Senate bill would require clergy reporting of child abuse
A bill introduced into the Vermont Senate last week would, in practice, break the sacred seal of the church confessional in cases of child abuse. According to the Catholic Education Resource Center, the seal cannot be violated for any reason. For a priest to do so is a crime against church law.
Public school advocates say religious school Supreme Court decision puts vouchers ‘at crossroads’
A new umbrella advocacy group comprised of four organizations of Vermont public school educators often at loggerheads was in the State House on Friday, speaking as one for ‘equity and accountability’ in any legislation responding to the U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring tuitioning towns to provide payments to religious private schools.
State’s Attorney Sarah George seeks assault charge against cop for response to spitting suspect
The Shelburne Police Department has released footage of an incident for which State’s Attorney Sarah George wants assault charges brought against a police officer. The video release is the latest action in a year-long dispute between George and Vermont law enforcement over her allegation of police violence in the case.
Paramilitary training ban, juvenile gun control, ‘Affordable Heat Act’ introduced into Senate
The bill’s gun control measures prohibit possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, straw purchases of firearms, possession of firearms by fugitives from justice and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons by persons under 21 years of age.
Krowinski boots Donahue from vice-chair seat, names committee chairs and members
Vermont Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski Wednesday afternoon published the list of the 2023-24 Committee chairs, vice-chairs and members. In one noteworthy move, she removed outspoken Article 22 critic Anne Donahue (R-Northfield/Barre) as vice-chair of the Health Care Committee.
Burlington Police Department down to 22 active patrol officers, crime rising
The Burlington Police Department has only 22 patrol officers to provide 24/7/365 coverage in a city with a growing crime rate, a recent BPD report shows.