Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Rep. Tim Briglin (D-Thetford), the chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee, said Tuesday that his panel plans to go into a rare executive session on Wednesday morning in order to protect the government’s information technology systems.
According to the committee’s schedule, the closed meeting will include testimony from Agency of Digital Services Secretary John Quinn and the agency’s chief information security officer, Nicholas Andersen.
“It’s simply checking in with the Agency of Digital Services on cybersecurity issues,” Briglin said. “My understanding is that it’s traditional to do that behind closed doors, simply because there’s some people that you don’t want to hear what your state’s cybersecurity strategy is.”
Tags: open government , open meeting law , transparency , cybersecurity , Agency of Digital Services , Tim Briglin , John Quinn , Nicholas Andersen , Statehouse , Web Only , Image
Friday, March 1, 2019
The bill would impose a 16 percent tax on the sale of cannabis products, with potential for an additional 2 percent local option tax. A state Cannabis Control Board would be responsible for regulation and licensing of all stages of the supply chain for legal weed. The bill calls on the board to prioritize Vermont businesses owned by women and minorities as it considers license applications.
Licenses for growers would be issued by December 2020, and separate licenses for processing facilities, wholesalers and retailers would be phased in over the following months.
Tags: Cannabeat , cannabis , marijuana , pot , weed , retail , tax and regulate , Cannabis Control Board , Sam Young , Phil Scott , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Rebecca Ellis, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, will begin work as Welch’s state director on March 25, according to a press release.
Ellis has been involved in Vermont state government since she became an assistant attorney general in 1997. Then-governor Peter Shumlin appointed Ellis to represent Waterbury in the House of Representatives in 2011, where she served until joining the DEC in 2015.
Ellis will oversee Welch's Vermont operations. The Burlington-based staff deals with constituent services, fields calls from local media and coordinates the boss' official schedule when he visits the state, among other things.
Tags: Rebecca Ellis , Julie Moore , Peter Welch , Peter Shumlin , Department of Environmental Conservation , Agency of Natural Resources , water quality , Congress , Image , Web Only
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Sen. Debbie Ingram (D-Chittenden) said the bill was designed to reduce smoking rates, noting that most people don’t take up smoking after their 21st birthday.
“Only 5 percent of smokers smoking now started smoking after the age of 21,” Ingram said.
Tags: smoking , tobacco , dip , vape , e cig , cigarettes , Debbie Ingram , 21 , smoking age , Juul , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
In emotional testimony, Alyssa Black said that her 23-year-old son had appeared normal to clerks who had sold him a cup of coffee, a turkey sandwich, a Pepsi and a gun. In fact, she said, he’d been in the midst of a “fleeting, two-day-long self-pity fest” sparked by a social media post.
If only Andrew had been required to wait a certain period before buying the gun, father Rob Black told the committee, he would still be alive today.
The Essex family came to the Statehouse to advocate for legislation sponsored by Sen. Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden) that would require gun buyers to wait 48 hours between passing a background check and taking possession of a firearm. The bill would also require guns to be locked up when not in use.
In the months since they called for such a waiting period in Andrew’s obituary, the Essex family has been piecing together the final hours of his life, using social media history, receipts, background check information and recordings he made on his phone.
Tags: Andrew Black , Alyssa Black , Rob Black , Phil Baruth , Dick Sears , Ed Cutler , John Rodgers , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The Senate Government Operations Committee approved the bill in a 4–1 vote Tuesday afternoon, with only Sen. Brian Collamore (R-Rutland) opposing it. The full Senate is likely to take it up later this week.
The legislation would allow individuals, PACs and political parties to contribute directly to candidates and parties, but it would bar private companies, nonprofit organizations, trade associations and labor unions from doing so. Sen. Anthony Pollina (P/D-Washington) sponsored the legislation in an effort to limit corporate influence in politics and increase transparency in campaign financing.
Tags: elections , campaign finance , money in politics , Citizens United , corporate contributions , Anthony Pollina , Alison Clarkson , Brian Collamore , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
The Senate passed the bill by voice vote Tuesday morning, but it appears to have support from a veto-proof majority. A procedural measure cleared the Senate last Friday on a vote of 19 to 8, with three supporters absent.
Scott and many legislative Republicans oppose the bill, arguing that increased payroll costs for businesses could lead to job cuts and price inflation. Proponents of the bill say it would boost the state’s economy by giving low-income Vermonters more money to spend, making up for the increased costs.
Before voting against the bill on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Corey Parent (R-Franklin) pointed to a report from the legislative Joint Fiscal Office which found that job losses in the state could amount to 3,000 by 2040 as a result of the increased minimum wage. Legislative economists also found the proposal could shrink the state’s gross domestic product, Parent said.
Tags: minimum wage , Phil Scott , Corey Parent , Randy Brock , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Thursday, February 21, 2019
The Vermont House passed a landmark bill Thursday to enshrine abortion rights into state law, rejecting another flurry of last-minute efforts by Republicans to restrict or limit access to the procedure.
By a vote of 106 to 37, the House passed H.57 after six proposed amendments failed. Many of them were similar to measures that either were shot down Wednesday or had been previously rejected by House committees.
“This legislation secures Vermonters’ rights,” Rep. Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) said. “I trust women, and that’s why I’m voting yes.”In explaining his opposition, Rep. Brian Smith (R-Derby) noted that 12-year-old girls need parental permission to get a flu shot. “We’re about to give 12-year-olds the right to get an abortion, and I don’t think that’s right,” Smith said.
Tags: abortion , Roe v. Wade , Vermont House , H.57 , Image , Web Only
Legislators on Thursday tapped a new leader for the Vermont National Guard who vowed to meet individually with every woman in the organization as he seeks to reform a culture characterized by some as sexist.
Col. Greg Knight of Huntington smiled and hugged his wife and son after Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman announced the results of the election during a joint session of the Vermont House and Senate.
Knight was the only one of four candidates who is an active duty Guard member, currently serving as a human resources officer. All three of his opponents were retired members of the Guard.
On the first ballot, Knight received 95 of the 176 votes cast, enough to avoid a runoff.
Tags: Military , Adjutant General , Vermont Guard , Statehouse , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
"It's democracy at work," House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) said in explaining the demand for roll calls. "I think our members wanted [roll call votes]. It's a very personal and emotional issue."
Vermont has had no restrictions on abortion since 1972. Supporters of H.57 say that abortion rights must now be protected in law, given the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1972 decision establishing abortion rights.
Rep. Carl Rosenquist (R-Georgia) proposed an amendment establishing legal rights for fetuses developed enough to survive outside the womb. "The most underrepresented person or thing in Vermont is a viable fetus," he said in floor debate. "It feels pain, it feels love."
The amendment was defeated on a 106-41 vote, largely along party lines.
Tags: Pattie McCoy , Carl Rosenquist , Bob Bancroft , Ann Pugh , Charen Fegard , David Yacovone , Vicki Strong , abortion , Vermont , H.57 , Statehouse , Image , Web Only