Monday, June 7, 2021
He also urged lawmakers to return to the topic next session and extend the changes to primaries and local elections, too.
“I’m signing this bill because I believe making sure voting is easy and accessible, and increasing voter participation, is important," Scott said in a press release. "Having said that, we should not limit this expansion of access to general elections alone, which already have the highest voter turnout."
Tags: Mail-in voting , Vote-by-mail , Town Meeting Day , General Elections , Phil Scott , Web Only , Image
Saturday, June 5, 2021
Pajala, the Londonderry town clerk, also often hears from constituents unable to find a place they can afford.
Now Pajala faces her own housing crisis. The condo that she rents is up for sale, and she’s having trouble finding another place for her family to live.
As town clerk, she has to stay in Londonderry, a Windham County ski town. The county’s median listing price for a home has risen 14 percent in the last year, according to the Vermont Association of Realtors.
After nine years as town clerk, “I have a pretty good idea of where the rentals are,” said Pajala, the single mother of two boys ages 13 and 14. “And you know, there is just not a lot of options out there.”
Tags: Housing , Vermont , Kelly Pajala , Web Only , Image
Thursday, June 3, 2021
They'll be given priority for the first 30 days of the new Economic Recovery Bridge Program, which will give them first crack at $10 million of the program's funds and will provide grants of up to $150,000 per business.
“It seems hard to believe, but in 2020 there was a group that wasn’t eligible for our grants, and they were essentially out of luck,” said state Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein. They includes businesses that, because they opened in 2020, couldn’t demonstrate a loss compared to a prior year. “We want them to stay in business. We don’t want them to just close up shop,” she said.
Tags: COVID-19 , business grants , American Rescue Plan Act , Joan Goldstein , Economic Recovery Bridge Program , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
From the Statehouse steps, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint (D-Windham) confirmed that lawmakers did not intend to let Scott stand in the way of key legislation passed by the General Assembly.
“You can bet we’ll be back for a veto session,” Balint vowed.
She stressed that she still needed to confirm details with House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), but a spokesperson for Krowinski removed any doubt that the battle lines were being fortified.
“These vetoes sealed the deal,” Conor Kennedy, Krowinski’s chief of staff, confirmed.
Tags: phil scott , becca balint , vermont legislature , noncitizen voting , override , veto , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Scott based his rejection on the argument that the two charter change proposals lacked clarity on who exactly would be able to vote and would lead to inconsistent election policies across the state. He urged the legislature to develop a statewide policy or "uniform template" for municipalities seeking to expand voting rights.
"I understand these charter changes are well-intentioned," Scott wrote in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday evening. "But I ask the Legislature to revisit the issue of non-citizen voting in a more comprehensive manner."
The decision will come as a blow to the two cities, where voters overwhelmingly supported the proposals. The vetoes will also likely fuel accusations of paternalism from those pushing for more municipal freedom.
Tags: Winooski , Montpelier , noncitizen voting , bupe decrim , buprenorphrine , Web Only , Image
Friday, May 21, 2021
The close of the first — and likely last — fully-remote legislative session of the General Assembly was accompanied by congratulations from leaders for all they’ve accomplished this session.
Tags: budget , american rescue plan act , Phil Scott , climate chance , housing , homeless , cannabis , clean water , PCBs , climate crisis , Web Only , Image
Thursday, May 20, 2021
Employers will not face extra insurance charges if they laid off workers as a result of the pandemic in 2020. The bill, S.62, was sent Thursday to Gov. Phil Scott's desk for his signature.
Lawmakers and lobbyists started talking last October about how to charge employers under the state’s “experience rating” system, which effectively penalizes companies for laying off workers. The rating system charges employers high rates of unemployment insurance if they frequently lay off workers; the money goes to the state's unemployment trust fund, which is used for benefit payments.
In 2020, many companies laid off workers because the state ordered businesses to close to limit the spread of COVID-19. Employers and business groups had argued that businesses shouldn't see their insurance rates rise as a result of that anomalous year.
Tags: Unemployment insurance , Vermont , Web Only , Image
The House on Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of a bill that includes $630,000 for the program. The bill has been sent to the governor for his signature.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs had proposed this year to make the popular program permanent, and to spend $1 million annually to reimburse workers who were new to the state up to $5,000 for moving expenses. That amount could rise to $7,500 for someone who moved to an area with a higher-than-average unemployment rate or lower-than-average annual wages.
Tags: remote worker program , Vermont legislature , study , Web Only , Image
The joint resolution passed easily, advancing on a 29-1 vote to a final reading of the bill. The House had previously approved it by a 135-8 vote.
Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison) introduced the resolution by saying that systemic racism was “inextricably intertwined" with COVID-19, citing a “disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic on people of color."
Hardy cited infection rates of nearly 13 percent among people of color compared to 6 percent for white residents. She also highlighted two outbreaks — one in Winooski affecting a New American community and one in Shoreham among Jamaican agricultural workers — that she said illustrate the connection between the pandemic and economic status.
Tags: systemic racism , COVID-19 , Russ Ingalls , Ruth Hardy , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
The conference committee formed to reconcile Senate and House versions of the much-anticipated broadband bill, H.360, hammered out a compromise on Tuesday. Both chambers signed off on the deal on Wednesday.
“This represents, I hope, a finely tuned vehicle that will get us much further than we could ever imagine going,” Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), told her colleagues, who passed the compromise unanimously.
Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover) said the original bill promised a "paradigm shift" in funding the "historic infrastructure project" of bringing broadband to every corner of the state.
"The report from the committee of conference delivers that shift, with a new community broadband model to connect all Vermonters," Sibilia said.
Tags: broadband , internet , rural communities , Vermont , ARPA , American Rescue Plan Act , Web Only , Image