4/1/2021 - HOUSE ISSUES FORMAL APOLOGY FOR VERMONT’S STATE-SANCTIONED EUGENICS MOVEMENT

 

With the preliminary unanimous approval today of J.R.H. 2, the Vermont House of Representatives apologizes and takes full accountability for its role in the immeasurable harm that was caused as a result of the state-sanctioned eugenics movement in Vermont.

J.R.H. 2 acknowledges and apologizes for sanctioning and supporting eugenics policies and practices through the advancement of legislation which sought to eradicate people of particular cultures, races, ethnicities, socio-economic status, and abilities. This legislation led to forced family separation, sterilization, incarceration, and institutionalization for hundreds of Vermonters. The traumatic ripple effect of state-led actions has been felt through the generations and has had real and tangible effects on the lives of Vermonters today.

J.R.H. 2 does not undo the harms of the past, but it marks an essential step toward a future of accountability and reconciliation for the generations of Vermonters who were harmed by state-sanctioned violence.

Legislative Report 3/25/2021 - Crossing Over

 Over the weekend, I was able to watch a Zoom broadcast of a “Bridging” ceremony for my grandson Guthrie and his Cub Scout den. The ceremony marks the passage of a Webelos Cub Scout to a Boy Scout troop (Scouts BSA).  The scout salutes their den leader, removes their Cub Scout neckerchief, walks across a small bridge to where the troop leaders are standing, salutes them and receives their new Boy Scout neckerchief. It is a rite of passage marking a transition.

Bills in the legislature can be said to follow a similar path, though not exactly. A bill originates in either the House or the Senate.  To become law, it must pass in the other chamber as well with the exact same language.  The other chamber will often propose amendments which creates a back-and-forth journey for the bill. This requires time for each chamber to study and discuss the bills they receive, which means that waiting too long to send a bill over means the bill will not get passed.  Therefore, the legislature sets a deadline called “crossover” when bills must be voted out of committee to have any chance of passing during the current session. This crossover deadline occurred last Friday.

During the two weeks following the Town Meeting break, the House passed several bills touching on agriculture, health care, the justice system, and education. Raw milk producers are currently prohibited from selling their product away from their farm. H.218 will allow them to sell their product at farm stands and through CSAs other than their own.  Services for mental health patients will be expanded by H.104, which allows certain licensed out-of-state mental health professionals to treat Vermont patients using telemedicine.

The House passed a trio of bills from the Judiciary Committee. H.128 prohibits a person from justifying an act of violence by claiming that they felt threatened by the crime victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. H.195 allows the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement in cases related to sexual exploitation of children. Finally, while judges already have an inherent authority to order firearm relinquishment as part of an emergency relief from abuse order, H.133 creates a statutory basis to clarify this authority so that victims will have a clearer understanding that an order removing firearms is available to improve their safety.

The Education Committee brought three bills to the floor successfully. According to a 2019 national assessment, only 37 percent of Vermont’s fourth-graders were proficient in reading, a percentage that declined from 2017.  H.101 will strengthen early literacy instruction for Vermont students in grades pre-K to 3. The bill taps into $3 million in federal stimulus funds to provide grants to supervisory unions to improve literacy teaching and outcomes and ensure that students who struggle receive instruction from highly skilled teachers. 

Since the state suspended aid for school construction in 2007, H.426 addresses the needs and conditions of public school facilities throughout the state. This bill, funded by $2.5 million in federal stimulus money, takes a step forward by updating school facilities construction standards, conducting a statewide assessment of our school buildings, and commissioning a report on state funding options. The long-term goal is to make sure that our school buildings are well-maintained, energy-efficient, safe, and healthy places that meet the needs of 21st century education and technology.

The third bill, H.106, invests $3.34 million in federal funds in a “community schools” pilot program. The bill targets public schools with a high percentage of low-income students and provides three years of funding to hire or designate a community schools coordinator who will work with students, families, teachers and staff, and community partners to transform schools into resource hubs that help both students and families overcome out-of-school barriers to learning like poverty, food and housing insecurity, substance misuse, or lack of access to physical and mental healthcare. Research shows these schools improve attendance, academic achievement, high-school graduation rates and more. As we emerge from the pandemic, H.106 uses federal money to see how Vermont can not only recover but reinvent our schools, while helping our neediest students and families to thrive.

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).  

Legislative Report 3/4/2021 - Town Meeting recess marks half-way point for legislative session

 

As the legislature prepared to recess for Town Meeting week, the focus continued to be on our #1 priority: Vermonters and the coronavirus. The Vermont House passed and sent to the Senate an additional $79M COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Aid bill.  H.315 provides critical assistance to working families and businesses struggling due to the pandemic by addressing health disparities, increasing social equity, and stimulating economic recovery.

The work my committee has been doing has been focused on getting high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved areas of Vermont. We ended the week by voting the bill (H.360) out of committee on a 9 -0 vote.  The bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee which will consider whether to recommend the appropriation we asked for.

Besides telecommunications, my committee also has jurisdiction over energy policy and the IT systems of the state.  Leading up to the recess, Governor Scott recommended a $200M package of spending based on one-time money from unspent Coronavirus Relief Funds and better than expected state revenues. In the energy area, we concurred with the Governor’s plan to use $10M to assist low- and moderate-income consumers to share in community solar projects, including battery storage of energy.  Folks who rent and homeowners who can’t install solar panels on their property will be able to purchase or lease shares of large solar arrays and receive credit on their electric bills for the energy generated.

 We have also been working with the Agency of Digital Services to fund the upgrade of several of our 40-year-old computer systems, including the Labor Department’s Unemployment Insurance system which has had a lot of problems over the past year.  We are concurring with the Governor’s recommendation of spending $50M to upgrade a dozen different systems.

The Vermont legislature continues to operate remotely as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and will continue to do so at least until May 15, 2021.  Conducting business remotely is very different from meeting at the Statehouse because of the lack of personal interaction which often helps facilitate communication on important issues.  Zooming is just not the same.  

However, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud.  As a result of live streaming of floor sessions and committee proceedings, it is now possible for anyone anywhere to "sit in" on a proceeding. If you have an interest in a particular issue or would just like to see how legislative business is conducted, I invite you to drop in at your convenience.  Here's how.

Floor sessions take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9:30 a.m. on Fridays.  To view a livestream of a session go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  Scroll down to the bottom of the House or Senate sections where you will find a link to "Watch House/Senate Live Video".  If you want to watch a session after the fact at your leisure, click on the same link and you will find recordings of previous sessions.

Committee meetings are where most of the work takes place.  This is where bills that have been assigned to the committee are discussed and testimony from witnesses is heard.  To view a committee proceeding, again go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  In the sidebar at the right is a link to "Scheduled Committee Meetings". Clicking on the link will take you to a page that contains links to the committee pages and the published agenda for the week.  On the committee page there will be a link to "Livestream" where either a livestream of a hearing, or recorded hearings can be viewed.

The Vermont Statehouse is truly "The People's House". As citizens of Vermont the work that goes on there is for the benefit of all and is transparent to all.  At these times when democracy is under assault by lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, we in Vermont have an opportunity to see the legislature in action with our own eyes. Being engaged is a way we can all protect our democratic form of government.

 

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).  

Drop in on the Vermont Legislature

 The Vermont legislature continues to operate remotely as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and will continue to do so at least until May 15, 2021.  Conducting business remotely is very different from meeting at the Statehouse because of the lack of personal interaction which often helps facilitate communication on important issues.  Zooming is just not the same.  

However, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud.  As a result of live streaming of floor sessions and committee proceedings, it is now possible for anyone anywhere to "sit in" on a proceeding. If you have an interest in a particular issue or would just like to see how legislative business is conducted, I invite you to drop in at your convenience.  Here's how.

Floor sessions take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9:30 a.m. on Fridays.  To view a livestream of a session go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  Scroll down to the bottom of the House or Senate sections where you will find a link to "Watch House/Senate Live Video".  If you want to watch a session after the fact at your leisure, click on the same link and you will find recordings of previous sessions.

Committee meetings are where most of the work takes place.  This is where bills that have been assigned to the committee are discussed and testimony from witnesses are taken.  To view a committee proceeding, again go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  In the sidebar at the right is a link to "Scheduled Committee Meetings". Clicking on the link will take you to a page that contains links to the committee pages and the published agenda for the week.  On the committee page there will be a link to "Livestream" where either a livestream of a hearing or recorded hearings can be viewed.

The Vermont Statehouse is truly "The People's House". As citizens of Vermont the work that goes on there is for the benefit of all and is transparent to all.  At these times when democracy is under assault by lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, we in Vermont have an opportunity to see the legislature in action with our own eyes. Being engaged is a way we can all protect our democratic form of government.

Legislative Report 2/25/2021 - Promoting agritourism helps family farms

 Every two years in January a new legislature is sworn in and serves until a new legislature is sworn in two years later. During this time almost a thousand bills are introduced in the House and several hundred in the Senate.  Only a hundred or so actually pass in both the House and Senate and get signed into law.  Many, however, get incorporated into other bills dealing with similar topics and become part of Vermont’s statutes.  Only members of the legislature can introduce bills.  However, if the administration proposes legislation, it will go to the committee of jurisdiction and ask the committee to sponsor the bill.  Committees also may initiate a bill to set policy, such as the Broadband Bill being developed in my committee, Energy & Technology.

During my 10-year tenure in the Vermont House I have introduced many bills.  The language of some made it into other bills, such as the requirement that the money received from the Volkswagen emissions fraud settlement be used to promote electric vehicles.  A handful of bills I’ve introduced have gotten passed on their own.  Last year I introduced a bill to promote agritourism. It limits the liability of farms engaging in agritourism for mishaps that might occur to visitors.  The bill passed in the House but was derailed in the Senate because of the pandemic.  I reintroduced the bill again this year hoping for a better outcome.

With less than two percent of Americans living on a farm, the public is becoming more and more removed from farming practices and agricultural production. Consumers are very interested in learning where their food comes from and about the technological advancements behind producing that food. Agritourism provides an excellent opportunity to open meaningful connections between agriculture and the public. The vast majority of farms depend on outside income to stay in business, and any additional revenue from agritourism could significantly increase their economic viability.

Agritourism is a growing business opportunity in Vermont.  Some
local examples include Shelburne Farms, Philo Ridge Farm and Adam’s Berry Farm in Charlotte, Isham Family Farm in Williston, and Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne. Tourism is dormant at the moment due to the pandemic, but once we are back to normal operation, Vermont will benefit from its resurgence.  Agritourism epitomizes the "Vermont brand". It takes advantage of what VT is known for: agriculture, recreation, a pastoral vibe. And it provides another source of income for family farms by showcasing what they do best. However, the risk of a lawsuit keeps many family farms from engaging in agritourism.  Visiting a farm exposes the visitor to certain inherent risks of injury such as bee stings, uneven terrain, contamination from touching farm animals, or falling off a hayride. A single incident can result in bankruptcy.

My bill (H.89) provides a reasonable expectation of liability for the farmer. It provides a clear definition of what constitutes agritourism: an interactive or passive activity for recreation, entertainment, or educational purposes, including farming, food production, historical, cultural, pick-your-own, and nature-based activities. It does not include lodging at a farm or shopping at a roadside farm stand. The bill requires the farm to post signs in clearly visible locations warning of the inherent risks of participating in farm activities and to include the warning in any written contracts entered into with the participant.  While protecting the farm from liability for inherent risks, it does not absolve the business from injuries resulting from gross negligence.

41 members of the House – Democrats, Republicans Progressives and Independents - co-sponsored the bill and it passed on a unanimous vote before heading to the Senate.  If the Senate agrees with the House, Vermont will join 33 other states with similar agritourism laws.

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238). 

Legislative Report 2/11/2021 - Budgets and Broadband

The Vermont House has worked productively in the last two weeks.  We approved the annual Budget Adjustment bill (H.138), a mid-year technical adjustment to keep the state’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget in balance.  H.138 passed with strong support and included investmentsto support the Legislature’s continuing response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Much of the adjustment was a result of reallocating unused Coronavirus Relief Funds, which were supposed to expire at the end of last year but were extended by the $900B relief bill passed by Congress last December. CRF money was redirected to assistance for the hard-hit hospitality industry, for emergency food, hotel-housing for the homeless, and rental assistance, for Vermont State Colleges system support, and for completion of broadband expansion projects.

Speaking of broadband, the pandemic has highlighted the necessity of high-speed internet for education, work, and communications. The Energy & Technology Committee has been working on a major bill to accelerate broadband deployment to every part of the state. Building on the Communication Union District (CUD) model that was authorized in 2015 and enhanced last year, availability to planning grants and low-cost loans will be provided to CUDs to build fiber networks throughout Vermont. CUDs are organized by towns that want to build fiber to the areas where for-profit internet service providers find it unprofitable to reach.  Most for-profit companies build their infrastructure along the main arteries with a higher residential density. Fiber-optic lines cost about $33,000 per mile to build. The more subscribers within that mile, the lower the cost per subscriber.

Local telecommunications carriers like WCVT or Consolidated Communications also provide internet service. The US Department of Agriculture recently accepted bids from traditional carriers to extend broadband in rural areas under the Rural Digital Opportunities Fund (RDOF). With the objective of getting service to every Vermonter as quickly as possible, we are encouraging CUDs and telecom providers to work with each other to avoid duplication of effort. The rate at which high-speed broadband can be built depends not only on funding but on the availability of skilled line workers and of the required materials, both of which are in short supply. Our bill will also include funding for workforce training in partnership with Vermont Technical College. Even with this support, broadband to the “last mile” will take years to accomplish. We will continue to work on the details of the bill over the next few weeks.

There's good news on the 9.5 cent education property tax rate increase that created a stir in December. Improved non-property tax revenues in the Education Fund and input from school districts have resulted in a reduction to roughly a one cent increase. This may change as more information about actual budgets becomes available, but it is not expected to change dramatically.

Also on the education front, the sustainability of the pension funds for teachers and state employees has become a top priority with the release of a recommendation from State Treasurer Beth Pearce which would increase contributions and decrease benefits.  The source of the underfunded pension fund problem was a decision by the legislature in the 1990s to underfund the system based on overly optimistic assumptions about investment returns. The unfunded liability is $1.5B at present and is expected to grow another $600M if remediation steps are not taken.  The legislature is studying the report and seeking alternatives by working with all parties to assure Vermonters that they will have their retirement benefit while also curtailing the unfunded liability. Pension contracts are an obligation that should not be set aside. Teachers and state employees should not be penalized for the fiduciary mistakes made by government. We must solve this dilemma fairly.

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).