Dear Constituents –

June 23/24 marked the General Assembly veto session where the majority party succeeded in overriding the Governor’s veto of H.177 and H.227, changes to the Charters of the cities of Montpelier and Winooski, respectively. These charter changes allow for the right of non-citizens to vote in municipal elections, and in the case of Winooski, municipal and school elections. Proponents of these bills argued that these folks already pay taxes and volunteer in their communities, so they should be allowed the right to vote.  I believe that the right to vote comes with becoming a US citizen and the responsibilities associated with that process. I opposed these charter changes, as did all 45 fellow Republicans in the House and 7 in the Senate, along with one House Independent and 3 Senate Democrats – I thank them for their votes and the courage to stand up for what they feel is right.

After the House adjourned, the Senate continued to do damage in the form of passing two more bills – H.157 that establishes a registry of construction contractors, and S.79 that establishes a registry of rental housing units (both long term and short term rentals inclusive). Neither of these bills were necessary to pass during a session that should only have dealt with gubernatorial vetoes, and both of them seek to grow big government by raising fees and adding State employees. I opposed each of these bills as they made their way from my Committee through the House, and I was pleased to see my like-minded colleagues in the Senate voice their opposition. We did all we could to prevent this bureaucracy from being passed, and now it is up to the Governor to take a stand.

I wish you all a very healthy, safe summer as we move into the recovery phase of our post-COVID world. I am thankful to put this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic in my rear-view mirror! Please continue to reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Representative Lisa A Hango

Franklin-5