Dear Constituents –

In the Statehouse, Committees continue to work on bills, and the House floor has seen minimal action. Bills passed this week include : H.488, amendments to the charter of the Town of Ludlow ; H.495, amendments to the Charter of the Town of Middlebury ; H.148, amendments to raising the age of eligibility to marry as it came back from the Senate ; H.386, amendments to the charter of the Town of Brattleboro, allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in their local elections ; and S.3, prohibiting paramilitary training camps. The last three are bills that I voted against after hearing compelling arguments about the constitutionality of the language (S.3) and the dichotomy between prohibiting youth to make life decisions at one age (H.148), yet codifying it into law at an even younger age (H.386).

In the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, we continued to take testimony on S.17, sheriff reforms ; more town charter changes, and ranked-choice voting.  We also received the Vermont National Guard Annual Sexual Assault Prevention Response Report with our colleagues in Senate Government Operations.

Bills to keep a close eye on as they make their way through money committees and to the House floor next week are S.5, the Clean Heat Standard bill and S.100, the Housing for Everyone  bill.  Both of these bills came out of the committees of jurisdiction lacking bipartisan support and should be concerning to all Vermonters .  Thank you all for your letters and phone calls regarding the unaffordability of S.5 and the lack of ACT 250 reform in S.100.  My vote is no on each of these bills.

In the VT Rural Caucus, we heard from the Vermont Natural Resources Council regarding their views on ACT 250 reform ; Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Coop on their efforts to make the electrical grid more resilient ; and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns on the vast number of municipalities that are under re-appraisal orders. The Rural Caucus leadership has also been grappling with S.100, the HOME bill, and how to balance the need for more housing of all types with the regulations that prevent that from happening.

Please contact me at [email protected] with your questions and concerns.

Stay well,

Rep Lisa A Hango, Franklin-5