Dear Constituents –

In the Statehouse this week, committees continue to dive into bills returned to them by the other Chamber, vetting changes and taking testimony on potential amendments on issues that have come to light during the legislative process. In the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, on which I serve as Vice Chair, we spent much of our time on the following bills: S.206 (Early Childhood Educator licensure by OPR); S.298 Vermont Voting Rights (VT Voter Protections), and a few municipal charters.

On the House Floor, among the bills that we voted on favorably are: S.89 (expanding survivor benefits to certified  law enforcement officers, certain Department of Corrections employees, classified family services employees in DCF, and classified medical employees of State-operated therapeutic community residences or inpatient psychiatric hospital units); S.157 (recovery residence certification); S.239 (Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Working Group); S.255 (establishing a pilot Law Enforcement Governance Council in Windham County.

This is the time of year when we are starting to get a look at what the other Chamber is doing with important (must-pass) bills like the budget, yield bill, Capital bill, and T bill. The first of those to be hitting the Senate Floor appears to be the budget, aka the Big Bill.  At first glance, Senate Appropriations re-arranged the deck chairs considerably, as there is very limited funding available and many stated needs, which vary widely by Legislator. This is where advocates’ voices make a difference.  Both Appropriations Committees are tasked with taking a set amount of money and trying to shoehorn all of the asks and obligations into that window, which for the foreseeable future, is very narrow. Agencies and organizations were put on notice last Fall that the budget process would be difficult, and it truly has been.  Both money committees have done a commendable job trying to accomplish what they are statutorily required to do, which is balance the budget. Now the action in the building will ramp up, with advocates jockeying for position to speak with committee members, lobbying legislators to speak to their colleagues on their behalf, and crossing their fingers. This bill will likely go to a Committee of Conference, as the two Chambers are not aligned in their priorities.

The Rural Caucus picked up where we left off earlier this session, hearing from education organizations on the H.955 Education Transformation bill. This will be an on-going discussion, alternating next week to healthcare issues, so if any organization wishes to speak to the Caucus, please reach out at [email protected]. Act 181 discussions through the vehicle of S.325 continue to be debated in the House Environment Committee, and all of their committee hearings can be viewed on YouTube by clicking on the link to their webpage on the General Assembly website. 

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Berkshire