2021 Town Meeting Update

Thank you to town officials for being flexible and adapting to the COVID situation and Town Meeting; it is all new to many of us, and I commend your for your work!

The Legislature continues to work remotely and will for the remainder of this session. The silver lining to our remote work is that we are able to attend more meetings locally – you all are just a click of a button away on my computer – something that isn’t always possible when I spend my weeks in Montpelier. The downside to this is zoom fatigue – 10 hours a day on zoom can be really tiring.

As a body, the General Assembly is working to ensure that Vermonters continue to receive assistance for a variety of issues compounded by the pandemic – small business relief, unemployment benefits, rental and utility assistance, food security, greater broadband capacity, increased COVID testing and vaccine distribution, and helping municipalities navigate this unprecedented Town Meeting schedule.

In my House committee, General, Housing, and Military Affairs, we are working with the Administration to properly allocate $200 million in rental and utility assistance for landlords and tenants that was passed by the Federal government at the end of 2020, and we continue to work with our community partners on long-term goals of ending homelessness and increasing the supply and affordability of our housing stock on a State-wide level.

We are taking up legislation to make small changes to liquor licensing statutes, such as continuing to allow alcoholic beverages to be sold with take-out meals, modernizing statutes pertaining to the National Guard, and improving on rental housing health and safety standards.

As part of my work, I am one of a tri-partisan group of legislators to found the Legislative National Guard Caucus, and our work has been focused on supporting National Guard troops on their various deployments to the US Capitol, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as their mission at home to assemble COVID test kits, provide COVID testing, stand up and dismantle alternate ICU sites, and distribute food to our communities. We are grateful for their service and to the leadership of Major General Greg Knight, our Adjutant General, to successfully fulfill their State and Federal missions.

Thank you for the privilege to represent you in the Legislature.

Stay well, 

Rep Lisa A Hango