Lawmaking in the COVID Era -
The legislature adjourned on June 26 at 8:41 p.m. Sort of. After holding what was nearly the longest and certainly the strangest session in history, the legislature has really only recessed,...more
7/7/2020
/ Broadband ,
CARES Act ,
Cloud Storage ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Global Warming ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Internet Taxation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Paid Leave ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Funding ,
State Grants ,
State Legislatures ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Universities
Divided House committee approves Act 250 compromise -
After more than a year of work, the House Natural Resources Committee voted 6-3 to approve sweeping changes to Vermont’s landmark land-use law, including a provision...more
2/19/2020
/ Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Global Warming ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pensions ,
Renewable Energy ,
Retirement Plan ,
Stem cells ,
Suicide ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping
Underfunded pension liabilities get needed attention
The topic of Vermont’s overwhelming state employee and teachers’ pension burdens rears its head on occasion, but legislators quickly move on to challenges more easily...more
2/10/2020
/ Biomass ,
Co-payments ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Driverless Cars ,
Economic Development ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mental Health ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pensions ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Telehealth ,
Tobacco Regulations
Global Warming Solutions Act: asking for too much or not enough?
The House Committee on Energy and Technology took testimony this week on the The Global Warming Solutions Act. University of Vermont Professor Jon Erickson...more
1/27/2020
/ ACOs ,
Board of Education ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Cloud Computing ,
Community Development ,
Competency Requirements ,
Educational Institutions ,
Elder Issues ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Global Warming ,
Health Care Providers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Records ,
Research and Development ,
Small Business Loans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Returns ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Ways and Means Committee
The House Committee on Judiciary heard vastly different views this week on a new version of S.37, legislation passed by the Senate last month that would have adopted a strict liability standard for harm caused by toxic...more
4/26/2019
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rural Health Care Program ,
State and Local Government ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Water ,
Ways and Means Committee
Final push on clean water governance bill -
The House Committee on Natural Resources continued its work this week on S.96, a bill that would adopt a clean water investment and governance proposal promoted by the Agency of...more
PFAS bill progresses -
The House Natural Resources Committee finished deliberation this week on S.49, a bill that grants the Agency of Natural Resources more discretion in setting the maximum contaminant level for PFAS...more
4/15/2019
/ Cannabis Products ,
Contract Renewal ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Expenses ,
Minimum Wage ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Strict Liability ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
Paid family and medical leave legislation, H.107, passed the House General, Housing, and Military Affairs Committee on Wednesday on an 8-1-1 vote. Rep. Marianna Gamache, R-Swanton, a lone but passionate dissenter, raised...more
2/22/2019
/ Broadband ,
Environmental Policies ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Strict Liability ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Water Supplies ,
Wireless Industry
A May 18th adjournment brought to a close the first half of the 74th biennial session of the Vermont General Assembly. Drama awaits as Gov. Phil Scott has threatened to veto H.518, the fiscal year 2018 budget, over an...more
5/30/2017
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Housing ,
Biologics ,
Carbon Taxes ,
Cell Towers ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Escrow Accounts ,
First Amendment ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lifeline Program ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Mental Health ,
Mortgages ,
Net Metering ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Power Grid ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rural Development ,
Sexual Assault ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Budgets ,
Students ,
Suicide ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Telemedicine ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Water
The House Ways and Means Committee is considering a proposal from the Vermont Department of Taxes to reduce the amount of use tax a person can pay without providing records to prove his or her tax liability. The rate would...more
3/21/2017
/ ACOs ,
Ambulance Providers ,
Economic Development ,
Emergency Response ,
Firemen ,
Health Care Providers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lifeline Program ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Mental Health ,
Misclassification ,
Nurses ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Police ,
Proposed Legislation ,
PTSD ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Sexual Assault ,
Social Media Policy ,
Tax Liability ,
Telecommunications ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
Workers' Compensation Claim