Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, recalled driving through her district more than a decade ago with a few Brazilian friends, when their car was stopped at an immigration checkpoint.
“We were stuck at the checkpoint for four hours,” White said, “That kind of stop was eye opening for me because I’d never experienced that.”
Now, years later, the prolonged stop, coupled with calls from President Donald Trump to carry out mass deportations, has inspired White to introduce a bill giving the Legislature the authority to accept or deny any partnerships between local and state agencies in Vermont and federal immigration officials.
According to White, some of her constituents have told her they aren’t leaving their homes out of fear of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE. It’s up to lawmakers to inhibit any federal attempts to complete deportations, she told fellow senators in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
“I think it’s a matter of moral obligation,” White said.
Under a current law passed during Trump’s first term, the governor, after consultation with the attorney general, can enter into partnerships with federal immigration authorities. Vermont law enforcement policy restricts the ability of state and local cops to work with ICE, but the Vermont Department of Corrections has a contract with the feds to hold immigration detainees.
S.44, White’s bill, would transfer authority from the governor to lawmakers, who would vote on any collaborations between the state and ICE.
There are caveats, though. Under a state or federal state of emergency, the Legislature would lose its authority. And, despite that, some lawmakers questioned whether the bill would be overreach.
Still, the committee’s Democratic members, including chair Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P Chittenden Central, agreed the committee should consider their role in limiting Vermont’s participation with ICE and Border Patrol, and will take more testimony on the bill.
“Having more eyes” on the issue “is a good thing,” Baruth said.
—Ethan Weinstein
In the know
Time check: It’s six weeks into the session, and Democrats have yet to provide their blueprint for housing policy this year.
About a dozen House Democrats gathered for a press conference Tuesday morning to outline their housing priorities. But they largely used the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for things they’ve already accomplished.
A Vergennes developer took the podium to describe how legislative reforms to Act 250 over the last few years have prompted him to build more homes. And homelessness advocates lauded the House for passing a mid-year budget tune-up last week that would effectively extend motel-based shelter for several hundred people through the spring.
So, what are their priorities for the future?
Rep. Marc Mihaly, D-Calais, the new chair of the House Committee on General and Housing, said his committee plans to produce a bill in the coming weeks. The goal? To make it easier to build housing, finance necessary infrastructure, and house the homeless, Mihaly said.
But he was light on specifics. How might that bill compare to the housing package outlined by Republican Gov. Phil Scott last month?
“There are elements of that that we like and we will work with,” Mihaly said, pointing to funding for homeownership programs and a new infrastructure financing tool. But “it’s a little too early to say exactly what will emerge,” he said.
—Carly Berlin
Mark Levine, Vermont’s commissioner of health, told lawmakers Tuesday that the risk of avian flu in the general public is overall low, although farm workers may be at higher risk of contracting the condition.
At a joint hearing of the House health care and agriculture committees Tuesday afternoon, Levine told legislators the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “continues to list avian influenza as a low-risk proposition for humans and the general public.”
“Though if you’re a human who happens to work on a farm or works in a poultry capacity, your risk is higher than low,” he added. “But it’s still not necessarily super high.”
The hearing comes amid rising anxiety over a possible severe avian flu outbreak in a nation still traumatized by the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more about the hearing here.
—Peter D’Auria
On the move
The Senate Appropriations Committee is hearing testimony this week on H.141, the annual current budget tune-up. The updates to the 2025 fiscal year budget are expected to hit the Senate floor for a vote next week.
Also, on Friday, the Legislature delivered its first bill of the session to Republican Gov. Phil Scott: H. 78 would allow municipalities to elect “any or all” officials by Australian ballot. The bill also retroactively would bless all past municipal elections that did not follow current law, which requires that all elected municipal officials be voted on by secret ballot or all from the floor. There is at least one town waiting for that clarification: Hyde Park.
—Kristen Fountain
Visit our 2025 bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
Overheard
In Senate Judiciary:
“Is it bad to say I didn’t really know who Kendrick Lamar was?” Sen. Chris Mattos, R-Chittenden North, asked his colleagues. The Super Bowl halftime show led him to learn about the rapper’s beef with Drake, he said.
Sen. White called the war of words the “biggest” in hip hop history.
“No, that was Tupac and Biggie,” said Sen. Baruth.
—Ethan Weinstein
Buzz buzz
What might those mason jars placed on the table in front of each House Environment Committee member’s chair be?
“It’s honey! From my beehives,” explained newly elected Rep. Chris Pritchard, R-Pawlet, when Rep. Kate Logan, P/D-Burlington, asked the same question in this afternoon’s committee meeting.
Most representatives seemed to express a similar sentiment of gratitude: how sweet.
–Olivia Gieger
Read the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: Lawmakers mull taking authority over any partnerships with federal immigration authorities.