Town meeting: A hallowed tradition. A time for homemade pies. And for Vermont’s citizen lawmakers, an annual respite during the busy middle of the legislative session.
But the break, it turns out, isn’t always so restful.
“It’s hard to disconnect before crossover, because it becomes so intense. So you’re kind of thinking about it,” Rep. Emilie Krasnow, D-South Burlington, said.
Like many lawmakers, she attended her local town meeting information session, talking to constituents.
“People asked a lot about the housing bill that we’re working on. People want to talk about the school budget and education,” Krasnow said. Federal policy, too, was top of mind, what Krasnow called “the unknowns every day” coming out of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I’m not refreshed,” she said.
Two issues dominated conversation at Castleton’s Town Meeting, according to Rep. Zachary Harvey, the town’s Republican representative: education and public safety.
“No surprise,” he said, “obviously those are the two that we’re constantly talking about, day in and day out, both in committee and with our caucuses.”
Gifted a week outside Montpelier, many took the opportunity to spend time with family.
Rep. Casey Toof, R-St. Albans Town, shuffled his two kids to and from hockey, joking, “my kids control my life.”
Sen. Brian Collamore, R-Rutland, traveled south to spend time with his wife. Rep. Tom Burditt, R-West Rutland, went west to Washington to see his son and take care of his grandkids.
“Three and 7 years old,” he said. “They taxed me.”
Only Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, spoke of her time off in superlative terms: “amazing.”
After scrambling to five town meetings across her district, she and her husband hit the road.
“My husband booked us a treehouse in Maine. And for five days we were, like, off the grid. Very snowy, wood-fired hot tub,” she said, acting out the stirring of the steaming jacuzzi.
“I literally didn’t know what was happening in the world,” White recalled, describing the sojourn.
Jealous.
— Ethan Weinstein
In the know
A group of organizations that advocate for immigrant rights in the state are urging Vermont lawmakers to pass a slate of bills that they say would bolster protections for communities they serve — and counter changes at the federal level.
“We’re just asking the state to make sure there is some accountability,” said Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, a legal services nonprofit. The bills, they said, would let immigrant communities “know that we’ve got their backs, and help prepare our service providers to weather the storms ahead.”
One bill, S.44, would put a new limit on how state agencies and local governments could enter into policing agreements with federal immigration enforcement agents. Another, S.56, would set up a committee to study whether the state should create a new office coordinating social and economic services for people who have recently arrived in the state from other countries.
The groups are also advocating for protections for certain immigrants included in a sweeping housing policy bill that’s being debated in the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee this week. Read more about the measures here.
— Shaun Robinson
Following a two-hour hearing, the Senate Education Committee decided to endorse Saunders in a 5-1 vote. But the quasi-job interview was not without its tense moments, with one senator interrogating Saunders’ record, and the secretary calling out what she deemed “misinformation” spread by lawmakers.
Most of the committee expressed their support for Saunders, and Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, made a point to note he had changed his opinion following his “no” vote on Saunders’ confirmation last year.
But Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast, emerged as the committee’s sole critic of the secretary.
“I heard from a lot of people in the field that they are extremely concerned about the functioning of the Agency of Education,” Ram Hinsdale said, adding that she hadn’t heard much positive feedback about Saunders.
Committee chair Sen. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington said he believed it was the governor’s “right” to appoint who he wants to cabinet positions unless “something egregious emerges” or the candidate is “completely unqualified.”
The entire Senate is expected to vote on Saunders’ confirmation on Thursday. Read more about the hearing here.
— Ethan Weinstein
Welfare plan
The Vermont Department of Public Safety has hired Lisa Milot as the first director of its Division of Animal Welfare, the department announced in a press release on Monday.
Milot, a lawyer and academic originally from Georgia, is expected to begin her role in May. As the sole employee of the new division, her first task will be to formulate a plan for coordinating Vermont’s disparate system of animal welfare services.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the law creating the animal welfare division in June. The bill, crafted by the Legislature in response to numerous animal cruelty cases in the state, directed the public safety department to hire a division director who then has the responsibility of creating “a comprehensive plan for the development, implementation, and enforcement of the animal welfare laws of the State.”
Read more about the new hire here.
— Izzy Wagner
Read the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: During their week off, lawmakers had varied success recharging.