Monthly Archives: February 2023

The Vermont legislature is now in session. The session runs from the beginning of January through April, and works on a biennium system. That means that bills that are introduced have two sessions, or two years, to pass — or not pass. Sometimes bills are resubmitted in the next biennium.

We are approaching “crossover,” meaning that bills that have passed one chamber now head to the other chamber to be considered. This happens each year after town meeting day. As we approach this important time in our legislative cycle, we’ll share with you some of the bills we’re concerned about. (more…)

Listening to Vermont Public a few weeks ago, near the beginning of the 2023 legislative session, I heard a brief interview with Chittenden County Senator Ginny Lyons. Ms. Lyons was drafting a child care bill that would make child care as accessible as elementary school. Child care and early education advocates will mount a serious campaign in the coming months to ensure that no Vermont family spends more than 10% of its annual income on child care costs. (more…)

Last month state auditor Doug Hoffer released a 41-page report outlining the comprehensive failure of the Department of Corrections’ process for addressing grievances submitted by people incarcerated in Vermont’s prisons.

The auditors found that DOC is failing at essentially all of the major aspects of the grievance process. They wrote that “DOC’s process to receive and respond to grievances lacks transparency due to unreliable data, does not provide assurance that complaints are resolved, and operates without centralized accountability. Specifically, there were significant deficiencies in the (1) accuracy and completeness of DOC’s grievance data, (2) responses to grievances, and (3) executive oversight of the process.” (more…)