By Guy Page

The non-partisan Campaign for Vermont says a bill voted out of the House Government Operations Committee this week would allow legislators to exempt themselves from ethics oversight.

The bill, H.1, “proposes to exempt the House and Senate Ethics Panels from the requirement to consult with the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission regarding any complaints referred to them by the Commission,” Executive Director Ben Kinsley said in a note to CFV members. See the full analysis of the bill.

‘We worked last year to increase the Ethics Commission’s oversight of the legislative and judicial branches and lawmakers are already trying to shrug off this oversight,” Kinsley said. ‘This is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. Vermont needs stronger ethics oversight for all three branches of government, not weaker. We are at a time when trust in government institutions is at an all-time low, the solution is more sunlight, not less.’

Fourty-three other states have given their Ethics Commissions full enforcement powers. The Coalition for Public Integrity ranks Vermont in the bottom ten states for anti-corruption measures, citing that the oversight authority (Ethics Commission) has “limited or no power.”

Scott applauds Saunders approval – Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Zoie Saunders as Secretary of Education:

“Since the beginning, I’ve believed Zoie Saunders is the leader we need at the Agency of Education and I want to thank the Senators who voted to confirm her today. We have a lot of work ahead to transform our education system and Secretary Saunders remains committed to working together to create a reform plan that improves student outcomes and supports teachers at a cost taxpayers can afford.”

Saunders, the tip of the spear of Scott’s school reform plan, was rejected by the Senate last year, but Scott appointed her to an interim position. Now, it’s official. 

Mask bill unlikely to proceed – A bill preventing mask mandates in schools is unlikely to be voted out of the House Education Committee by this Friday’s Crossover deadline.

H.393 would “prohibit public schools, independent schools, postsecondary schools, tutorial programs, and approved education programs from requiring or mandating any student, employee, or member of the public to wear a face mask to prevent or minimize the spread of any pathogen.” 

The bill also “creates a private right of action for damage, loss, or injury as a result of any conduct prohibited by this bill” and requires “any direction the Governor may give to State or local boards of health during an emergency to comply with the prohibition on requiring or mandating masks in schools.”

Sponsors, all Republicans, are Reps. Gregory Burtt, David Bosch, Voranus Coffin IV, Joshua Dobrovich, Leland Morgan, Richard Nelson, Robert North, Debra Powers, and Michael Tagliavia.

Lowest fertility rate, declining school enrollment, retirement rate, brain drain all hurt workforce talent supply – Vermont has the lowest fertility rate of any state in the country, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce reports. School enrollment, now 80,292, is expected to drop to 77,300 by 2030, unless young families can be attracted to Vermont, the VCC’s Economic Action Plan states. 

The Chamber held a day-long seminar at the State House today. 

Vermont Dept. of Labor projects 17,150 retirements and 2,500 new jobs added to the workforce annually. That means Vermont is short 21,700 jobs per year, the Chamber says. 

In short, “the talent supply in Vermont is dwindling,” the Chamber notes. It’s essential that Vermont attract new residents, including ‘international immigrants,’ who now pay $226 million in VT taxes. 

It doesn’t help that Vermont has the worst ‘brain drain’ in U.S. Vermont is 50th among the 50 states with a net minus 57.4% import/export of college graduates. High income states like California, Texas and New York are high plus states, the Chamber notes.