By Guy Page

Along mostly party lines, the Vermont House Thursday afternoon, February 6 approved the mid-year Budget Adjustment Act – including a controversial addition of $1.3 million to extend emergency housing for the homeless through June. 

Every year the BAA adjusts the current year’s budget to address unforeseen needs.

In his floor comments following the 87-51 vote, freshman Rep. Rob North (R-Vergennes) summarized the opposition: 1) The Budget Adjustment Act should not be making policy, which extending the funding effectively does, he argued; 2) The Legislature should be cutting, not increasing spending; and 3) compromise plans were offered to the Democratic majority, but were ignored. 

I vote No on H.141 on principle,” North said. “First, the BAA is not for policy alteration, which is what the 80-day extension of the 80-day limit was. Second, for affordability when we have the opportunity to pay down debt, we should do so. Thirdly, for the lack of compromise, which we said we would, compromise was offered and rejected.” [Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story omitted a key word from North’s statement, thus changing the apparent meaning. We regret the error.]

The House Human Services Committee reportedly heard at least two compromise plans: 1) $50K more to help the neediest homeless people, including folks in wheelchairs, and 2) saving hundreds of thousands by extending funding through May instead of June, a warm month in which people with tents won’t unduly suffer from the elements. 

Rep. Gina Galfetti (R-Barre Town) opposed North’s concern about using the mid-year budget adjustment to, in practice, set new policy. “The policy that was nefariously slid through in this Budget Adjustment could and should have been considered in the light of day, as there was plenty of time to do it the right way.”

Count on one finger…. Interesting stat: Vermont has precisely one (1) inmate incarcerated for the crime of illegal drug possession, Corrections Vice-Chair James Gregoire told VDC this week. His committee recently was briefed on inmate data. 

Pro-legal abortion lawmakers want ‘geofence’ ban – S.49, a bill banning the use of ‘geofencing’ on people seeking ‘reproductive health care services,’ was introduced Wednesday into the Vermont Senate. The bill is sponsored by Sens. Nadine Gulick, Ruth Hardy, Tanya Vyhovsky, and Becca White. According to Wikipedia, a geofence is a virtual perimeter around a geographic feature that can trigger alerts or messages based on location.

According to a post on the Council on Foreign Relations website, “Reproductive healthcare facilities are a frequent target for geofencing and geolocation tracking, which allows anyone to easily purchase records of women’s locations and determine when they’ve been near a reproductive health center.”

The bill states that “the purpose of this act is to protect the privacy of individuals receiving reproductive health care services by prohibiting persons, including law enforcement officials, from using a geofence, or acquiring data gained from a geofence, to identify or track those individuals or to send messages or notifications to those individuals. It also prohibits a government entity from seeking or obtaining a warrant that would target individuals who searched electronically for reproductive health services. This act is supported by Chapter I, Article 22 of the Vermont Constitution, which protects an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy.”

Food stamps for restaurant visits, etc. – The Vermont Food Security Roadmap Coalition (foodbanks, etc.) was in the Legislature this week. Its members want the Legislature to fund the Vermont Foodbank’s appropriations request for $5 million, fund $20 million for farm emergency recovery and resilience, convert $323,000 in one-time funding for the Vermont 211 social services hotline to base funding; and, pass legislation to allow SNAP federal food benefits to be allowed for restaurant meals. 

Cannabis dealers want pause of new licensing – citing a glut of retail outlets amid declining sales, the Vermont Cannabis Action Fund wants the Legislature to pause new licensing.

With 114 retail outlets in a state with 647,000 residents, Vermont has the 18th lowest population/outlet ratio in the nation, the advocacy group claims. 

There are just too many outlets for the market, spokesperson David Silberman told VDC today at the State House. Retail locations are up 38% but sales have grown just 14%. The VCAF also wants the Legislature to lift the potency caps on product (critics say ER visits are up due to toxic reactions to high-potency THC), end advertising restrictions (critics say they prevent illegal youth access), allow special events and consumption licenses (Oktoberfest for pot?), and reduce cannabis taxes on some products.