by Mike Bielawski
These bills will be reviewed in legislative committees this week. For more information, including times and agenda, see weekly schedule.
Tuesday
House Committee on Environment and Energy
The committee will look at H. 715, dealing with climate change resilience under Act 250, the state’s zoning law. Sponsor Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Windham 2, will talk about how it should be modified to adapt to the state’s climate agenda. This bill will make “multiple changes to the State land use and development law.”
It states that no company or person “shall in any way begin site preparation for or commence construction of new or the replacement of existing electric distribution lines unless the Public Utility Commission first finds that the same will promote the general good of the State and issues a certificate to that effect pursuant to this section.”
Wednesday
House Committee on Transportation
The committee will look at “Programs and Approaches to address Climate Resiliency.” Speakers will include Andrea Wright who is manager of the Environmental Policy and Sustainability, Agency of Transportation. Also State Hazard Mitigation Officer Stephanie Smith will speak on behalf of Vermont Emergency Management, and Resilience and Adaptation Coordinator for the Agency of Natural Resources Marian Wolz will speak.
House Committee on Environment and Energy
The committee will talk about H. 289 which seeks to modify the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. Dozens will testify about the state’s targeted benchmarks for carbon-emission reductions.
The idea is to meet certain percentage of reductions at future dates, for example electric distribution utilities are expected to have 55% of their retail electric sales (electricity production) be from renewable sources by 2017.
The more ambitious the targets, the more lawmakers will be pressed to pass legislation nudging utilities to shift to energy production to sources like wind and solar, both which are highly subsidized and have performance issues such as low electricity output per ratepayer dollar.
Also, wind and solar also have various environmental impacts, which have been documented especially by the group Vermonters for a Clean Environment.
House Committee on General and Housing
The committee will discuss H. 432 which is to create a task force to “study and develop reparation proposals for the institution of Chattel Slavery,” the bill states.
Legislative Counsel Tucker Anderson and Executive Director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance Rev. Mark Hughes will speak. The bill would be among the first to potentially hold people today liable for historical events.
House Committee on Corrections and Institutions
The committee will discuss H. 690 that aims to establish community restitution as a sentencing alternative.
Judge Thomas Zonay, the Chief Superior Judge of the Vermont Judiciary, Tim Leuders-Dumont from the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, and Defender General Matthew Valerio will speak.
Currently some of the public are wary of judges being too lenient on offenders, so to explore new ways to keep offenders out of jails may exasperate that sentiment.
In the intent section of this bill it states, “It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department of Corrections reinstitute the Community Restitution Program and ensure that it is appropriately staffed and resourced so that it may be offered in all 14 counties as a sentencing alternative.”
This is a work program that expired this past summer and the bill would have it be reinstated.
House Committee on Judiciary
This committee will discuss H. 534 which seeks to curb repeat retail theft offenders.
Erik FitzPatrick of the Office of Legislative Counsel is invited to speak. This bill would allow prosecutors of repeat retail offenders to aggregate the amount of goods stolen across multiple thefts.
Currently the matter of repeat offenders has been a high priority for those seeking to curb rises in crime especially in Burlington. Erin Sigrist, the executive director of the Vermont Retail & Grocers Association and others have been sounding the alarm on this matter.
Thursday
House Committee on Education
The committee will look at H. 807 which seeks to modify “school library material selection policy.”
Legislative Counsel Beth St. James, and Rep. Bobby Farlice-Rubio, the bill’s sponsor, will speak. School library books with controversial social justice themes and in some cases illustrations of apparent pornography have become a hot button issue nationwide.
The bill’s description reads “This bill proposes to require school districts and approved independent schools to adopt a library material selection policy and procedures for the reconsideration of materials, which shall be guided by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement.”
House Committee on General and Housing
They will look at H. 132 which establishes “a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes.”
Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Ted Brady and Executive Director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont Frank Knaack will talk about what can and cannot be done for the homeless according to this bill.
Some of what is being sought in this legislation includes allowing the homeless to “use and move freely in public places, including public sidewalks, parks, transportation, and buildings, in the same manner as any other individual and without discrimination on the basis of the individual’s housing status.”
It also states they should have “equal treatment by all State and municipal agencies without discrimination on the basis of the individual’s housing status.”
House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs
The committee will spend time on H. 806 which also deals with alleged “book bans” by public and school libraries.
Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, P-Middletown Springs, who is the sponsor will introduce the bill. Its purpose is to, “prohibit the banning or removal of library materials by public or school libraries and restrict any form of State funding for a library that violates the materials retention rules adopted by the State Librarian.”
Friday
Senate Committee on Transportation
The committee will discuss a report on electric rates for electric vehicles.
Micah Howe who is staff attorney for the Public Utility Commission and Philip Picotte who is the Utilities Economic Analyst for the Department of Public Service will speak on this matter.
The true cost of EVs has been a contentious matter nationwide. Earlier this year a study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that when all the state and federal subsidies are factored in, the true cost of an average EV is nearly $50,000 or roughly double their gas-powered counterparts.
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Categories: Legislation, State Government
Thanks much, Mike Bielawski and VDC, for the overview and the link to the weekly schedule.
We plan to publish this information every Monday or Tuesday during the
session.
H.807, “Library Material Selection Policy”
To understand why books pornographic books like Gender Queer are in America’s public school libraries, see New Discourse podcast, The American Library Association is Queering the Catalog from 2013. This podcast discusses how Emily Drabinski will use her American Library Association to make libraries sites of Queer marxist grooming.
https://newdiscourses.com/?s=Library+
This bill is to stop schools from removing such queer pornographic books at the request of parents. The removal of these books results in loss of library funding.
Possible parent solution is to provide formal notice to the school administrators and librarian that your child is not allowed in the library without parental supervision due to concerns of age inappropriate content. It is illegal to make pornographic material available to children.
Do you really think that any book has the power to turn kids into homosexuals as if homosexuality is some kind of communicable disease? I think what you really want to do is demonize homosexuality and force homosexuals back into the closet. Many parents like me want their kids to have ready access to books like Gender Queer so that they have a better understanding of the difficult journey that some of their friends go through in coming to terms with their identity. Your possible parent “solution” is fine with me even though I think it’s doing kids a disservice – but you’ve got no business trying to censor what others get to read. If you’re really worried about exposing kids to pornography you may want to take a look at what’s readily available online to any kid with a phone.
Mark, I didn’t imply or say any of those things. What you don’t understand or refuse to acknowledge is that Queer theory has nothing to do with the LGBTQ population, being gay or communicable disrases. According to the “Queer” theorists, being “Queer” is an an identity without an essence, not male, not female. One that is fluid at all times, changing. One that is nameless, hense the theory promoting society calling people by pronouns, and not their names. This intentionally destabilizes children and breaks family bonds, which is exactly what it is intended to do. These people could care less about children. Instead of people being seen as individuals with a name, they now become part of the collaborative known as he, she, they and them.
I care about young children being subject to books that depict other children sleeping in bed and having sex with multiple partners including adults, and strapless on set tools. I care about 10 year olds having non reversible surgeries and being chemically castrated by hormones.
Marxist, neo communist, Theorist, Herbert Marcose back in the 1950s actually wrote about the need to create a non aggressive society that blurs the line between females and males. We are filling his playbook.
Mark,
These books are propaganda. They are not “morally neutral”. They come with a lot of implied baggage. For instance, they form part of the complete narrative that heterosexual men are evil and that the “straights” are boring. They also funnel kids into believing that only sexual urges are what define all adults.
Lastly, introducing complicated subject matter to children before they are ready to fully understand the topic is wrong. For instance they promote same sex relations as “normal” or even “superior” but they don’t mention the rates of disease among homosexual men. They don’t talk about the lower life expectancy of homosexual men and they don’t discuss the fact that homosexuals don’t have naturally occurring families.
It is wrong.
I agree with Christine and don’t want my children exposed to sexualized content. Enough with the moral social filth – schools should teach kids how to read, write, and do math already. If someone wants to show their kids perverse materials (while I’m sad for them if that’s the case), they can do that on their own time and dime.
The reparation thing is a total JOKE! To try to make people today responsible for past events is just INSANE! I am almost half irish. I guess I should be able to get reparations also? NO because it is f ing totally stupid! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yljjCPOQf44
Such a joke it is. Let’s call this what it is the redistribution of wealth to a privileged identity. I am a third generation American. My descendents were from Italy where they were also enslaved by Muslims.
https://history.osu.edu/publications/christian-slaves-muslim-masters-white-slavery-mediterranean-barbary-coast-and-italy
To add further insult to injury, Italians were targeted by the KKK in America for their dark skin. By the mid 1950s about 5000 Italians had been murdered vigilante style due to the color of their skin.
Also agree. Anyone who feels like they need to pay for past sins can do it out of their own pockets. I know a good group to start: https://www.newsweek.com/ben-jerrys-headquarters-abenaki-native-american-vermont-1811343
My family wasn’t even in America until right at the turn of the 20th century. They were poor Czech farmers. Please exclude my tax money from this wealth redistribution.
“which shall be guided by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” The usual Leftist double standard; we must respect the First Amendment in order to put Trans, alphabet people grooming porn in libraries, but if you espouse Conservative political viewpoints are anti-Woke, Christian, or anti-vaxx you must be silenced, canceled and if they had their way, sent to a gulag.
A committee will discuss H. 432 sponsored by ” Rep. Brian Cina ” which is to create a task force to “study and develop ” reparation ” proposals for the institution of Chattel Slavery, where do we get these clowns.
With a state in total debt, overtaxed citizens, and this fool wants reparation ??, those who would be entitled to any reparation have long passed, this sounds like another liberal handout as a vote-getter, wake up people, they’ll spend what they don’t have
and you could use………………………… fools in charge, just taking up space !!
Reparations in the state that abolished slavery first. Only one sponsor yet. Let’s see what happens. In response, I’d like to see a Republican file a bill abolishing all DEI garbage from state government. Make it a choice for the taxpayers.
Curiously, this current woke legislature seeks to force Vermont citizens to pay retribution or tribute for an illegal (in Vermont) historical act. Chapter 1 Article 1 of the Vermont Constitution outlawed slavery in 1777.
“The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the political left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.” Thos. Sowell
By the way, the sponsors of the “homeless bill of rights” have bios with almost comical amounts of socialist “credentials”.
H807: is there a contest under the Golden Dome to see who can come up with the most vile bill possible and acquire the most co-sponsors?
These Marxists will do anything & everything to inflame racial tension & strife. It distracts from the reality that they are decimating the nation & its lifeblood of freedom. It creates the violence & social instability that ignites cultural chaos & collapse wherein their government must then “intercede” in order to mend. It ensures their permanent reign of power through deceitful means. Until it doesn’t. And the nation once known as the USA is but another blip in time & of history that socialism & its siblings yet again decimated & destroyed. Until it happens elsewhere again. And again. And again.
I’m Irish. Will I get reparations for the Potato famine? Please?
This country has lost it’s collective mind.
The real problem is that it has embraced its collective mine.
“the true cost of an average EV is nearly $50,000 or roughly double their gas-powered counterparts.”
This is not a “true cost”. This is a price. Obviously the people that do “studies” have no idea what the word “cost” means. The true cost is much much higher, and the price of those costs are also much higher. (including the carbon emissions of those costs)
“community restitution as a sentencing alternative.”
VICTIM RESTITUTION!!! Get it right you phonies
“The state’s climate agenda”
There is no such agenda, and no such authorization in the constitution to work on such an agenda. You are there for the people’s agenda.
What are all these “agencies”? The agencies have nothing to do with anything. Ignore the agencies and move on. Go back home.
you are all slaves to the i. m. f. banker crooks running this show///any questions///
Our new state Librarian left New England to live and work in SAN FRANCISCO! Now she is back. Watch for the inappropriateness coming from her! A celebration of drag story hours, pornography in school libraries, celebrating fake women etc. Ohhh no. Like one responder said, refuse access to the library without parental supervision.
SAN FRANCISCO? Oh my god!