Legislation

New House bills eliminate vax parental consent, allow silencers on hunting rifles, change Town Meeting voting

photo credit Anthony Wright, gohunt.com

By Guy Page

Legislation introduced in the Vermont House today include bills to:

  • Eliminate parental consent for age 16-18 vaccination
  • Change Town Meeting voting law re: pandemic
  • Fund mental health workers for police departments
  • Require universal home visits for families with newborns
  • Eliminate conflicts of interest among Climate Council members
  • Tax candy and sugared drinks
  • Provide free breakfast and lunch for all public school students
  • Allow hunters to use noise suppressors on their firearms

The following bills were introduced and assigned to committees of oversight:

H.50pharmacists providing information on the proper disposal of unused regulated drugs
H.49including psychological abuse as the basis for obtaining a civil abuse protection order
H.48authorizing alternative procedures for 2021 annual municipal meetings in response to COVID-19
H.47employment rights for members of the Reserve and National Guard
H.46miscellaneous provisions of mental health law
H.45the provision of grants for mental health providers working in collaboration with municipal police departments
H.44universal home visiting and parenting classes
H.43allowing individuals who have attained 16 years of age to consent to the administration of vaccinations
H.42including the amount expended by an employer for health insurance in the determination of the minimum wage
H.41family leave and insurance protections for organ donors
H.40whistleblower protections for law enforcement officers
H.39the Vermont Climate Council and conflicts of interest
H.38the imposition of sales tax on candy
H.37the imposition of an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
H.36primary enforcement of the adult safety belt law
H.35eliminating eligible school construction costs from a school district’s excess spending
H.34the use of debt proceeds in tax increment financing districts
H.33auto rental contracts
H.32universal school breakfast and lunch for all public school student: 
H.31extending merger benefits to school districts that were involuntarily merged under the State Board of Education’s Act 46 merger order
H.30the study and design of a long-term care trust fund
H.29notifying prospective employees of ineligibility for unemployment insurance benefits
H.28the basic needs budget and livable wage
H.27health and safety warnings on consumer products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances
H.26restrictions on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other chemicals of concern in consumer products
H.25evaluating the sale of Long-Term Care Partnership policies
H.24coverage for complementary and alternative health care services
H.23administering stem cell products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
H.22requiring that at least one member of the Green Mountain Care Board be a health care professional
H.21prohibiting licensed midwives from performing home births after cesarean delivery
H.20pretrial risk assessments and pretrial services
H.19competency to stand trial
H.18sexual exploitation of children
H.17physician expert witnesses in medical malpractice actions
H.16the sale and use of fireworks
H.15the use of pesticide chlorpyrifos and the herbicides glyphosate and atrazine
H.14the effectiveness of the beverage container redemption system
H.13shared parental rights and responsibilities and equal parent-child contact
H.12the implementation of an electronic roll-call system in the Vermont House of Representatives
H.11the removal of the pilings of Bridge 308
H.10permitted candidate expenditures
H.9the definition of agricultural land for the purposes of use value appraisals
H.8establishing a maximum speed limit of not more than 55 miles per hour on limited access facilities
H.7the Forensic Mental Health Working Group
H.6group net metering rates and projects
H.5hearing protection while hunting
H.4the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos
H.3the land application of sludge and septage
H.2an integrated mental health budget
H.1mental health insurance benefits

A joint House/Senate hearing to receive the canvassing report of election of state officers will be held at 10 am today. The Governor will be sworn in at 1 pm. His annual State of the State address will be at 2 pm.

6 replies »

  1. 1/7/2021 Our State legislators are at it again;none of these bill’s proposals will help Vermonters with failing farms,businesses,home,restaurants etc,they only infringe on our constitutional freedoms and make big government bigger ,and we don’t have more money to pay more taxes!!

  2. As for Governor Scott blaming President Trump for the riots yesterday1/6/2021,those people that caused the riots were obviously not Trump supporters,and Governor Scott would be better advised to help the citizens of Vermont recover our restaurants,homes,businesses,farms and social lives before people are further depressed faithless, and angry,government can do a much better job to those they are to represent,our constitutional rights!!

    • I totally agree with your assumption of the FACTS on what happened at the Capital…..we are not going to be told
      The truth by the Dems….unfortunately

  3. Holy cow! Looked for the Bill that tells us what to eat for breakfast and how long to brush our teeth; must have just overlooked it as the list is so long.

  4. more tax and spend by our state legislature, meanwhile restaurants and other small businesses will bear the burden of almost a year of limited income, from being locked down , while big box retailers are allowed no revenue loss, but that’s fine to our government, small business will still have to pay all relevant business taxes. while the state continues its endless spending spree

  5. Wow, I never thought removing pilings would require an act of legislation, perhaps VTTRANS could just get’r done

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