Senators to have hearing for new education secretary, $130 million for capital repairs, and more 

By Michael Bielawski

This week lawmakers in the Senate will have a hearing for a new education secretary, $130 million for capital building repairs, and more. Agendas published weekly on the Legislature’s website are subject to change. The agenda for all the committees can be seen here.

Over $130 million for capital construction – H. 882 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Appropriations) Sponsored by the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions.

This deals with “capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment.” The bill deals with purchases and improvements of state buildings and properties. It will cost the taxpayers $130,606,224 at the current estimate.

Saving bees at what cost? – H. 706 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Appropriations) Sponsored by Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, P/D-Middletown Springs.

This is to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. It states, “This bill proposes to prohibit the sale, offer for sale or use, distribution, or use of any neonicotinoid treated article seed for soybeans or for any crop in the cereal grains crop group. The bill would also prohibit the application or treatment with a neonicotinoid pesticide for multiple other uses.”

FarmProgress.com has an estimate for how much it could cost nationally to make the switch away from neonicotinoids to other systems of pest control.

They wrote, “Currently, based on surveys of roughly 1,500 growers in the United States and Canada, growers of corn, soybean, and canola place a value on neonics at $1.5 billion. We ran some larger models and found that if we must make the transition to a non-neonic future, consumers — largely those buying corn, soybeans, and poultry and livestock — would have a bill of some $4.5 billion. Prices would have to rise and those would be passed to the consumers.”

The bill is to be introduced and possibly voted on in a single meeting.

Secretary of Education Confirmation Hearing (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Education)

Zoie Saunders, a former charter school executive from Florida, is the candidate.

She wrote in a letter back in April, “Working collaboratively, I’m confident that we can turn challenges into opportunities and provide every child in Vermont with pathways to a bright future, every educator with support and resources to grow in their profession, and every district leader with the empowerment and trust to lead.

Much of the Vermont press has picked on her experience working with Charter Schools USA for seven years. Seven Days wrote, “They say those schools, which are not currently allowed in Vermont, circumvent public oversight, siphon off tax dollars, and are antithetical to the system of education in the Green Mountain State.”

Education spending reform? – H. 887 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Education) Sponsored by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

This is to “Set the property dollar and income dollar equivalent yields for the purpose of setting homestead tax rates and proposes to set the non-homestead property tax rate. This bill further proposes to make several changes to the education finance system, education spending, education taxes, property valuation, and taxes over the next three years.”

The bill creates a new Cloud tax, a short term rental tax, and sets a 15% statewide property tax on homesteads and an 18% SWPT on non-homesteads, including businesses, apartment houses, and second homes. It does not offer or recommend education spending cuts, although it creates a 21-person panel to consider future education funding reform.

30 school budgets were voted down on Town Meeting Day this year, roughly a third of all state school budgets. As of early last week, 14 had held second votes and all but two failed.

Vote on school construction money? – H. 871 (Wednesday, Senate Committee on Education) Sponsored by the House Committee on Education.

This is to “create the State Aid for School Construction Working Group to study and design a plan for a statewide school construction aid program.”

It would also require creating a list of prequalified architecture and engineering consultants and forming a Facilities Master Plan Grant Program to aid schools in their long-term building upkeep plans.

Government accountability – H. 702 (Thursday, Senate Committee on Government Operations) Sponsored by Rep. Jessica Brumsted, D-Shelburne, and others.

This is “An act relating to legislative operations and government accountability.” It will create a committee for oversight of legislative activity. It further states, “The Committee shall examine the possible reasons for any failure of government oversight and provide findings and tangible recommendations to standing committees of jurisdiction to prevent future failures.”

The bill grew out of legislative leaders’ frustration that the rest of state government was not adequately carrying out legislative priorities and requirements.

According to the Pew Research Center, Americans’ trust in government institutions is at an all-time low following a further dip during the years of COVID-19.

They wrote, “Public trust in the federal government, which has been low for decades, has returned to near record lows following a modest uptick in 2020 and 2021. Currently, fewer than two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (1%) or “most of the time” (15%). This is among the lowest trust measures in nearly seven decades of polling.”

Officers’ Code of Conduct – H. 872 (Friday, Senate Committee on Government Operations) Sponsored by the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs.

This is “An act relating to miscellaneous updates to the powers of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and the duties of law enforcement officers.”

It states, “The Council shall create, implement, and modify by rule a statewide policy known as the Law Enforcement Officers’ Code of Conduct or Code. This Code effectuates the principle that law enforcement officers serve the communities of Vermont and protect all persons against illegal acts in a manner consistent with the high degree of responsibility and respect for human dignity required by the profession.”

Overdoses a formal public emergency – J.R.S. 44 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Health and Welfare) Sponsored by Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, and others.

This is a “Joint resolution declaring the increasing number of drug overdose deaths in Vermont to be a public health emergency.”

Part of the declaration states, “Whereas, the number of Vermonters who have perished due to drug overdoses, be they designated as accidental or undetermined, continues to accelerate, rising from 42 in 2010 to 264 in 2022 and representing a 500 percent increase over this time frame.”

Gun Serialization – S. 209 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Judiciary) Sponsored by Sen. Richard Sears Jr., D-Bennington, and others.

This is, “An act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms and unserialized firearms frames and receivers.”

What happens at the Supreme Court of the United States may impact its proceedings as the highest court announced on Monday they would examine the legality of unserialized or “ghost guns.”

Keep Vermont Safe reported when gun rights advocate John Lott testified to this same committee. He concluded, “The bottom line is that these policies haven’t produced any crime-reducing benefits and I think the main reason why they are pushed is that when you have serialization it’s eventually possible to go and confiscate.”

Reshuffling of power over the judicial branch? – H. 780 (Wednesday, Senate Committee on Judiciary) Sponsored by Rep. Martin Lalonde, D-South Burlington, and Rep. Barbara Rachelson, D-Burlington.

“An act relating to judicial nominations and appointments.” It creates a Judicial Nominating Board and various public leaders get to choose its members.

The Executive Director of Racial Equity, or a designee, would join. The House and the Senate also would each pick three members. Attorneys at law admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Vermont will get to select three.

This compares to existing law which is 4 V.S.A. § 601. The governor picks two, and the House, the Senate, and attorneys at law admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Vermont each get three picks for a total of 11 for the Judicial Nominating Board.

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle