By Michael Bielawski

The Senate passed a bill taking rule-making power away from the independent Fish & Wildlife Board. All 13 bills that have been passed in the past week can be seen here.

Bills that originated in the Senate now go to the House for review. 

Taking authority away from Fish & Wildlife Board – S. 258 Sponsored by Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, and others.

This bill would strip the Fish and Wildlife Department of its authority to shape policy. This after the Department and lawmakers got into a public feud over trapping and coyote hunting regulations when the Department accused lawmakers of acting as activists rather than objective lawmakers.

“This board has done more than its due diligence to support what the legislature asked us to do,” Fish & Wildlife board member Neal Hogan commented before a vote on coyote and trapping policies.

The language of the bill “proposes to transfer the authority to adopt rules for the taking of fish, wildlife, and fur-bearing animals from the Fish and Wildlife Board to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.” It also prohibits baiting coyotes or hunting them with dogs.

Who chooses the library books? – S. 220 Sponsored by Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, and others.

This bill requires public libraries to adopt policies governing the selection and reconsideration of library materials and prevents parents from knowing the library records for children over 12 years of age.

Libraries have become a public policy battleground when it comes to which books are being stocked. Lieutenant Gov. David Zuckerman has been on a “Banned Books” tour.

On his event description for this apparent activism promoted on a state website, it states, “Around the country, we have seen the proliferation of book challenges and bans by school districts and local governments. These bans often target books that feature LGBTQ+ characters; talk about gender and sexuality; highlight racial disparities; or talk about difficult issues such as substance abuse and cases of police violence. Students, teachers, and curious minds should be able to access materials that spark critical thinking, cover difficult topics, and appeal to diverse interests without fear of government interference.”

This has several more items that may shift power dynamics in library policy. It would “create the positions of School Library Consultant within the Agency of Education and Library Consultants within the Department of Libraries, authorize the Department of Libraries to issue Certificates of Public Librarianship based on a program of continuing education, incorporate public libraries into the public safety statutes governing schools and school property.”

It continues with more items including to “amend the governance structures and funding of public libraries.”

Tougher on hard drugs? – S. 58 Sponsored by Sen. Richard Sears Jr., D-Bennington, and others.

This bill seeks to adjust penalties for doing or dealing drugs. Some language seems to address scenarios where someone might unknowingly have or take an illicit drug.

It states, “This bill proposes to amend the definition of knowingly for purposes of liability in drug offenses; increase penalties for second and subsequent offenses for trafficking; in a prosecution for dispensing or selling a regulated drug with death resulting, prohibit using the fact that a substance contained more than one regulated drug from being a defense if the proximate cause of death is the use of the dispensed or sold substance containing more than one regulated drug.”

It continues with changes to sentencing. It calls to “require that the mandatory minimum sentences for subsequent trafficking offenses and dispensing or sale of a regulated drug with death resulting be served unless the court makes written findings on the record that such an alternative sentence will serve the interests of justice.”

Plan for disposal/reycling EV batteries – S. 254 Sponsored by Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, and others.

The question of what to do with giant EV car batteries (and all the other batteries society uses) is addressed in this bill.

Its language states, “On or before July 1, 2026, the Secretary of Natural Resources shall complete an assessment of the opportunities, challenges, and feasibility of establishing mandatory end-of-life management programs for the following battery types: (1) batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles; (2) battery energy storage systems; and (3) batteries that are not easily removable from the products they power.”

According to HotCars.com, there are already concerns about the growing number of EV batteries that will ultimately need to be disposed of. They state, “EV battery disposal is a pressing concern as recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries are still developing, leading to improper disposal that releases toxic chemicals and contributes to pollution and climate change.”

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle