By Michael Bielawski

This week lawmakers in the Senate will look at drafting an “Officers’ Code of Conduct”, to support adult education, bring more workers into the state, and more. Agendas published weekly on the Legislature’s website are subject to change. The agenda for all the committees can be seen here.

More police oversight? – H. 872 (Thursday, 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 that the Council will “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.”

Residents in Burlington voted down a Police Control Board in 2023 largely over concerns it would give policy makers too much control over policing.

Adult Education (Wednesday, Senate Committee on Education)

Catherine Kalkstein, Chair of the Adult Education and Literacy High School Completion Program Student Access Committee, and Brian Kravitz, the Development and Outreach Director for the Adult Education and Literacy Network, will speak.

According to the Brookings Institute, increasingly young adults need remedial education (catching up on high school material) before they start college-level courses. Their report states, “Students assigned to remediation may be required to take three or more remedial courses – which cost money, but do not confer college credit – before they can enroll in college-level coursework.”

Reflecting on the EB5 scandal (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs)

Lawmakers will hear from Michael Pieciak, the Vermont State Treasurer, and Doug Hoffer, the State Auditor. A new report has recently come out indicating that during the wide-scale investment fraud involving a federal immigrant worker program the state was deceived with misleading information but they also failed to take more initiative to stop fraud.

Millions of dollars were extracted from major development projects, resulting in convictions for Developers Ariel Quiros, William Stenger, and William Kelly in federal court.

Bringing in workers – H. 10 (Wednesday, Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs) Sponsored by Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro, and Rep. Michael Marcotte, R-Coventry.

This bill would create a nine-member Vermont Economic Development Council. Responsibilities would include “adopt and make publicly available a policy governing conflicts of interest that meets or exceeds the requirements of the State Code of Ethics.”

It should also “engage in a strategic planning process and produce a report on the purposes and performance of current State-funded economic development incentive programs.”

Tourism Economy Day (Thursday, Joint Hearing of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs)

According to the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing, “Tourism in Vermont is a $3 billion industry that supports over 30,000 jobs (over 10% of Vermont’s workforce).”

There are 11 speakers invited or scheduled, including Heather Pelham, commissioner for the Department of Tourism & Marketing.

Land conservation – H. 687 (Friday, Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs) Sponsored by Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury, and Rep. Seth Bongartz, D-Manchester.

The bill states, “The purpose of this act is to further assist the State in achieving the conservation vision and goals for the State established in 10 V.S.A. §  2802 and 24 V.S.A. § 4302.”

10 V.S.A. §  2802 states, “It is the goal of the State that 30 percent of Vermont’s total land area shall be conserved by 2030, and 50 percent of the State’s total land area shall be conserved by 2050.”

Money for school buildings H. 871 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Education) Sponsored by House Committee on Education.

This is for “development of an updated State aid to school construction program.” It will create a working group tasked to “consider and make recommendations as to whether, and if so, how, the unique needs of different populations shall be taken into account in developing a statewide school construction aid program, including the following populations.”

There have been reports attempting to anticipate how much money is needed.

“In 2020, a group convened by the state’s association of school superintendents found that Vermont schools expected to spend roughly $565 million on construction and renovation in the coming years,” a 2023 report by VtDigger states.

Getting back to ethics – H. 875 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Government Operations) Sponsored by the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs.

According to the Vermont State Ethics Commission, “The bill, introduced by the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs, seeks to establish a municipal code of ethics that sets minimum statewide ethics standards and allows the State Ethics Commission to provide free advisory and training services to municipalities.”

According to its text, the bill “proposes to require that certain county officers both running for and holding office file financial disclosures. It proposes to modify disclosure requirements for certain elected officers both running for and holding office. It proposes to create penalties for delinquent disclosures for candidates for State office, county office, State Senator, and State Representative. It proposes to grant the State Ethics Commission powers to perform supplemental investigations and hearings and to issue warnings, reprimands, and recommended actions.”

The text continues with more initiatives including the creation of a uniform Municipal Code of Ethics.

Work visas ‘regardless of immigration status’ – H. 606 (Tuesday, Senate Committee on Government Operations) Sponsored by Rep. Esme Cole, D-Hartford, and others.

This deals with “professional licensure and immigration status.” It is “to enable individuals who meet the requirements for professional licenses to be granted those licenses regardless of their immigration status or lack thereof.”

The bill acknowledges that there may be some potential conflicts with federal law. It states, “If an applicant is required by State law to provide a Social Security number for the purpose of obtaining or maintaining a professional license under this title, the applicant may provide a federal employer identification number, an individual taxpayer identification number, or a Social Security number; provided, however, that an applicant shall provide a Social Security number if a federal law or an interstate compact of which the State is a member requires that an applicant provide a Social Security number to obtain or maintain a professional license.”

Truth and Reconciliation Commission – H. 649 (Wednesday, Senate Committee on Government Operations) Sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Burrows, D/P-West Windsor.

This seeks to “extend the time for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to complete its work by 10 months; to establish a panel with authority to fill vacancies on the Commission and to remove or reprimand commissioners for cause; to create certain exemptions from the Open Meeting Law.”

Open meeting law requires that public elected or created bodies meet in public view for transparency.

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle