[A] bill designed to “eradicate systemic racism within state government” received overwhelming support in the House Tuesday.
Representatives voted 140-2 in favor of the latest version of S.281, which calls for the creation of a new, cabinet-level administrator who would work with an advisory panel to identify and reform racism in Vermont government.
The House revision weakens the powers of the director and the advisory panel in an effort to promote collaboration. Nevertheless, supporters said the bill is a big step forward.
“I am moved and proud of the statement this body has made,” said Rep. Kevin “Coach” Christie, D-White River Junction. “Today, we have made history.”
But the two dissenters – Reps. Mike Hebert, R-Vernon, and Warren van Wyck, R-Ferrisburgh – said they see no need to create new governmental positions to combat racism.
“Do I think that there are racist people in Vermont? Yes,” Van Wyck said. “Do I believe that there is systemic (racism)? That’s a stretch for me.”
The debate over S.281 comes as state officials have been forced to confront allegations of racism at the state psychiatric hospital. The Vermont Human Resources Department also has disclosed that there were 35 complaints and investigations of racial discrimination or harassment by state employees over the past five years.
Statistics show that the makeup of state government is persistently, overwhelmingly white: There was only 3.7 percent minority representation in the state workforce in fiscal year 2017, up from 3.2 percent in fiscal 2014.
In introducing the bill on the House floor Tuesday, Rep. John Gannon, D-Wilmington, listed more statistics to back up the premise of S.281. He said state workers who are black are more than twice as likely to voluntarily leave state employment than their white counterparts.
“Even more troubling, employees of color are three times more likely than white employees to be terminated,” Gannon said. “And when it comes to pay, state workers of color make 10 percent less on average than white workers.”
Gannon also documented racial disparities in Vermont’s incarceration rates and in interactions with law enforcement, among other issues.
And he sought to more clearly define the kinds of racism contemplated in S.281. Systemic racism, Gannon said, is “about all of the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions that harm certain racial groups and help others.”
“It is less about violence than it is about everyday decisions made by people who may not even think of themselves as racist,” he said.
The House’s bill says the state must hire an executive director of racial equity who would “oversee a comprehensive organizational review to identify systemic racism in each of the three branches of state government.”
The director then would work with other state officials to “develop best practices for remediating systemic racial disparities throughout state government.”
There also is a five-member Racial Equity Advisory Panel that would work with and advise the director.
The House made some key changes in S.281. The Senate’s version said the director, then called the “chief civil rights officer,” would work independently of the governor’s cabinet and would be appointed by the advisory panel.
In contrast, the House’s bill says the governor would appoint the executive director of racial equity, who would work “collaboratively” with the cabinet.
The latest revision of S.281 also differs from the Senate version in that it does not give the director the power to subpoena or otherwise require production of records.
When the House Government Operations Committee made those changes last month, Gannon said the idea was that, “if we really want to address systemic racism in state government, it needs to be a collaborative approach.”
Aside from a question about whether Government Operations Committee members took union testimony on the bill – Gannon said they did not – there was little debate before Tuesday’s vote.
Christie, who chairs the Vermont Human Rights Commission, called for his colleagues to “open our arms and embrace the work of this bill.” He also called for a roll call vote.
The result left Van Wyck and Hebert as the only “no” votes, though some lawmakers were absent.
Van Wyck said he was not impressed by Gannon’s statistics regarding racial disparities. In an interview after the vote, he said state employees who believe they have encountered racism can take their case to the Human Rights Commission.
“I believe we have justice when people are handled as individuals,” Van Wyck said. “Aggregating statistics tend to have misleading interpretations.”
Hebert also noted the work of the Human Rights Commission and questioned the need for a new cabinet position.
“We have to recognize there is racism everywhere,” Hebert said in an interview. “It does exist. And to deny that would be ludicrous. But to establish another bureaucracy ….”
Hebert said he believed there would have been more votes against S.281 if not for the roll call. “Votes like this are very, very difficult for people because of the fear of, you’re going to be accused of being a racist,” he said.
“I’ve never been concerned that someone’s going to be accusing me of being a racist or anti-woman or anything like that, because I know those facts to be untrue in my life, so I’m comfortable with how I vote,” Hebert said.
S.281 requires one more House vote, which is scheduled for Wednesday. The bill then will return to the Senate due to the House’s amendments.
