The Vermont Attorney General’s Office sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Missouri-based company Wednesday evening after several lawmakers complained to Capitol police that they received a string of aggressive phone calls and voicemail messages in the middle of the night.
It was “not too hard to Google” and to connect several of the calls to Eli Karabell of Karabell Industries, Capitol Police Chief Matthew Romei said. The department received complaints of disturbing calls from more than 10 lawmakers last week, Romei said.
A district court banned Karabell from conducting business in Idaho last week after he fraudulently invoiced an Idaho state senator for $480 million, according to Boise State Public Radio.
Accounts shared by Vermont lawmakers brought a certain meme to mind (“We’re trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty,” anyone?).
Rep. Becca White, D-Hartford, said she’s received many calls to her personal cellphone — including at 3 a.m. — from a number with a Chicago area code over the past two weeks. One morning she woke up to eight voicemails that got “progressively more aggressive,” she said.
“By the last voicemail, he’s like, ‘You’re the seven deadly sins of politics,’” White recalled.
Rep. Mollie Burke, P/D-Brattleboro, said her husband had to unplug their corded landline at home last week after someone repeatedly called to say they hated her and her political party.
VTDigger has not independently verified the source of any of the calls legislators described.
Rep. Samantha Lefebvre, R-Orange, was recently woken up between midnight and 1 a.m. by multiple phone calls from an aggressive caller asking about her campaign, she said. She said she couldn’t recall the caller’s company name, but they were loud enough to wake her husband and son.
“I asked them if they knew it was almost 1 am,” Lefebvre described via email, “and that’s when they said, ‘yes, is this not convenient?’”
— Riley Robinson
IN THE KNOW
The Senate Judiciary Committee is stuck on a bill that would end police officers’ qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects public servants from litigation for action taken on the job.
After hours of testimony on S.254 over the course of several hearings, senators appeared to reach a stalemate Tuesday. And for the next two weeks, it looks like edits to the bill will be drafted behind closed doors.
Some committee members questioned if now is a good time to meddle with police officers’ legal protections, citing law enforcement groups’ claims of widespread low morale among officers and difficulty filling departments’ open positions. The bill, they argued, could be read as anti-cop.
Supporters of the bill say that it’s not about being against law enforcement but rather opening up a legal path for victims of police brutality when it does happen. Currently, S.254 supporters say the qualified immunity precedent makes it too difficult to get a civil case against a police officer in front of a judge in the first place.
After weeks of testimony, Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who is leading the bill, asked his colleagues to consider: “Is there a problem? And then the second question is, if there is one, does S.254 help solve that problem?”
For Sears, the answer to the first question is yes, and he sees S.254, in some form, as a solution.
For Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden: “I wouldn’t have co-sponsored this bill if I didn’t believe that there was a problem. And I wouldn’t have co-sponsored the bill if I didn’t believe it was a good starting point for a discussion about what kind of bill might fill that need.”
For Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham: “I think there is a problem. I don’t know how we solve it.”
For Sen. Alice Nitka, D-Windsor: “I think this goes too far at this point.”
And then there’s Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia: “I don’t tend to agree there’s a problem.”
For now, Sears told committee members that they would take two weeks off from hearing testimony on the bill and get back to it after working on a redraft with Legislative Counsel.
— Sarah Mearhoff
The Senate Government Operations Committee has again punted on S. 171, which would establish Vermont’s first statewide code of ethics. Vermont remains one of five states in the country that does not have such a doctrine for its public officials.
Lawmakers during Wednesday’s hearing seemed wrapped up in what exceptions and amendments should be made from a code of ethics for certain officials, if any at all. Some liked the idea of making the bill simple and universal, while others such as Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, said they didn’t want to legislate unintended consequences then have to wait a year to amend legislation.
Christina Sivret, the executive director of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, encouraged the committee members Wednesday to get a move on with a bill so it can at least get one floor vote to “take this draft and bring it to a bigger audience.”
“You know, ethics is in the news right now … and in this election year, I do think the voters and the public would appreciate really seeing where their representatives stand when it comes to ethics,” she said.
White, who chairs the committee, concluded the hearing saying they would hopefully move forward with the bill Tuesday.
— Sarah Mearhoff
ON THE MOVE
The Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would create a statewide registry of rental units. S.210 would also take inspecting rentals out of the hands of volunteer-run town health offices and instead charge the state’s Department of Public Safety with the task.
A handful of cities in Vermont have formal rental inspection programs with professional code enforcers. But an estimated 55,000 units exist in municipalities where mostly unpaid health officers with little formal training conduct inspections on behalf of complainants.
“We want residents of rental housing — often our lowest-income, most vulnerable residents — to have safe, healthy and code-compliant apartments,” Senate Majority Leader Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, said while reporting the bill on the virtual Senate floor.
— Lola Duffort
The House passed the child tax credit bill, H.510, by voice vote Wednesday afternoon. The bill, a $50 million tax cut package, will now proceed to the Senate for consideration.
— Riley Robinson
The House Human Services Committee unanimously voted H.628 out of committee on Wednesday. The bill would allow Vermonters to self-attest their gender identity to amend their birth certificate. Documents created in the amendment process would be exempted from public records requests to protect the individual’s privacy.
— Riley Robinson
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Former House Appropriations Chair Kitty Toll, who is now running for lieutenant governor, has argued from the start that money is her strong suit. And on Wednesday, her campaign was the first to self-report fundraising numbers: $75,000 in the first five days.
That’s a lot for an LG race, but we don’t know how many individuals gave to the Danville Democrat — or who they are. That kind of information was not available from the campaign Wednesday.
The fundraising filing deadline for state candidates is March 15.
— Lola Duffort
ON THE FIFTH FLOOR
The weather forecast might make you feel like summer is forever away, but (rejoice!) it always sneaks up faster than you think. So Vermont nonprofits, municipalities and child care providers can start applying for $4.8 million in grants to help fund after-school and summer programs.
Gov. Phil Scott and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a joint statement Wednesday said applications are open for the summers of 2022 and 2023, as well as the 2022-23 school year. The grants are designed to “reduce gaps in our current summer and after school system by addressing affordability, increasing availability, building long-lasting partnerships to promote sustainability, and piloting innovative approaches,” Scott and Sanders said.
— Sarah Mearhoff
IN CONGRESS
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and four of his bipartisan Senate colleagues on Wednesday introduced the Senate’s companion to the U.S. House-approved Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization. If passed, this year’s reauthorization would be valid through 2026.
Along with provisions included in previous versions of the Violence Against Women Act, Leahy’s office said this year’s reauthorization includes bolstered rape prevention and education efforts, support for trauma-informed legal services and law enforcement responses, and expansions to programs designed for diverse, rural and LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence.
“The programs that VAWA supports make a real difference to these survivors and to their families,” Leahy said in Wednesday’s release. “We owe it to them to get this bill signed into law without delay.”
— Sarah Mearhoff
ZOOM OF THE DAY
Happy Hump Day from Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who opened this morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing saying, “Good morning. This is the Senate Judiciary Committee. The date is — you know what day it is.”
Sears’ tired tone reminds me of this commentary: “February is the worst month of the year, but it’s an honest month.”
February is the worst month of the year and this man is wonderful pic.twitter.com/vV73ZF2Qn4
— Alexis Benveniste (@apbenven) February 4, 2022
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
The cafeteria will offer American chop suey, or American goulash, on Thursday, with elbow noodles, beef and a tomato sauce, chef Bryant Palmer said.
According to Google, American goulash is also referred to as “slumgullion,” which is just a delightful, delicious word to say out loud. Enjoy.
— Riley Robinson
WHAT’S ON TAP
THURSDAY, FEB. 10
9 a.m. — House Health Care and Senate Health and Welfare will hear from the Green Mountain Care Board on the Hospital Sustainability Report (to be streamed via the House Health Care link).
10 a.m. — House Education will hear from Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont.
5:30 p.m. — Senate Natural Resources and Energy will hold a public hearing on three different fish and wildlife bills (S.129, S.201, S.281).
WHAT WE’RE READING
‘It was just a nightmare’: Vermont mother outraged over police response to teen in crisis (NBC)
South Burlington removes 1,000 acres from development (VTDigger)
Vermont-schooled Lindsey Jacobellis scores first U.S. 2022 Olympic gold medal (VTDigger)
