Now that Proposal 5 has cleared its final hurdle in the Legislature, it’s campaign season.
The House last week gave its final OK to Prop 5, a proposed amendment to the state constitution enshrining the right to reproductive, contraceptive and abortion services in Vermont.
With lawmakers on board, Prop 5 proponents said during a Wednesday news conference they’re turning their attention to voters, and they have until November to make their case.
Should Prop 5 prevail at the ballot box, Vermont would be the first state in the country to add such language to its state constitution. But proponents hope it won’t be the last.
Lucy Leriche, vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund, said Wednesday that she hopes Vermont voters approve the amendment and “pave the way for other states to do the same,” which could send a signal on the public’s view on the issue of abortion and contraception access.
Jessica Arons, a senior advocacy & policy counsel for ACLU National, further argued Prop 5’s passage could make Vermont a haven for services less accessible in nearby states, “like your neighbors in New Hampshire.”
As the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on a case directly challenging the Roe v. Wade precedent, abortion access in the U.S. could become a patchwork system, with laws differing state by state.
“What we’re witnessing right now, and have been for some time, is a tale of two countries,” Arons said. “Approximately half the states are poised to ban abortion if the Supreme Court lets them, while others, like Vermont, are trying to protect and ensure access to abortion care.”
As Prop 5 proponents gear up for campaign season, so do its opponents. Mary Hahn Beerworth, executive director of the Vermont Right to Life Committee, told VTDigger last week that she and other opponents are rallying their base in hopes of defeating the amendment at the polls.
“We’re not afraid of the fight at all. In fact, we relish in it,” she said.
— Sarah Mearhoff
IN THE KNOW
The House postponed action Wednesday on H.157, the residential contractor registry bill, until April 20. Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the bill last week, saying the measure was unnecessary and would unduly burden smaller businesses.
“We think that there may be a path forward in continued negotiations on this bill,” said Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, chair of the House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs. “We’d like to have time to consider that before we consider overriding the veto.”
— Lola Duffort
House lawmakers on Wednesday gave preliminary approval via voice vote to H.556, a bill exempting Vermont’s four legally recognized Native American tribes from state and local property taxes.
The Joint Fiscal Office estimates the bill will cost the state’s Education Fund and municipal governments a negligible amount — less than $9,000 a year total — in foregone revenue.
— Lola Duffort
At a forum held Tuesday by Renewable Energy Vermont, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham; Lt. Gov. Molly Gray; and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden, answered questions about their priorities in national climate policy and their commitment to advocating for local renewable energy.
Balint focused on expanding renewables in the state, promoting a Green New Deal and messaging climate policy more effectively to conservatives.
Ram, also a proponent of a Green New Deal, focused on bolstering the country’s electric grid to handle new renewable energy, her work in environmental justice policy and developing a workforce to carry out an expansion in renewables.
Gray focused on workforce development, reducing misinformation about climate change and increasing equitable participation in climate policymaking.
— Emma Cotton
Vermonters on average have been waiting for two months or longer to see a medical specialist, according to a new report from the Scott administration.
The long-awaited report from the Agency of Human Services revealed that half of the medical specialties in Vermont were booked ahead for weeks or even months, even before the most recent surge of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Dermatology and neurology patients on average waited the longest — more than three months, according to the data. And, at more than three months, the University of Vermont Medical Center’s average wait times were the highest in the state. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, another large regional player that cares for a significant number of Vermonters, had an average wait time of almost two months.
The report is the first publicly available analysis of what appears to be a profound gap in the state’s health care infrastructure.
The state probe began in September after Seven Days reported that patients were waiting weeks, and even months, to see specialists at the University of Vermont Medical Center, the largest hospital in Vermont.
— Liora Engel-Smith
A new bill would protect migrant workers who participate in court proceedings from being arrested at the courthouse for federal immigration offenses.
If passed, S.140 would prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making civil arrests in and around courthouses.
“Our immigrant community is afraid of going to courts in this state because of the fear of being arrested,” said Olga Cruz, a dairy worker who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. She spoke in Spanish with Will Lambek, a representative from the nonprofit advocacy group Migrant Justice, translating.
“When you have to go to court, you aren’t even thinking about what the judge might say to you,” Cruz said. “All you’re thinking about is if an immigration agent is going to arrest you when you leave.”
— Ethan Weinstein
Approximately 245 Vermonters each month use the suicide prevention hotline 1-800-273-TALK, said Alison Krompf, deputy commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, in a presentation to the House Health Care committee Wednesday.
That number has been increasing over the past few months, she said. The department expects usage will increase substantially — to about 500 calls per month — once the hotline shifts to 988, a new national number Congress created in 2020.
The number of Vermonters who died by suicide also increased in 2021, Krompf told the committee. At least 141 people in Vermont died by suicide last year, plus an estimated nine additional fatalities where the cause has not yet been officially determined.
Once the data is finalized, “2021 is going to be the worst we’ve seen in a really long time,” Krompf said in Wednesday’s meeting.
In 2020, there were 117 deaths by suicide in Vermont, according to Department of Health data. That was an increase from 109 the previous year.
— Riley Robinson
ON THE MOVE
H.628, which would allow people to more easily amend their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity, is officially on its way to the Senate. The measure passed the House on third reading Wednesday on a voice vote, with no new amendments.
— Lola Duffort
COVID CORNER
The Vermont Department of Health reported 52 people were hospitalized for Covid-19 as of Wednesday — the lowest number since the end of December.
Vermont officials said Tuesday that the rate of patients newly admitted for Covid has declined as well. But intensive care usage has dropped more slowly. As of Wednesday, 15 people were in intensive care with the virus, about the same as in the past week.
— Erin Petenko
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Chef Bryant Palmer promises “wicked good” shepherd’s pie on Thursday — “you can quote me on that.” Cafeteria aficionados can also opt for a Reuben.
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT’S ON TAP
THURSDAY, FEB. 17
8:30 a.m. — Senate Natural Resources plans to mark up and possibly vote on S.148, an act relating to environmental justice in Vermont.
2:30 p.m. — Senate Education will get an update from Health Commissioner Mark Levine on lead and PCB testing in schools.
2:45 p.m. — Senate Government Operations will hear more testimony on S.155, which would create an Agency of Public Safety. Time permitting, it is also scheduled to discuss S.250, an act relating to enhanced administrative and judicial accountability of law enforcement officers.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Vermont offered free rapid Covid tests to child care centers. Why are some opting out? (VTDigger)
Public weighs in on controversial hunting, wildlife bills (VTDigger)
Resettlement agency announces first group of Afghan refugees has arrived in Rutland (VTDigger)
