Lawmakers in the House Committee on Agriculture and Forestry are moving ahead with discussions about proposed amendments to the state’s “right to farm” bill, even though the measure didn’t make it out of the Senate before the crossover deadline, and isn’t likely to pass this session.
The bill, S.268, would protect farmers against nuisance lawsuits, which is how some see a high-profile case that has played out in Addison County over the last several months. Landowners sued a neighboring farm, owned by the Vorsteveld family, asking them to address immense amounts of runoff that have flowed through their land and into Lake Champlain. A judge’s decision, reached Monday, requires the farmers to stop the runoff and address a strong smell coming from the farm. The solution will likely be expensive.
One of the farmers, Gerard Vorsteveld, was on hand to testify about his use of tile drainage, which lawmakers are presently considering separately from “right to farm.”
But at the end of his testimony, Vorsteveld asked lawmakers about that proposal. His family has implemented a number of environmentally focused practices on the farm, such as cover cropping, but it so far hasn’t stopped the deluge of muddy water running from their land into the lake.
“I think the only recourse I have to get away from this is building houses,” Vorsteveld said. “I don’t know who would farm this ground having this kind of stuff hanging over your head.”
“I don’t know what else I can do,” he told lawmakers, his voice breaking.
Lawmakers said during the committee meeting that they’ll likely take more testimony on the bill before the end of the session.
— Emma Cotton
IN THE KNOW
We’re hosting a debate!
Your favorite Statehouse scribblers, Lola Duffort and Sarah Mearhoff, will moderate a 90-minute debate among the four Democratic candidates for U.S. House: Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, former congressional staffer Sianay Chase Clifford, Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale.
It’s at 6 p.m. on April 13. (Put it on your GCal, folks!)
Here’s the link to register and submit your questions for the candidates.
This is the first event in the Digger Debate Series, leading up to the Aug. 9 primary election and the Nov. 8 general election. Future debates will focus on the races for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state. All events will be broadcast live and, with public health conditions permitting, we hope to hold future debates in person.
— Riley Robinson
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Vermont’s own Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, did not mince words in a House hearing Thursday on the latest version of S.254, the watered-down version of the Senate’s qualified immunity bill.
S.254 in its original form would have ended qualified immunity for police officers, but it failed to make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee after facing a “unified front” of opposition. The latest version of the bill commissions a report on the application of qualified immunity in the state, and codifies state Supreme Court precedent already in place.
Greenfield, who is also the co-chair of the National Campaign to End Qualified Immunity, called the bill as amended “a slap in the face.”
“When you pass a bill to study qualified immunity, you are proposing to study whether it’s right that police in Vermont can shoot first and think later,” he said. “Well, it’s not right.”
— Sarah Mearhoff
ON THE MOVE
Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of Brattleboro’s proposed charter change has prevailed, snuffing the town’s hopes of allowing teens to vote and run in municipal elections.
The Senate on Thursday failed to override Scott’s veto of H.361. Fifteen senators voted in favor of overriding the governor and 12 voted against doing so, but a two-thirds majority was required.
In 2019, more than two-thirds of Brattleboro voters approved a charter amendment that would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to vote and run in municipal elections.
— Sarah Mearhoff
After a bruising showdown between Democratic lawmakers and Vermont’s largest public-sector unions last year over the state’s growing pension shortfall ended in a stalemate, the Senate on Thursday unanimously advanced a compromise bill brokered with labor leaders.
S.286 would enact into law a set of recommendations put forward by a special task force composed of lawmakers and representatives from the state employees and teachers unions. Both sides will contribute more, but the deal is expected to cut the state’s future debts by about $1.7 billion, according to the treasurer’s office.
“This is a major win for Vermont public employees and for Vermont taxpayers. This is also a result that many thought impossible,” Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, said in a statement released shortly after the chamber adjourned.
— Lola Duffort
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Lt. Gov. Molly Gray has tested positive for Covid-19.
Gray, who is running for Vermont’s lone seat in the U.S. House, announced on Twitter that she tested positive for the virus Thursday morning. She is vaccinated and boosted, she said, and is quarantining at home.
Gray visited the White House earlier this week to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and fellow lieutenant governors from throughout the country. Photos of the meetings show Gray and others without masks.
Gray also presided over the Vermont Senate on Wednesday in Montpelier and hosted students from Champlain College in her Statehouse office. She wore a mask in the Senate chamber, and photos of the meeting show her doing so in that setting, as well. Andrew Gillespie, her chief of staff, told VTDigger that “there were moments in her office when she removed her mask” on Wednesday.
The Legislature just this week relaxed its mask-wearing rules, making face coverings optional instead of mandatory in most areas within the Statehouse, with some exceptions.
Gillespie told VTDigger Thursday morning that Gray was experiencing mild cold-like symptoms.
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Tomorrow Chef Bryant Palmer will be serving up haddock, likely beer battered. Baked? Fried? He wouldn’t say. He wants to maintain some element of surprise. For sides, there will be roasted potatoes and spicy broccoli. (But not too spicy, he warned me. Apparently people complain when there’s too much spice. Come on, y’all.)
But don’t go just yet, because the grill offering tomorrow is kimchi tots: tater tots with kimchi on top, a cilantro-lime cream and a fried egg.
— Riley Robinson
WHAT WE’RE READING
Wastewater testing is the future. How should you interpret the data? (VTDigger)
Beta’s South Burlington expansion plan runs into turbulence (VTDigger)
Work is underway on a mountain bike trail traversing Vermont (VPR)
Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter included the wrong date for VTDigger’s U.S. House debate. It will take place on April 13 at 6 p.m.
