The role of the county sheriff has been under scrutiny in the Statehouse since the start of the session. This week, the sheriffs themselves came armed with ideas about how to bring more oversight to their offices.
Our avid readers are familiar with the litany of scandals by now: One sheriff was arrested on charges of sexual assault and unlawful restraint; another spent at least a third of the year outside Vermont; another gave himself and his entire staff bonuses amounting to $400,000, and yet another is fighting an assault charge for kicking a handcuffed man.
During a Tuesday hearing in the Senate Government Operations Committee, leaders of the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association and the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs offered their first concrete proposals in response to S.17, “an act relating to sheriff reform.”
Annie Noonan, the department’s labor relations and operations director, proposed that sheriffs establish a system for accruing vacation time and documenting time off.
“Those are just things that you would think would be occurring in terms of, you know, elected or appointed officials,” Noonan noted.
She suggested laying out under what circumstances sheriffs could give bonuses, and capping how much an employee can receive each year.
Noonan also brought up a new idea: whistleblower protection for sheriff department employees who report misconduct. She cited the two Franklin County deputies who are witnesses in the assault case against their new boss, Sheriff John Grismore.
As for state law that allows sheriffs to pocket 5% of their contract revenue — which the bill would eliminate — Noonan emphasized that some of this money ends up being rolled back into sheriffs’ departments and used for public service.
Essex County Sheriff Trevor Colby, who’d asked to speak before the committee, said legislators were correct to look into the sheriffs’ departments financial model: a mix of taxpayer dollars and revenue from contract work.
“You guys are on the right track, because this has been a mess for years,” Colby said, but added that he didn’t see an easy fix.
Vermont Sheriffs’ Association officials, meanwhile, suggested creating a sheriffs’ oversight commission that would mirror what the state police has in place. The body could review the internal investigation of sheriffs’ departments, Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux suggested.
After weeks of working on their proposals, the sheriffs’ representatives had so many on Tuesday that the committee ran out of time to hear them all.
— Tiffany Tan
IN THE KNOW
Last year, Vermont implemented anti-discrimination rules that private schools must follow if they want state money. Among them: In order to receive public tuition dollars, the head of school must sign a statement affirming that the institution in question will follow state anti-discrimination laws.
But now, a pair of religious schools are testing that rule. In applications to the state Board of Education last month, the heads of two Vermont Christian schools sought approval for tuition money — but hinted that they might not follow all of Vermont’s anti-discrimination laws.
— Peter D’Auria
The Vermont Senate postponed taking action on Judge Jennifer Barrett’s confirmation on Friday after a lawmaker asked to pause the process until more Black Vermonters could weigh in.
Senate confirmations are usually pro-forma affairs, but Barrett, a former Orleans County prosecutor, has faced unusual opposition following her nomination to the bench last August. The process was first slowed when the Senate Judiciary Committee held multiple hearings to accommodate testimony from Barrett’s detractors and supporters. It again stumbled Friday when the Senate decided to delay what would have been a final up-or-down vote.
— Lola Duffort
ON THE MOVE
The Senate gave unanimous but preliminary approval to its version of the mid-year budget true-up, or H.145, on Friday, with all 30 members voting to advance the bill. Here’s JFO’s rundown of all the relevant line items. The measure would partially extend emergency housing in hotels and motels until June 30, and proposals for amendments, on both sides of the issue, are likely to come Tuesday.
— Lola Duffort
State lawmakers in the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee unanimously voted Friday morning to advance legislation that’s been dubbed the “Affordable Heat Act,” which would establish a clean heat standard in Vermont.
Using a credit system, the clean heat standard would incentivize Vermonters to transition to heating and cooling systems that reduce carbon emissions. Weatherization projects, heat pumps, pellet stoves and some biofuels would be eligible for credits.
Meanwhile, entities that sell fossil fuel heat into the state would need to obtain credits over time, and those credits would be funneled into the clean heat marketplace.
— Emma Cotton
Aid-in-dying advocates spent more than 10 years trying to pass legislation that gave terminally ill Vermonters the right to end their lives. A bill that would expand that right to out-of-state residents just sailed through the Vermont House in 10 days.
Primary sponsor Rep. Rey Garofano, D-Essex Town, introduced H.190 on Feb. 7. It was approved overwhelmingly on a voice vote on Friday, with a similar response on preliminary approval the previous day.
“Currently, end-of-life care is the only health care in Vermont that requires that the patient be a resident of Vermont,“ said Garofano, presenting the bill on Thursday. She concluded saying there was no compelling reason “to distinguish this care as something other than health care.”
— Kristen Fountain
ON THE HILL
Vermont’s congressional delegation is demanding answers to the postal problems that have been plaguing a number of the state’s residents.
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., along with U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., sent letters to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and to the U.S. Postal Service board of governors, seeking information about prolonged postal service delays around Vermont.
“These delays are nothing short of life-threatening for Vermonters who rely on the Postal Service for prescription medication delivery,” the delegation wrote in a letter to DeJoy.
— Kate O’Farrell
WHAT WE’RE READING
Interim Newport prison leader steps down following union’s no confidence letter (VTDigger)
Viral TikTok Post Brings Delayed Fame to Montpelier Author (Seven Days)
Middlebury President Laurie Patton on divestment, diversity and resisting censorship (Vermont Conversation)
