The definition of insanity, Rep. Barbara Rachelson reminded me this week, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I had called her about H.143 — the fourth bill, we determined, that the Burlington Democrat has introduced over the past seven years proposing a host of new regulations on towing companies in Vermont.
Rachelson is the first to acknowledge that her earlier efforts have made little headway. But she is, to use her word, persistent — and said she plans to keep at it until something gets done.
“Since 2016, I’ve watched other states pass these reforms as my towing bill stayed on the wall,” she told the House Committee on Transportation on Thursday. “Towers have a lobbyist. Consumers do not.”
Rachelson said she has collected story after story from people who report being taken advantage of by local towing companies — or at least charged “exorbitant” fees to get their vehicles back. In most cases, she said, companies are following state law. It’s just that the law, in her view, was not written for people with lower incomes.
Among other measures, Rachelson wants to cap the rates that companies can charge to tow and store a vehicle. (Right now, state law sets a $40 limit for vehicles only if they are towed from public spaces — and the Senate has passed a bill this session that would triple that cap.) She also wants to direct some of the money towing companies can make selling an abandoned vehicle to the state and, possibly, the vehicle’s owner.
Rachelson is also seeking to bar towing companies from “patrolling” private parking lots for vehicles to tow, and require that they document any damage to a vehicle before or after towing it. And she wants more stringent requirements for notifying people that their vehicle has been towed and explaining how they can get it back.
Rachelson told the transportation committee that she would at least like to see some of these measures added into the miscellaneous motor vehicle bill, S.99. The committee’s chair, Rep. Sara Coffey, D-Guilford, responded that the panel did not plan to formally take up H.143, but was open to discussing some of Rachelson’s proposals further.
The Vermont Towing Association didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Rachelson pointed committee members to a 2021 report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which counted Vermont among the five states with the fewest legal protections against predatory towing practices.
She said she doesn’t want to make towers’ jobs more difficult, noting the gig can be grueling.
“I’m hoping that the towers know I’m not out to get them,” Rachelson told me. “But we need to shore up the practices that our current laws allow.”
— Shaun Robinson
IN THE KNOW
Representatives of a state health equity advisory group came to the Statehouse on Wednesday morning to ask for what they had advocated for two years ago: dedicated funding and staff to address health disparities among different groups of Vermonters.
Members of the Health Equity Advisory Commission, created through legislation in 2021, sought help from lawmakers during a joint session of the House and Senate health committees. They want to secure a yearly appropriation of $1.57 million, starting with the 2024 fiscal year budget, which has passed the House and is now in the Senate.
— Kristen Fountain
ON THE MOVE
H.89, the House’s abortion and gender affirming care “shield law,” is heading to the Senate floor for a vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 4-1 to advance the bill, teeing it up for a floor vote next week. Sen. Robert Norris, R-Franklin, cast the lone ‘no’ vote.
H.89 would protect Vermont health care providers from investigation, interrogations, subpoenas, extradition or arrest by out-of-state entities should that doctor provide reproductive care to a patient who traveled to Vermont from a state where such care is illegal. But proponents of the bill have made it clear that there’s relatively little Vermont can do beyond its own borders.
Over in the House, the health care committee is slated to vote on S.37, H.89’s companion bill, on Friday. The legislation aims to protect Vermont providers from professional repercussions for providing abortions. It also cracks down on crisis pregnancy centers for what lawmakers have deemed deceptive advertising.
Outside of the Statehouse this week, a legal battle over abortion access has ensued as federal courts have weighed in on the unprecedented question: Can a federal judge revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of two medications used in tandem to conduct an abortion, more than 20 years after it was first put on the market?
Legally, it’s been a roller coaster, with contradictory rulings issued within days, hours or even minutes of one another. As of Thursday evening, access to the drug in Vermont remains status quo.
Lucy Leriche, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s vice president of Vermont public affairs, told VTDigger Thursday that inside the Statehouse, there’s not much to be done on the mifepristone fight.
“Here’s another irony, right? When the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs and overturned Roe v. Wade almost a year ago, their rationale was that these decisions should be made at the state level,” Leriche said. “And here we are.”
— Sarah Mearhoff
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, appears to be feeling the cabin fever.
“Good morning,” he opened the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Thursday. “It’s a beautiful day outside, but we’re here in this committee room.”
Honestly, same.
— Sarah Mearhoff
FALSE ALARM
Fire alarms went off in the Statehouse a little after 11 a.m. this morning and sent lawmakers, lobbyists and the like scrambling from the building.
Montpelier fire crews were on scene within minutes and quickly determined the problem: a faulty sprinkler system in the cafeteria, which “sensed that water was flowing through it but it actually wasn’t,” according to Lt. Nick Bresette of the Montpelier Fire Department.
Everyone was back by lunchtime. All’s well that ends well.
— Lola Duffort
WHAT WE’RE READING
As federal courts duel over an abortion pill’s legality, access in Vermont hangs in the balance
(VTDigger)
Vermont creamery to customers: Please return our glass bottles (VTDigger)
Vermont Needs More Green Power, but Locals Resist Large Projects. Where Should Our Energy Come From? (Seven Days)
