House and Senate leadership are holding firm: May 12, they insist, is when they’ll adjourn. And it seems rank-and-file lawmakers are taking them at their word.
Faithful Final Reading readers will know I love the Statehouse’s little gambling traditions (this is not a comment on the merits of sports betting legislation), and so earlier this week I visited Chris Ditmeyer, clerk associate in the House Clerk’s office and the keeper of the Legislature’s Adjournment Pool. For $2 a pop, Statehouse ghouls can place a bet on the date and time when they think the gavel will fall for good and we can all get out of here.
The most popular bets this year? May 12 and May 13.
The schedule is also speeding up. Conor Kennedy, chief of staff to House Speaker Jill Krowinski, said the House is going to be holding two full floor sessions a day (at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.) starting next week. On the Senate side, Ashley Moore, chief of staff to Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, said morning committee meetings will end starting May 5 so that floor sessions can commence at 10 a.m. each day.
Of course, all this hurrying doesn’t actually mean we’ll be done in May. Gov. Phil Scott stated in no uncertain terms today that he’ll veto the Affordable Heat Act, and more vetoes may be on the way for child care, the budget… am I forgetting anything?
And so the House and Senate are jointly preparing for a veto session from June 20-22, per leadership staff.
— Lola Duffort
IN THE KNOW
The Vermont Democratic Party has filed a complaint against the conservative broadcasting company True North Radio for failing to disclose alleged lobbying activity with the Secretary of State’s Office.
In February, True North Radio — which is affiliated with the conservative blog True North Reports — purchased dozens of spots from WCAX to air advertisements that appear to oppose the Affordable Heat Act, or S.5, just as lawmakers in Montpelier began hashing out details of the bill.
— Sarah Mearhoff
ON THE MOVE
By a 21-9 vote Friday, the Senate passed H.230, the Legislature’s most expansive gun control legislation in years.
If enshrined into law, H.230 would establish 72-hour waiting periods to obtain a new firearm, expand the scope of Vermont’s existing red flag law and put in place safe storage mandates — moves that proponents of the bill say will save lives, particularly those of Vermonters struggling with suicidal ideation.
Gun rights organizations have opposed the bill, alleging that it impedes Second Amendment rights, and Gov. Scott has voiced wariness, despite his high-profile signing of major gun control legislation in 2018. This year, the Republican governor has told reporters numerous times that he does not see a need for further restrictions on firearms.
Even with the threat of a court challenge or veto looming, senators proceeded with H.230’s passage on Friday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central — who is among the Statehouse’s most outspoken legislators on the matter of gun control — in a Friday afternoon statement lauded H.230 as “the most far-reaching and comprehensive gun safety legislation since S.55 was signed on the steps of the Vermont State House in 2018.”
“It will reduce suicides, it will reduce homicides, and it will not in any way infringe on self-defense, or traditional hunting and target shooting,” Baruth said. “Right now Vermont is the only state in New England without a law to prevent youth access to firearms — H.230 brings us in line with that regional consensus. Today’s strong vote is a signal that inaction on gun violence is no longer an option.”
— Sarah Mearhoff
The Vermont Senate advanced legislation Friday that would allow the state Agency of Transportation to sell or lease the Caledonia County State airport — only about a week after the proposal, which has met little opposition, was made public.
Senators included authorization to offload the small Lyndon airport in their version of this year’s omnibus transportation bill, to which they’ve now given preliminary approval. H.479 would clear the state to spend nearly $860 million on transportation projects such as roadway paving, bridge repairs, public buses and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Sen. Russ Ingalls, an Essex Republican whose district includes Lyndon, told colleagues Friday that local airport users have been “cautiously optimistic” about the potential sale, likely to a private entity.
— Shaun Robinson
ON THE FIFTH FLOOR
For the second year in a row, Gov. Phil Scott plans to veto a bill that would set up a clean heat standard, the biggest climate priority of Vermont’s legislative session.
“I will veto S.5, and I’m asking Vermonters, even the many who have already contacted their legislators, to make their voices heard and ask their representatives and senators to sustain this veto,” Scott wrote in a statement on Friday.
Both the House and the Senate have passed the bill, but it has not yet reached the governor’s desk.
Though a similar measure failed by a single vote to overcome Scott’s veto last May, lawmakers may have the votes this time. Both bodies would need a two-thirds majority of those present to make the bill law, should Scott exercise his veto power.
— Emma Cotton
LET HER IN
It was George Orwell who once wrote, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Today, I was reminded of the pigs’ grim proclamation in the 1945 classic Animal Farm as I watched a brave soldier for government transparency emerge from the passenger seat of Vermont State Employees Association executive director Steve Howard’s car.
Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, desperately wants to bring Laika, her 10-year-old Samoyed, to work. Reminiscent of a glorious cloud or oversized cotton ball, Vyhovsky insists that Laika has the ability to bring immense joy and comfort to Statehouse ghouls, especially in the final, stressful weeks of the session. She’s a certified therapy dog, for crying out loud!
But according to Statehouse policy, the doors of the so-called People’s House are apparently closed to good girls like Laika.
On Friday afternoon, Laika — named for a dog who made another impossible journey — paid a visit to the Statehouse lawn. After Dogsitter Howard’s drop-off, Laika ventured as closely to the Statehouse as she could, the doors beckoning from atop the hill with the promise of open democracy and perhaps some head scritches.
I asked Laika how she felt about being banished from the Capitol. At first, she demurred; sometimes it takes a moment for sources to feel comfortable opening up about tough subjects. But once she started talking, the words poured out.
“Woof woof,” she said, throwing her head back and standing on her hind legs, clearly overcome with emotion. “Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof.”
Laika proceeded to dig a baggie of treats out of Vyhovsky’s tote bag, spilling it open onto the ground in order to soothe herself with a snack. She then peed on the Statehouse lawn, perhaps in protest.
Sergeant at Arms Janet Miller confirmed to VTDigger Friday afternoon that only service dogs are allowed in the Statehouse.
Below, please find VTDigger’s imagined portrayal of what could be, if only Laika were allowed in.
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT WE’RE READING
Al Gobeille to leave University of Vermont Health Network (VTDigger)
Rutland nonprofit gives asylum-seekers a lifeline (VTDigger)
