Welcome back, Final Readers, after a weeklong respite from Statehouse antics. Are you feeling rested, renewed and ready to dive back into the nitty gritty of legislating?
Ready or not, here it comes. Lawmakers were back in the building on Tuesday, and just around the corner this Friday is Crossover Day, the due date for bills to advance out of their committee of origin.
That means this week will see a flurry of activity under the Golden Dome as committees hammer out the details of bills still “on the wall,” as they say. A multitude of high-priority pieces of legislation — on Act 250 reforms, digital privacy guardrails, school construction, flood recovery and more — will meet their Crossover Day fate.
But enough of all that! Let’s take some time to luxuriate in the afterglow of Town Meeting Break, which was undoubtedly more enjoyable for some than others. (Cough cough, school budget votes, anyone?)
We here at Final Reading dared to ask the question: What did you do with your one wild and precious week off?
Rep. Erin Brady, D-Williston, said she took the opportunity to catch up with her mom out of state, but the House Education Committee’s vice chair nevertheless spent Town Meeting Day glued to her phone following election results. She said her mom must have been thinking, “Aren’t you on vacation?”
Rep. Mary-Katherine Stone, D/P-Burlington, also traveled to spend time with family — but not for “a traditional vacation,” she told VTDigger.
“My family lives in Cairo,” she said of her travels to Egypt, which borders Gaza. “The state of the world made me feel like now was the time to see them. Things are very volatile and you should never take time with family for granted — but for me, it feels even more pressing.”
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, traveled to Massachusetts, but cut her trip off short. In the rush to get home ahead of this weekend’s icy, dicey weather, she accidentally left her laptop charger behind. Gasp! By Tuesday afternoon, she told VTDigger she was feverishly refreshing her email to see if a replacement had been delivered yet.
Rep. Conor Casey, D-Montpelier, stayed local. He told VTDigger in a text message that he finished writing a new play, “The Three Husbands of Sarah Tilbury,” which he described as “a Victorian dark comedy that I’d recently workshopped with some State House thespians.”
“Also grew the world’s creepiest beard, which will be shorn well in advance of my reelection campaign,” he added. VTDigger was unable to visually corroborate this account by deadline Tuesday afternoon.
Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, P/D-Burlington, sure didn’t venture far. Burlington’s mayor-elect joked that her week was relaxing. (Reader, it wasn’t.)
And Secretary of the Senate John Bloomer, in his eternal quest to keep all the trains running on time, worked through the week. But he did take some time to ski Killington, where the slopes were treated to more than 20 inches of snow over the weekend, he said.
What did I do last week, you ask? I, 1. Got stuck in the mud in Tunbridge, 2. Obsessed over Kate Middleton conspiracy theories, and 3. Peeled yellow wallpaper. There was no woman underneath, I’m happy to report.
— Sarah Mearhoff, with an assist from Ethan Weinstein
In the know
Now it’s really on. A joint resolution calling for the reestablishment of a post office in Montpelier as quickly as possible advanced in the Senate on Tuesday morning by unanimous voice vote.
Montpelier has been without a post office since July’s floods. This resolution is only the latest attempt to prod the U.S. Postal Service into action after Vermont’s congressional delegation held a rally in the state’s capital in early January.
Sen. Anne Watson, D/P-Washington, told her colleagues that the lack of a post office in Montpelier is an issue of equity for people with mobility issues or without a car, is costing businesses money and is “an issue of access to democracy in an election year.”
Once approved, the resolution will be mailed to President Joe Biden and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. “As you might expect, we’ll have to drive to Barre to do that,” Watson added.
According to Steve Doherty, a spokesperson for USPS, there are no developments for the return of Montpelier’s post office. The federal agency has not signed a lease for a new space, as of Tuesday afternoon, he said.
— Babette Stolk
The House agriculture committee heard from a group of elementary and middle school students on Tuesday who are passionate about mushrooms — specifically the Bear’s Head Tooth, which they want lawmakers to designate as Vermont’s official state ‘shroom.
The students urged lawmakers to pass H.664, a bill sponsored by noted mushroom enthusiast Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun, D-Westminster. The legislation would place Bear’s Head Tooth, Hericium americanum, in the company of other state symbols such as the sugar maple and hermit thrush.
The students hailed from two schools in Windham County where Bos-Lun organized votes to inform which fungus she put in the bill. Bear’s Head Tooth has a white, icicle-like appearance and is tasty when cooked, the students said. It grows on trees in forests across the state.
“I just love mushrooms,” said Zinth Mae Holder, a 7th grader at Compass School in Westminster. “This would be perfect for the state symbol because of all the great things it does and represents,” she explained earlier in her presentation.
Rep. David Durfee, the Shaftsbury Democrat who chairs House Ag, said he expects the committee to vote on H.664 before Friday’s crossover deadline.
— Shaun Robinson
On the move
The Senate granted preliminary approval on Tuesday morning to S.191, a bill that would allow refugees, asylum seekers and other Vermonters who aren’t U.S. citizens to access certain education and job training grants offered by the Vermont Student Assistance Corp.
The bill would prevent VSAC from denying Advancement Grant awards on the basis of an applicant’s residency status. Lawmakers said the bill would help more Vermonters afford non-degree educational programs, or help them start the process of getting licensed in a given field.
Sen. Nader Hashim, a Windham Democrat who sponsored S.191, pointed to Brattleboro’s large population of Afghan refugees as a community that would benefit.
“I believe this bill will continue to help new Americans who want to start their new life in Vermont by allowing them more efficient opportunities to become members of our communities — and our workforce — while filling much needed roles,” he said on the floor.
— Shaun Robinson
Visit our 2024 Bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
Corrections section
Statements by Sen. Irene Wrenner and Joe Wiah were misrendered in Friday’s newsletter. We regret the errors.
What we’re reading
Dick McCormack to retire after 3-decade Senate career, VTDigger
How did Emma Mulvaney-Stanak win Burlington — and how will she govern? VTDigger
Getting on: an aging population is transforming Vermont’s schools, workplaces and communities, Seven Days
