Just weeks after the Senate failed to advance Proposal 1, a constitutional amendment to set qualifications and removal procedures for elected county officials, its members are weighing two more changes to the state’s constitution that, some lawmakers said, have broad support.
Constitutional amendments aren’t subject to crossover, per se. But Senate leaders said they want Proposal 3, which would create a constitutional right to collective bargaining, and Proposal 4, which would create a new equal protection clause closely mirroring language in the U.S. Constitution, to get roughly the same airtime in both chambers before the biennium’s end.
Because of the state’s extensive amendment process, even if both proposed articles get legislative approval before lawmakers adjourn this year, the earliest they would go before voters would be 2026.
Prop 3 cleared the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning. It states that “no law shall be adopted that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to collectively bargain.” The measure would also create a constitutional protection for workplace agreements that require workers to join a union as a condition of their employment.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled aspects of such “union shop” agreements are unconstitutional for public sector employees. And in 26 states, they are illegal in the private sector, too, under policies broadly known as “right to work” laws. Prop 3 would prohibit a future Legislature from enacting “right to work” laws in Vermont, supporters said at a midday press conference Wednesday.
Prop 3 could hit the Senate floor within the next week. Speaking to his fellow Democrats at Tuesday’s caucus meeting, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth said he believes the votes are there to pass the measure and, bluntly, avoid a repeat of Prop 1.
Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee spent Tuesday morning marking up Prop 4, and members plan to vote on it at some point next week. The measure would add a constitutional article prohibiting unequal treatment by the state based on race, sex, gender and other protected categories.
Sen. Dick Sears, the Bennington Democrat and Judiciary chair, has said that Prop 4 has broad backing among his colleagues.
In all, senators had five amendments to Vermont’s constitution under consideration this year. There is also Prop 2, which would remove language calling for “hard labor” as a punishment for crimes. And there’s Prop 5 (no, not that Prop 5), which would enshrine “a right to clean air and water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, and cultural values of the environment.”
Those proposals, though, have yet to see the light of day in committee.
— Shaun Robinson
In the know
The state is spending approximately $50,000 a night to operate four mass temporary homeless shelters that have seen little use since Gov. Phil Scott’s administration stood them up last Friday.
Nya Pike, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families, provided the cost estimate for the shelters on Wednesday afternoon in response to a request from VTDigger/Vermont Public earlier this week.
Allowing people to remain in the motels would likely have cost significantly less than operating the shelters during that same time period. With a $80 nightly rate cap now in effect, motel rooms for the 458 households expected to lose their vouchers last Friday would have amounted to roughly $36,600 a night.
— Carly Berlin
Gov. Scott appeared to express stronger concern about S.18, a bill that would ban the sale of flavored e-liquids and nicotine products in Vermont, but still declined to reveal any final plans for the bill.
“There’s a fiscal reality here,” Scott said on WVMT’s The Morning Drive radio show Wednesday. “And I know it can’t all be about money, but talk about poor timing. This could cost $15, and some in the industry have said, maybe $30 million a year. So at a time when we have all these other increased costs and so forth, I’m really, really concerned about the fiscal situation we find ourselves in.”
S.18 passed out of the Senate last year and was approved by the House last week in an 83-53 vote. A vote on the House’s changes to the bill is scheduled to take place in the Senate this week.
Asked if he is considering a veto, Scott still hedged.
“I am very concerned about this bill for a number of reasons,” he said.
— Peter D’Auria
On the move
Among more than a dozen bills that received final approval in House Wednesday were two we’ve written about here:
- H.614, which categorizes “timber trespass” as a type of land improvement fraud
- H.664, which designates the Bear’s Head Tooth as Vermont’s state mushroom
— VTD Editors
Visit our 2024 Bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
Where’s Kate?
It appears the gov is familiar with the Internet’s crazed search for Princess Kate Middleton – or, at the very least, Buckingham Palace’s great PR flub over the whole affair.
According to Very Serious Screenshots obtained by VTDigger, a Fifth Floor staffer jokingly lamented in an email chain on Wednesday that they weren’t included in a staff group photo. Scott replied in an email, “We will contact Buckingham Palace for tips on how to photoshop you into the picture.”
It’s all fun and games but the question remains: What is Scott doing in his power as governor to find the princess???
— Sarah Mearhoff
March Madness
*Obnoxious air horn sound* Last call! Tonight is your final night to pick your favorite basketball team mascots fill out your March Madness brackets in order to participate in this year’s Statehouse NCAA basketball championship bracket pool. Fill out your brackets on the CBS Sports app by 12 noon tomorrow in order to participate, or reach out to Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Chittenden, if you’re a first-time participant.
It’s a cutthroat, no-foolin’-around competition among the Statehouse rats that everyone takes deeply seriously and has absolutely no fun with. If your bracket performs poorly, everyone will notice and relentlessly shame you for it. I kid! It’s like that but the complete opposite.
Who will win under the golden dome this year? If history is any indication, probably an attorney. The real question is, will the University of Vermont beat Duke University in the first round as former President Barack Obama predicted? Only time will tell.
— Sarah Mearhoff
Kicker quote
What’s that? More sports news? Vermont Green FC, Burlington’s semi-professional soccer team, scored a major upset last night in a nationwide tournament. The squad of mostly college players beat out a professional club from Kentucky, by 4 goals to 3, and will now advance to the next stage of the U.S. Open Cup. I should say, this is certainly only news to some of you, since I ran into several other Statehouse rats at the game. Up The Green!
— Shaun Robinson
What we’re reading
Catholic orphanage inquiry concludes with steps towards healing — but no church help, VTDigger
Rep. Ann Donahue is determined to find out where patients of Vermont’s old psychiatric hospital are buried, Seven Days
Phish crowds overwhelmed Vermont highways in 2004. How is the state preparing for eclipse traffic?, Vermont Public
Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter listed an incorrect bill number for the adoption of the Bear’s Head Tooth as the state mushroom.
