Tucked into this year’s miscellaneous motor vehicle bill, which passed the House Tuesday, is a measure supporters say could ensure Vermont driver’s licenses continue to reflect their holders’ true gender identities, even as the White House has restricted how transgender, nonbinary, intersex and other people can express their identities on U.S. passports.
The legislation, S.123, would allow people to renew their Vermont licenses “at any time prior” to when the ID expires. Right now, renewals are allowed within six months of the expiration date. State driver’s licenses are valid for either two or four years from the date that they’re issued.
Since 2019, Vermont has allowed people to select from three gender marker options when getting a driver’s license: male, female or “other,” the third of which is denoted by an “X.”
But in January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking to eliminate a similar “X” gender option from U.S. passports — and declaring that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” That’s had legislators and advocates in Vermont concerned about residents’ access, in the long term, to identifications that accurately represent their identities.
The changes in S.123 would, effectively, allow Vermont residents to extend the lifespan of the state-issued IDs they already have that carry a gender-neutral marker. Put another way, it would let people “restart the clock,” said Rep. Chloe Tomlinson, P/D-Winooski, who sits on the House Transportation Committee and presented the measure on the House floor Tuesday.
Those new licenses would also be compliant with the REAL ID requirements that took effect earlier this month, supporters noted. REAL IDs are now required to board domestic flights as well as access certain secure federal government facilities, such as U.S. military bases.
But some legislators and advocates are concerned the Trump administration could make it more difficult in the months to come for people, who don’t want to choose a “male” or “female” option, to get a state-issued license that is also REAL ID-compliant — even if they have one now.
“This puts us in a real crunch point where it’s critically important that trans and nonbinary folks in Vermont continue to retain access to identification that matches their gender identity in order to move freely,” said Monica Allard, an attorney who co-founded the organization Vermont Queer Legal Professionals, in testimony to the House Transportation panel late last month.
The renewal timeline would also apply to state-issued driver’s privilege cards, which don’t require proof of U.S. citizenship. Notably, though, those cards are not compliant with REAL ID rules.
Some legislators this year have also sought to create a new class of driver’s license that is valid for eight years, in addition to the two- and four-year classes already on the books. Rep. Troy Headrick, I-Burlington, introduced an amendment to the DMV bill on the House floor Tuesday — which he then promptly withdrew — that would have created the new eight-year option.
Headrick pointed to how Trump has repeatedly suggested he’d seek a third term in office, a move that most legal scholars agree would run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
The license renewal language was added into the DMV bill while it was in the Senate. Now that the House has passed the bill, it will head back over to the Senate to consider changes that the House made. It’s not clear yet whether the bill will head to a committee of conference.
— Shaun Robinson
In the know
The U.S. Department of Commerce has rescinded a $23.8 million grant the department previously awarded to advance semiconductor research and manufacturing in the state. The money would have funded projects conducted by the Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub — a consortium including the University of Vermont, the State of Vermont and GlobalFoundries, as well as other private companies.
The Vermont collective was one of six regional “tech hubs” the Biden administration in January tapped to receive grant money through the Regional Technological and Innovation Hubs program. Established as part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the initiative aimed to encourage technological innovation and job growth in parts of the U.S. where the tech industry has traditionally been overlooked.
Tech hubs in Maine, Alabama, Oregon and Missouri, as well as one spanning Washington and Idaho, were similarly awarded funding in January.
In a statement issued earlier this month, however, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that under the Trump Administration the Department of Commerce was cancelling those grants and would eventually redistribute the approximately $210 million that had been pledged.
Read more about the future for the Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub here.
— Habib Sabet
On the move
The House and Senate will hash out their differences on the year’s big education bill, H.454, in a conference committee. But the largest disagreements may not be between the chambers but between Democratic legislative leadership and Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
On the House side, the committee will feature Brattleboro Democrat Emilie Kornheiser, the House Ways and Means chair; Cornwall Democrat Peter Conlon, chair of House Education; and Milton Republican Chris Taylor, vice chair of education.
The Senate is sending Sen. Seth Bongartz, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Education Committee; Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, chair of the Senate Finance Committee; and Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, the Senate minority leader, also on the Finance Committee.
The crew met Tuesday afternoon and plans to convene at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. tomorrow. The word from leadership is adjournment Friday, but skeptics abound.
— Ethan Weinstein
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In lighter news…
Some 50 legislators and Statehouse staff worked together to assemble a large, colorful collage that went on display in the card room Tuesday. The artwork, titled “Little House in the Woods,” features a painting of the Statehouse by Rep. Mollie Burke, D-Brattleboro, that’s surrounded by dozens of other paintings and drawings of flora and fauna. Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, first had the idea for the project, which was shown off at a reception Tuesday afternoon.
— Shaun Robinson
The vintage, powder blue Pontiac GTO in the legislative lot attracted gawking admirers Tuesday. It belongs to Sen. Pat Brennan, R-Grand Isle, who said fellow senators had been asking to see the muscle car, and he figured the sunshine made it an apt day for an appearance.
— Ethan Weinstein
