Bill Tracking - Policy for The People April 10, 2025

We are well into the last weeks of the legislative session. Nonetheless, there is still time for you to contact your legislators and/or each bill sponsor to voice your opinion. If these proposals become laws they will likely affect your (our) everyday lives.


**This is a shorter list because I’m focussing on bills that are still actively moving through the process. 


Education -

H. 454 - Contact: Representative Peter Conlon (pconlon@leg.state.vt.us)

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.454

Proposes significant changes to school governance and funding.


Mental/Physical Health -

S.53 - Contact: Representative Alyssa Black (ablack@leg.state.vt.us)

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.53

To establish a process of voluntary certification for community-based perinatal doulas. Would also require Medicaid coverage for doula services during labor and birth and for the prenatal and postpartum periods.


Immigration -

S. 44 - Contact: Representative Martin LaLonde (mlalonde@leg.state.vt.us)

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.44

Requires the Governor to obtain approval from the legislature before entering into certain immigration enforcement agreements. 


Equity/Accessibility - 

S. 56 - Contact: Representative Matthew Birong (mbirong@leg.state.vt.us) 

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.56

To create the Office of New Americans Study Committee to study and report concerning the creation of an independent Office of New Americans.


J.R.S.15 - Contact: Representative Martin LaLonde (mlalonde@leg.state.vt.us)

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/J.R.S.15

Supporting Vermont’s transgender and non-binary community and declaring Vermont’s commitment to fighting discrimination. 


Housing -

S. 127 - Contact: Representative Marc Mihaly (mmihaly@leg.state.vt.us)

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.127

To expand the Vermont Rental Housing Improvement Program, establish new initiatives (like the Manufactured Home Improvement and Repair Program and the Community Housing Infrastructure Program), and offer tax credits for first-time homebuyers.


Judicial/Corrections -

S.9 - Contact: Your Local Senator

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.9

To direct the Court Administrator to make procedures for a plaintiff to obtain an order against sexual assault after regular court hours or on weekends and holidays.


This is Policy for The People. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Last Plea as a Black Vermonter - A Very Open Letter

Image
I write this note feeling simultaneously heavy-hearted and freed. September 16, 2023 would have been five years that I have lived in this state.   Five years since I left my life in Mississippi thinking NO PLACE could be more racist (tuh). Five years of serving on multiple civic boards that claim they want equity, but build walls in the face of progression. Five years of being called racial slurs with no one to protect me from it and no one to check their white supremacist friends. Five years of confederate flags, don’t tread on me flags, and strategically placed Donald Dump paraphernalia. Five years of watching MANY of my friends and their very young Black children suffer from the same mental anguish I have experienced while existing as a Black person in Vermont. September 16, 2023 should be a time for celebration. Instead, it is a time for reflection as I leave the state to pursue equity work in a place that actually wants it. You may note that within this introduction I have not...
Read more

Policy for The People - March 10, 2025

If you have any stake in Vermont’s education system—whether you're a parent, student, educator, bus driver, counselor, cafeteria staff member, school nurse, EMT, or in any other role—you should pay VERY close attention to the following draft bill (DR25-0937) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQHbSTU1jXnl5TrLKpE0SUtppQPY4Iwc/view.   What’s the Point: This heavy-handed attempt to standardize education in Vermont proposes to do so by imposing harsh changes to current programs such as “school choice”. These changes largely target low-income and rural Vermonters. Most importantly, this is a very swift attempt to make changes to long-standing programs that have provided equitable education for many decades.   Why it Matters for All Vermonters: The kindergarten through 8th grade “tuitioning system” will be limited for everyone in the 802.   Increased financial and administrative burdens, especially on small districts These “one size fits all” changes do not consider equity for lo...
Read more

It's Been a Year.

* (See: It’s Been a Year by Ashley Cooke) * A Formal Introduction   Actually, it has been 1 year, 4 months, and 21 days (or 509 days total) since I wrote, “My Last Plea as a Black Vermonter” begging all of you (Vermonters, legislators, civil servants, and European descendants in general) to consider Black Vermonters in all aspects of our shared social and economic realms. In that year(ish) I spent the majority of my time in Minneapolis fueling Black-owned nonprofits through grant writing and stretching my wings amongst my community in ways I did not imagine were possible.   Over that year I also received thousands of responses to the first Black Paper. Scattered across Facebook, Twitter (yes...Twitter), Instagram, rebuttal articles, and via email: there was a plethora of commentary to choose from. I read every bit and I want to take the time to highlight the overwhelming amount of support that I received and the desire to support Vermont’s Black community. There was an ...
Read more