Statehouse

Vermont Lawmakers Question Untreated Inmates and Unspent Money

by Alicia Freese on September 20, 2018 at 5:54PM

Department of Corrections officials also had to defend their approach toward treating inmates with hepatitis C. Watts suggested that many — he couldn’t provide an exact number — of the roughly 250 inmates diagnosed with hepatitis C are detainees who don’t stay in prison long enough to receive the drug, which is typically prescribed for an eight-week period. He also maintained that the department offers treatment equivalent to what's provided in the community, a claim that Fisher later said "doesn't pass the straight-face test."

Walters: Ethics Panel to Draft Tougher Opinion on Sale of Scott's Business

by John Walters on September 14, 2018 at 1:27PM

As first reported on VTDigger.org, Leven's draft essentially dodged the question. He asserted that the commission could not issue an advisory opinion about a specific situation because it has no authority to investigate the facts of the situation.

Commission Discusses a Taxed-and-Regulated Cannabis Market for Vermont

by Sasha Goldstein on September 10, 2018 at 7:16PM

Aside from Levine, the commission heard from Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson, who presented no new material but instead discussed recommendations his roadway safety subcommittee had made in January. One suggestion, that the state allow police to gather saliva samples from suspected stoned drivers, passed the House but died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Walters: Ethics Panel Ponders Sale of Scott's Business

by John Walters on September 5, 2018 at 5:15PM

no longer has any involvement in the business, whatsoever," spokesperson Ethan Latour wrote in an email. "This request for an opinion is a recycled partisan attack by an organization that tries to disguise itself as acting in the public interest."

Longtime Broadcaster, State Rep. Jim Condon Dies After Cancer Battle

by Sasha Goldstein on August 24, 2018 at 7:18PM

Condon was known in Montpelier as a fiscal conservative who "had a good sense of where people could come to agreement and was able to bridge the differences," House Ways and Means Committee chair Janet Ancel (D-Calais) told Seven Days. She and Condon both served on the committee for the last "eight or 10 years" and became fast friends.

Walters: Vermont Likely to See Short-Term Revenue Boost

by John Walters on July 27, 2018 at 5:34PM

employ the same people who figured out how to hide it to decide the best way to bring it back," Kavet said in an interview after the E-Board meeting. "They're thinking of all the games that can be played to minimize the tax.

Scott Blinks in Vermont Budget Battle, Will Allow Third Bill to Become Law

by Taylor Dobbs on June 25, 2018 at 5:07PM

come together and accepted the agreement and moved on." In a statement Tuesday morning, Ashe and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) praised Scott’s decision to back down and reiterated that the budget had support across the political spectrum.

Walters: Vermont House Approves Resolution Opposing Family Separation

by John Walters on June 22, 2018 at 6:30PM

The state House approved a resolution Friday condemning the Trump administration's recently reversed policy of separating members of immigrant families who cross the border seeking asylum. The resolution also expressed "a profound hope that the family separation policy will not be reinstated," and that federal authorities would reunite separated families "immediately."

Walters: Scott, Legislature Still Talking Past Each Other

by John Walters on June 20, 2018 at 5:07PM

, I ask why the governor is OK with creating a crisis next year," said Senate Education Committee chair Phil Baruth (D/P-Chittenden). "I can't see how anybody with good fiscal management could choose the governor's option."

Walters: Vermont House Fails to Override Scott's Budget Veto

by John Walters on June 19, 2018 at 3:46PM

Quite a few members took the floor afterward to explain their votes, and the arguments broke down along predictable lines. One view was shared by all: A crisis and potential shutdown could have been avoided — as long as the other side had been willing to surrender.

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