SINE DIE The Vermont legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday evening after a whirlwind final week. It was the first time in years that legislators convened and adjourned neatly within the allotted 18-week timeframe. But the first partially in-person session since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was full of starts and stops that gave […]
By FOCUS, a Leonine Business On May 3, POLITICO leaked an official draft opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito overruling the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. The opinion was written for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and reports that five […]
SHAKEUPS The Vermont Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Thursday, May 12. At least that is the plan, and after a couple weeks of highly complex air traffic control with the budget and many other bills it looks like lawmakers may be able to meet that goal. It has been challenging for lawmakers to find […]
** CRUNCH TIME ———————————————————— It is officially crunch time in the Vermont legislature as committees begin the final push to pass legislation in time for crossover. The last two weeks in February can be the most dynamic of the entire legislative session with the crossover crunch, in part because everything is still in play. The […]
** HEATING UP ———————————————————— On Tuesday, the Vermont House passed Prop 5, the Reproductive Liberty Amendment. This completes the final legislative step in a four-year long process to enshrine an individual’s right to reproductive liberty in the Vermont Constitution. Prop 5 includes protections of an individual’s right to continue or end a pregnancy and access […]
** GROUNDHOG WEEK ———————————————————— The Senate Committee on Appropriations finalized their work on the FY2022 Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) this week. The FY2022 BAA appropriates more than $350 million in new funding, which is significantly more than prior mid-fiscal year adjustment acts. This largess is due in part to the nearly half billion dollars in […]
By FOCUS, a Leonine Business Tennessee Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, has introduced HB 2369, a bill that would, in effect, make censorship of social media illegal. Following some accusations of censorship from some national conservatives following the removal of former President Donald Trump and some other conservatives on social media platforms like Twitter and […]
DIVING INTO SUBSTANCE Legislative priorities are beginning to take shape as policy committees have moved beyond the introduction and review phase which generally marks the first few weeks of the session. The Joint Rules Committee set March 11 and March 18 as crossover deadlines for policy and money bills respectively, setting the time […]
