This session, across multiple policy areas, the Legislature passed landmark legislation to protect Vermonters and hold big corporations accountable for the harm they cause to consumers. Whether it’s Big Tech, Big Oil, Big Pharma, or Big Ag, Vermonters should be protected from the harm caused or the costs incurred by large, multi-national corporations. The bills summarized below seek to protect Vermonters and potentially recoup some of the costs caused by corporate excess.
H.121 Consumer Data Privacy & Kids Code. Every day we unknowingly share vast amounts of personal information through social media and other online interactions. Data brokers, search engines, health trackers, and businesses collect our personal information, shopping habits, health data, travel routes, and much more. This personal data belongs to us, yet it is harvested, packaged and sold by—and sometimes stolen from—these data brokers without our knowledge or permission.
Without federal action to protect consumers, multiple states have enacted consumer privacy legislation to protect personal information and keep children safe online. Building on work in other states, H.121 is a data privacy bill that’s tailored for Vermont — it exempts most small businesses and aligns with regional standards and federal data protection laws such as the Health Insurance Portability accountability Act (HIPAA). The bill provides added protections for reproductive health, biometric, and other sensitive data, and provides consumers the right to opt out, request a cure, appeal, and potentially seek damages if their sensitive data is inappropriately collected, revealed, or sold without their permission.
H.121 also establishes a framework for ‘safety by design’ and ‘privacy by default’ for digital products and services used by children and teens, including popular social media products such as Instagram and TikTok. The bill sets strict guidelines to prevent physical, financial, or emotional harm to young users and bans manipulative design practices like infinite scrolls and misleading notifications that promote addictive behaviors. Social media companies are literally coding their products to keep kids online, often at the peril of their mental health and social well-being. H.121 holds these companies accountable and protects Vermont kids from these harmful practices.
S.259 Climate Superfund Act. Last year, Vermont was hit by severe flooding that lasted all summer and hit again in December. These floods, which were certainly induced by climate change, will require years of recovery and are estimated to cost Vermonters more than $1 billion. This price tag is now being covered by individual flood victims, public tax dollars, and private charities. None of the cost is being shouldered by the huge oil companies that have known for decades that the extraction and use of their product is causing climate change. S.259 seeks to change that.
The bill establishes a climate superfund and cost recovery program “to secure compensatory payments from responsible parties…to provide a source of revenue for climate change adaptation projects” in Vermont. In other words, big oil companies are largely responsible for climate change, so they should pay for projects that help us adapt to the effects of climate change. These are projects such as infrastructure upgrades, preventive health programs, energy efficiency work, and ecosystem adaptations. The bill establishes a means for measuring climate impacts and the proportional responsibility of corporations for damage in Vermont. This is first-in-the-nation legislation, so Vermont is breaking new ground and hopefully creating a path for mitigating the cost to taxpayers and improving our preparation for the devastating impacts of climate change. The Governor allowed this bill to become law without his signature.
H.233 Pharmacy Benefit Managers and S.98 Prescription Drug Costs. The cost of prescription drugs is one of the biggest drivers of skyrocketing health care costs in the United States. And, big pharmaceutical companies are reaping record profits from Americans who need access to basic and life-saving drugs. This pair of bills seeks to better regulate facets of the pharmaceutical industry and control the cost of the products they sell to Vermonters. H.233 creates a stricter regulatory structure for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who are essentially the “middlemen” of the pharmaceutical product change. They buy drugs from manufacturers and sell them to pharmacies, often with big price mark-ups and restrictive requirements. The bill would prohibit some of these practices and create a license requirement for PBMs so that the VT Department of Financial Regulation can better monitor their practices. S.98 initiates the a process for authorizing the Green Mountain Care Board to regulate the price of certain high-cost prescription drugs to make sure they are affordable for Vermonters.
H.706 Banning Neonicotinoid Pesticides. The science is clear that neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees and other pollinators that are crucial to our ecology and agriculture in Vermont. Unfortunately, big agricultural seed companies automatically coat seeds with these pesticides, leaving farmers with no alternatives. H.706, which is based on a law that passed last year in New York, would ban these pesticides over the next several years, forcing seed companies to offer seeds without these harmful chemicals. Although Vermont is a small market for corporate seed companies, because the bill mirrors NY’s law as well as agricultural practices in Quebec, Vermont farmers (and bees!) will benefit from the larger markets of our neighbors. H.706 would provide farmers with more seed options and protect our pollinators. Unfortunately, Governor Scott has already vetoed this bill, so we’ll work to override his veto later in June.
S.25 Regulating PFAS in Consumer Products. PFAS chemicals, also known as forever chemicals, are used in many consumer products, including clothing, body care items, and cookware, to make them non-stick or waterproof. However, such chemicals have been shown to cause cancer and other devastating health conditions. In order to protect Vermonters’ health, S.25 adds to the list of new products that are cannot be sold in Vermont if they contain PFAS. Additions include cosmetic and menstrual products, which also will be prohibited from containing other harmful chemicals, artificial turf, diapers & incontinency products, cookware, and certain textiles. The bill also includes measures for community engagement, enforcement and compliance, and an implementation plan that will further restrictions of these harmful chemicals in a logical and comprehensive manner.
Header photo: Senator Anne Watson, lead sponsor of the Climate Superfund Act, speaks at a State House press conference about the legislation.
Ruth for Vermont 