The 2024 legislative session began earlier this month with legislators returning to the State House on January 3. It’s the second year of the biennium, so we picked up where we left off last year and hit the ground running.
Accountability of County Officials – Proposed Constitutional Amendment
One of the first tasks of the Senate Government Operations Committee has been to finalize Proposal 1, a constitutional amendment introduced last year. After a spate of misconduct by sheriffs across the state, including in Addison County where the sheriff was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman but refused to resign, this amendment is necessary to hold sheriffs and other county officials accountable for their grossly inappropriate and even illegal conduct. Last year we passed Act 30 to provide more oversight of sheriffs, but because sheriffs and other county officials (state’s attorneys, probate judges, and assistant judges) are established in the Vermont Constitution, the Legislature is limited in what it can do unless we amend the Constitution, which can only be done every four years. As Chair of the Government Operations Committee, which has jurisdiction over elections policy and government accountability, I take these issues very seriously and have done significant work to ensure the proposed amendment is sound and reasonable.
Proposal 1 would permit objective qualifications for the election to and holding of county offices and a process for removal from office if those qualifications are not met. The Vermont Constitution already permits qualifications for probate judges who must be “admitted by the Supreme Court to practice law.” Similar objective qualifications could be set for other county officers and a more straightforward process for removal from office could be established if Proposal 1 passes. Currently, the only way to remove county officials from office for misconduct is a long, often political, and rarely effective impeachment process; the last time impeachment and removal from office was successful in Vermont was 1785. This past year, a Special Committee on Impeachment Inquiry has been investigating impeachment of the Franklin County Sheriff who refuses to resign despite being found in violation of Vermont’s use-of-force policy, losing his law enforcement certification, and being under investigation for embezzlement. Impeachment is unlikely because the offenses took place prior to his election, so he remains in office and under control of a major law enforcement agency, with no recourse for his removal until his term ends in 2027. A similar situation occurred in 2022 with a probate judge who was stripped of his ability to practice law but refused to resign, and other troubling issues with elected county officials continue.
The Senate plans to vote on the constitutional amendment this week, but the Sheriff’s Association, the only group to oppose the amendment, is lobbying hard against it. Please reach out to other senators to express your support for Proposal 1, urging them to vote for this measure to better hold sheriffs and other county officers accountable. Because these important positions have the longest elected terms of office and oversee the least transparent level of government, stronger accountability measures are especially important. As with all constitutional amendments, this is the first step in a four-year process that would culminate in a vote on the proposed amendment by Vermonters on Election Day 2026.
Medicaid Expansion Act of 2024
The cost of health care impacts everyone these days, stressing family wallets, increasing personal debt, and driving up public and private budgets. And while most Vermonters (nearly 97%) have health insurance, about 40% of Vermonters are under-insured, meaning their insurance doesn’t cover basic medical expenses like going to the doctor for routine care. So, Rep. Lori Houghton and I introduced the Medicaid Expansion Act of 2024 (H.721/S.240) to expand access to affordable health care for more Vermonters, including youth in their 20s, pregnant individuals, hard-working adults, and seniors living in poverty. People shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their wallets, so this bill puts affordable health care back where it belongs — in the hands of every Vermonter. This legislation, which would be phased in over a number of years and paid for by a mix of state and federal funding, would take a significant stride toward addressing health care affordability and access. Read more about it in an op-ed I wrote with Rep. Houghton in the Addison Independent and VTDigger.
Flood Recovery & Climate Resilience
After last year’s devastating floods, many legislative committees are focusing on flood recovery, natural disaster mitigation, and community resilience. The Senate Government Operations Committee is working on a bill to improve the government’s response to natural disasters, learning from what went well and what could be improved for the next time the state is hit by a significant weather event. We’re also exploring ways to make government itself more resilient, after federal, state, and municipal buildings across the state were flooded last summer. We want our government to be able to effectively help and serve Vermonters the next time we’re faced with catastrophic storms.
Bottle Bill Veto
Last session we passed H.158 updating and expanding Vermont’s popular Bottle Bill. First passed over 50 years ago, the Bottle Bill has been a highly effective and broadly supported program for returning many beverage containers to stores for recycling. H.158 would have first expanded Vermont’s bottle redemption system so returning bottles was more convenient and then expanded the types of bottles that could be returned. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed H.158 and although the House was able to override the veto, the Senate failed to do so on a vote of 17-13. After several years of trying to pass legislation to update this successful program, it’s really frustrating to be stalled yet again.
Finally, I was sad to learn of the passing of former senator Gerry Gossens of Salisbury, who represented the then Addison-Brandon District in the early 2000s. Gerry was a true public servant who spent many years working for the federal government before retiring to Vermont and serving in both town and state elected office. When I first ran for senate in 2018, I met with Gerry and his wife Betsy, who were eager to provide sound advice and generous support to me as a new candidate. I send my condolences to Betsy and all of Gerry’s family. May his memory be a blessing. Thank you for reading and take care.
Photo Note: Members of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee with a group of ob-gyn physicians who came to testify in favor of a bill, S.109, that would provide insurance coverage for doula services.
Ruth for Vermont 