Gov. Phil Scott today vowed to veto S.131, Burlington’s ban on firearms and a bill that would establish permanent funding and government programs for services to unhoused Vermonters. Neither bill has cleared the Legislature yet.
At his weekly press conference at the Vermont State House, Scott said Burlington’s charter change banning carrying guns in bars lacks prompt, effective enforcement. Also, Burlington should focus on more pressing crime problems, like illegal drugs trafficking, he said.
The Burlington firearms bill introduced by Sen. Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden) has received testimony in House Government Operations this week. Chair Matt Birong said yesterday he’s unsure of the bill’s future.
Guv will veto homeless funding bill – Gov. Scott also vowed to veto H.91, the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing Program passed by the House, approved by a Senate committee this week, and scheduled for a Senate floor vote.
H.91 creates a permanent government bureaucracy for emergency housing of the homeless. Ever since Covid-19 resulted in the closure of many homeless shelters and the creation of the hotel/motel housing program, funding has been parceled out through he state’s emergency assistance program. The bill would create an annual funding mechanism and build up local shelter options, using hotel/motel as a fallback when priority housing is unavailable.
No adjournment with education reform – the governor also promised to keep the Legislature in session until it passes an education reform bill with specific, acceptable student funding, district boundary, and implementation guidelines. The state constitution allows the governor to call the Legislature back into session at his discretion.
An aide to House Speaker Jill Krowinski today told VDC the Speaker, too, will keep the House in session until a reform bill is passed. He said the House is waiting on Senate action this week on H.454, the session’s signature education reform bill. The full Senate is likely to vote tomorrow or Friday, a senator told VDC today. The vote will include amendments, he said.
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