Senate overrides governor’s veto of affordable heat bill The Senate adjourned our 2023 Legislative session at 8:23 p.m. Friday evening May 12, three hours earlier than the House, which needed to act on the last bills the Senate had messaged. […]
Tag: By Sen. Alison Clarkson
State News
The session is ramping up as it’s winding down
In April we begin the season of rallies and political gatherings on the front lawn of the Statehouse. This past week alone we had two big demonstrations, one supporting our work on childcare (S.56) and one on reducing climate change […]
State News
Attending 25 Town Meetings
By Sen. Alison Clarkson The Windsor County District now encompasses 25 towns, and the county is the largest in Vermont (977 square miles). As a result, one of the biggest challenges for a state senator is attending as many Town […]
State News
Historic biennium ends
By Sen. Alison Clarkson What a biennium this has been. It began in January of 2021 in the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted entirely by Zoom, and it ended in mid-May 2022, in the State House, in person — […]
Uncategorized
Economic development bill includes a wide range of proposals
By Sen. Alison Clarkson This year, instead of producing several smaller, focused bills, the Senate Economic Development (SED) Committee created one omnibus economic development bill with a wide range of proposals. It took longer than expected to finish and the […]
State News
Legislative Update: Crossover bills reviewed, many priorities accomplished
By Sen. Alison Clarkson After many long Floor sessions debating and passing bills to the other body, the Legislature has pretty much completed cross over. This is the point in the session where all bills which have any chance of […]
State News
Legislative update: Virtual meetings have enabled more civic engagement, but I’m grateful for a return to in-person session
By Sen. Alison Clarkson Town Meeting 2022 reminded me how resourceful and nimble Vermonters are. This was our second Town Meeting season conducted during the Covid pandemic. Most of us are now comfortable operating in the virtual universe and have […]
State News
Economic development and housing bills aim to address urgent needs
By Sen. Alison Clarkson Many of us are feeling relief that omicron’s surge has taken a steep nose dive. The possibility of a return to something more like normal looks promising. It’s great to be able to feel more comfortable […]
Local News, State News
Legislative Update: Reapportionment reconsidered
By Sen. Alison Clarkson Every 10 years the results of the national census requires each state to review the impact of any population change on their electoral districts. Our Vermont Constitution requires that our state’s population must be fairly distributed […]
State News
Legislative Update: Pension for teachers,state employees rectified
By Sen. Alison Clarkson When the Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force was created last year, I was relieved. Our public pension system was in crisis. If we did nothing to fix the problems, Vermont taxpayers were looking at […]