Legislative Update
With several foundational issues left to reconcile, and growing pressure to stop the bill in its tracks, the S.54 Conference Committee was forced to abandon its original 3-meeting plan to mediate the legislation, leaving even greater uncertainty about the fate of the bill as the close of the legislative session looms.
“coalition partners [...] sent almost 400 individual emails and phone calls to each member of the Conference Committee thoughtfully expressing opposition and urging them to stop the bill in committee”
The S.54 Conference Committee convened a total of 3 times, so far, to try and reconcile the bill: the first meeting was on Wednesday, August 19, then Monday, August 24, and most recently on Monday, August 31. Before the reconciliation process began, it was common to hear the supporters of the bill express that the 2 versions weren't far apart, and so only 3 committee meetings were planned to help resolve the issues between the 2 versions of the bill - but that has proven to be overly ambitious. As of this moment, the Conference Committee has agreed to meet a 4th time, this Friday at 3 PM, with more meetings likely.
During this time, over the past month, the pressure to stop the bill has increased exponentially. VGA and coalition partners, Justice For All, NOFA-VT, Rural Vermont, and Trace, have sent almost 400 individual emails and phone calls to each member of the Conference Committee thoughtfully expressing opposition and urging them to stop the bill in committee. In addition to the growing grassroots outreach, the coalition is also pressing individual conferees about the bill behind closed doors and working hard to convey the interests of Vermonters in opposition to this legislation.
It’s beginning to appear just how divided the Senate and the House conferees are over bill S.54. Below is a summary of major points of contention that remain for the S.54 Conference Committee:
Consumer safety issues surrounding product testing and prohibitive products.
Tax revenue concerns, including how much localities will receive, and where the money should be appropriated.
Local control and opt-in versus opt-out, and the barrier-to-entry issues it have on small businesses.
Several agricultural issues remain including zoning, land use, and the unreasonable restrictions placed onto farmers.
Traffic safety and issues persist around saliva testing, which has recently been compounded with an erroneous seat belt provision.
As a resource, below are the complete videos from each of the 3 Conference Committee meetings.