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The Vermont Mayors Coalition recently announced the issues it wants the state legislature to prioritize this session.
The Coalition represents eight of the state’s nine cities and was formed in 2013 to advocate on issues of joint concern. Six mayors must support any issue to be included in the priorities.
Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott said the group’s top priorities are pandemic response and support for housing and food security. “We would really like to see the legislature mobilize funds quickly, as soon as they’re available, and extend the housing stabilization rent and mortgage support programs that were already in place and leverage those programs for immediate assistance to Vermont Vermont households. So when somebody can no longer make their rent, make their mortgage payments, mobilizing funds instead of letting them fall months behind. We also want to encourage or rather urge the extension of contracts already in place that are supporting local organizatio
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MONTPELIER â Gov. Phil Scottâs attempts to restructure two sectors of state government by executive order have thus far failed to find sufficient support in the Vermont Legislature, with the state Senate turning down his Act 250 plan on Thursday and a House committee declining to back his public safety reorganizing proposal.
Last month, Scott issued two executive orders under a statute allowing the executive branch to reorganize government. The one turned down by the Senate, in a 22-8 vote on a resolution to disapprove, seeks to consolidate and streamline the governance of Act 250, the stateâs landmark land use law, by reforming the Natural Resources board as a three-person body.
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MONTPELIER â Gov. Phil Scott, through a pair of executive orders signed Thursday, sought to streamline the Act 250 permitting process and unify the stateâs public safety agencies under a single roof.
Executive order 02-21 would replace the five-person, appointed Natural Resources Board with a three-person board â a chair and two members, all appointed by the governor âwith the advice and consent of the Senate.â
Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint said she had âpersonally connected with the Governorâ about his thinking regarding both orders. âI will be working with senators, especially in the committees of jurisdiction related to the orders, to do due diligence and consider any possible concerns. â
SCOTT SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO MODERNIZE AND UNIFY SELECT STATE OPERATIONS
Begins Phased Transition to an Agency of Public Safety, Modernizes and Professionalizes the Natural Resources Board
Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced organizational changes to modernize the state’s public safety and select permitting and regulatory functions to better serve Vermonters, increase efficiency and improve these systems.
Through Executive Order 01-21 Governor Scott has created the Agency of Public Safety, effective April 15, 2021, though the Order is structured as a framework for the Agency with a gradual implementation.
This approach allows for discussion and input from the Vermont Legislature, which has contemplated this move in previous years, as this important reorganization progresses.