MONTPELIER - At his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott reflected on the slow progress made during the legislative session, which, though not yet completed, he said is steering Vermont in a positive direction. Since January, Scott has been stressing the need to make Vermont more affordable, and by doing so, he said it will help improve Vermont’s demographics, retain and attract working families, and create more job opportunities. He also addressed concerns he claims were voiced by Vermonters about repeat offenders' lack of accountability, and the growing impact of drug trafficking on communities. While acknowledging there is still much work ahead, Scott spoke about areas of bipartisan agreement aimed at making Vermont safer, including initiatives such as sealing records, delaying the implementation of "raise the age" policies, and extradition matters.
Scott also spoke about the comments and actions of the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, with regard to immigration and customs enforcement (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a list of what they call sanctuary jurisdictions, which includes cities, counties, and states, they believe are deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens. The Governor said that Vermont is not a sanctuary state, despite what the federal government claimed, and he believes Vermont is not impeding the federal government from any immigration or customs enforcement actions.
“We don’t stand in their way. I don’t think their terminology is correct. Maybe if they took a look at what we are doing, they might come to the same conclusion,” said Scott.
On a side note, Scott responded to a question regarding trails that run through private land, and whether or not town’s have the right to maintain them. According to questions from the media, the question is in relation to a lawsuit in Tunbridge, but has a ripple effect throughout the state. Scott said that “ancient roads” have been a long-time issue in the legislature.
“I believe there should be some clarification around that issue. I just want to make sure that we’re not standing in between a lawsuit and trying to fix, and predetermine, a lawsuit. I believe myself that municipalities have a role in protecting those rights-of-way” said Scott.
He added that those roads have been there before the legislation started to discuss them.
“They (the roads) were municipally maintained, and they (the municipalities) owned them, and I believe they maintain the right to use them,” said Scott.
Members of the media also asked about the advancement of S.69, also known as the “Kid’s Code” bill. S.69 is a bill aimed at making social media less addictive for teenagers and would change how kids in Vermont use their phones, social media, and the kinds of content they are able to see. Passed by both the House and Senate, the bill is waiting for the governor to take action.
“I am in favor of trying to protect kids from social media, but there are some concerns about first amendment rights there,” said Scott.
According to Scott, the legislation added a delay in the timeframe, which Scott said may allow for any lawsuits around the issue to work themselves out.
The Governor expressed his gratitude for the collaborative efforts in the legislature on measures like the tax relief package. The initiative, which Scott is optimistic the Senate will soon approve, aims to allow Vermonters, whether they are veterans, retirees on social security, low-income workers, or parents with young children, to retain more of their hard-earned money. However, Governor Scott said that progress in addressing the state's housing crisis has been insufficient.
Scott said he has repeatedly stressed the urgent need for approximately 40,000 additional homes over the next five years to meet demand. Despite some pushback on the final version of S.127, a legislative act that focuses on housing and development, and includes the Community Housing and Infrastructure Program (CHIP), he said that much more work needs to be done.
He cautioned that the lack of meaningful regulatory reform will continue to drive up housing costs, as the process of building in Vermont remains prohibitively slow and expensive. Scott committed to advocating for what he termed "common sense regulatory reform", in the second half of the session, not only in housing, but also in energy affordability.
And finally, Scott turned to education, which is the main reason for the extended legislative session. Scott expressed his optimism about the potential for transformational changes to Vermont’s education system. He said that education reform has been supported by bipartisan compromise in both the House and Senate. Scott reaffirmed his team's commitment to working with legislative leadership to pass a bill that will provide children with better education at a cost taxpayers can sustain.
In closing, Governor Scott expressed a mix of optimism and determination and spoke of his intent to continue pushing for meaningful reforms that address the affordability, safety, housing, and education in Vermont.
