Hello friends and neighbors, 

I forgot to post this week’s legislative update with spring on my mind! I am so happy to have had to opportunity to get outside this weekend and work in my yard, cleaning up from last summer and getting ready for summer. I hope you are all getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather. 

We are fast approaching the end of the session, and the next several weeks will be busy as we wrap things up for the biennium. This week, we are anticipating debate and vote on some important bills that we have been working on this year: S.100 (universal school meals), S.286 (public pensions), and S.287 (improving student equity by adjusting the school funding formula)  

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The House passed S.197, which will provide a two-year grant program providing COVID-19 recovery supports for schools to expand mental health and wellbeing services for children and youth. The funding can be used for various programs such as developing counseling programs or funding afterschool or summer programs. The grants will focus on students and target geographically diverse and underserved areas of Vermont. 

HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE UPDATE

H.628 – The Governor signed an act relating to amending a birth certificate to reflect gender identity on April 6, 2022. 

Several bills from our committee are in the senate and will likely be voted out this week. 

The committee is still considering the bills below and will continue discussing and hearing testimony. 

S.91 Supporting A Parent-Child Center (PCC)Network

This bill proposes updating, formalizing, and modifying the systems and standards for PCCs, creating the Parent-Child Center Network, codifying the eight core services that a PCC must provide, and creating a process by which a new organization can become a designated PCC. 

S.90 Creating a Vermont amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Registry

This bill establishes a statewide ALS registry within the Vermont Department of Health, requiring physicians to report cases of ALS. 

ESSEX DELEGATION COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

I hope you will join us on Sunday, May 15, at 2 pm for updates on our end-of-session activities. We hope to hear your concerns, questions, and suggestions. The Zoom link will be available via Facebook, Front Porch Forum, or requested through email a few days before the event.

READING/LISTENING/WATCHING 

I have slowly been catching up on the last season of This is Us and have been taking my time because I don’t want the show to end. I have also been listening to How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish. A friend recommended it to me several years ago, and although I bought it, I didn’t have time to read it. I recently got the audio version and listened during my commute to Montpelier. It has been helpful in conversations with my 11-year-old. 

Be well, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns: (c) 802-922-3311 rgarofano@leg.state.vt.us

Representative Rey Garofano