The Vermont Senate voted today to adopt a number of temporary emergency reforms to facilitate the functions of government and democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include changes to Vermont’s open meetings law and to elections, which could include a vote by mail process. The legislation (H.681) was negotiated during…
Read More
The 2019 Vermont Legislative Session has officially ended – and once again, VPIRG, our members and our allies went toe-to-toe with the most powerful, big-moneyed interests there are and delivered major victories for Vermont’s people and our environment – including some landmark, first-in-the-nation achievements. Unfortunately this session also came with…
Read More
The 2019 Vermont legislative session kicked off today and we’re excited. This legislature has more new lawmakers than Vermont has seen in decades and many of them were elected on bold platforms to protect our people and our environment. And it couldn’t come a moment too soon. The challenges we…
Read More
Now more than ever, Vermonters need elected officials who are willing to take bold action towards reducing our dependence on dirty energy and fossil fuels. Despite broad consensus that we must transition away from dirty fossil fuels, Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. From reduced snowfall, to extreme weather…
Read More
Following Rep. Kiah Morris’ decision to withdraw her candidacy for a third term as a state representative from Bennington, VPIRG signed on to the following letter along with Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Toxic Action Center, The Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence, Justice for All, Voices for Vermont’s Children, Vermont Early…
Read More
When it comes to serious legislative action to protect our people and environment and move our state forward in a positive fashion, we cannot afford to “wait and see” any longer. We need bold action now. The attacks from D.C. on everything from climate to toxic chemical protections to digital…
Read More
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), along with over 100 other groups including the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, strongly opposes the nomination of Michael Dourson to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Dourson has a history of serving the interests of big…
Read More
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group’s Executive Director Paul Burns released the following statement concerning the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left at least three people dead and 19 injured: VPIRG denounces the acts of violent terrorism perpetrated by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville over the weekend.…
Read More
Environmental, climate, and sustainable business groups joined together this week to express grave concern over proposed changes to net metering, the program that allows Vermonters to choose renewable energy. The diverse organizations are urging the Public Service Board to reconsider its proposed rule as it undermines the State’s commitment to…
Read More