VPIRG takes seriously the concerns raised by a former canvasser who made an anonymous post recently on social media, and we deeply regret any sense of harm they may have experienced while working as a canvasser. In addition to the specific accusations about a director in the office, the post included complaints about the culture of VPIRG’s canvass…
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The Vermont legislature has officially wrapped up its work for the session, and once again VPIRG’s research, member engagement, and advocacy efforts paid off. We were incredibly successful in this “virtual” session, going toe-to-toe against some of the most powerful corporate lobbyists in the state. We’re pleased to announce that…
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The Vermont legislature wrapped up its 2021 session Friday, and it was one for the history books. One big winner? Action on the climate crisis. We’ll be sharing a full recap of the legislative session soon, but first we wanted to share some highlights from the state budget. In the…
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Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law a nation-leading bill that restricts the sale of consumer products that contain toxic chemicals known as PFAS. Legislative leaders and organizations released the following statements in response. Senator Ginny Lyons, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health & Welfare noted, “Firefighters, outdoor enthusiasts,…
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On May 12th, 2021, House Republicans in Congress removed a top leader because she refused to endorse the Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election. At the same time in Vermont, dozens of elected Republicans in the state House of Representatives were busy promoting the false notion that our elections…
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Today, the Vermont Legislature gave final approval to a nation-leading bill that would restrict the sale of consumer products that contain toxic chemicals known as PFAS. The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature. The Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), and Vermont Conservation Voters…
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The legislative session is winding down, and it has been another busy month at VPIRG! We’ve made major progress across the board, from advancing legislation to make universally mailed ballots a permanent feature of Vermont elections, to protecting our health from harmful PFAS chemicals in consumer products, to passing the…
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A little less than a year ago, Minneapolis police officers murdered George Floyd. Today’s verdict, in which Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, officially recognizes that reality and brings some measure of accountability for this killing. However, this verdict alone does not rectify the deep, systemic issues that…
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We’re past the halfway point of the 2021 legislative session, and even though we released a legislative update just four weeks ago, we’ve already made amazing progress on a wide range of key public interest initiatives. From advancing the most comprehensive PFAS legislation to addressing Vermont’s digital divide to passing…
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Today, the Vermont Senate gave initial approval to legislation (S.20) to ban PFAS and other toxic chemicals from certain products. The bill is supported by firefighters, business groups, educators, public health and children’s advocates, and environmental groups. The bill will be up for its final Senate vote tomorrow, before being…
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