Despite the near-unanimous agreement at the beginning of the legislative session that this would be the year to pass meaningful reforms to Vermont’s campaign finance law, legislators declared the issue dead for the year.
Within the next 24 hours, a key House committee will vote on whether to give very wealthy individuals and corporations the right to pour even more money into Vermont elections. And at this moment, it looks like the vote will be bad – very bad. Help us to get Big Money OUT of Politics in Vermont! …
Key Committee Could Vote to Put More Money in Politics Read More »
Minutes after debate over corporate influence, Coca-Cola wins out over public good in Senate Finance Committee MONTPELIER, VT—Just minutes after an extended floor debate about the possible influence of corporate contributions, the Senate Finance Committee opted against a publicly-supported proposal to have the state keep an estimated $1-3 million per year in unclaimed Bottle Bill …
NEWS RELEASE: Corporate Influence and Coke’s Win over the Public Good Read More »
Corporations are not people. But for more than 100 years, federal law has prohibited corporations from contributing directly to candidates running for federal office. Here in Vermont, though, the law treats corporations just like you or me. Your help could fix the problem, but we need to get moving fast. Ask your senator(s) to vote …
Senate to vote on corporate cash and campaign finance Read More »
On Tuesday, we sent out an email blast asking our members to urge the Senate to seize their one opportunity to pass commonsense rules on money in politics. We’d caught wind that some state senators were playing political games with this important legislation, and we weren’t about to stand by and watch. Guess what? Hundreds of …
As the saying goes, foxes don’t make the best guards for the chicken coop. That logic may also apply when it comes to politicians regulating money in politics. Burlington Free Press political reporter Terri Hallenbeck wrote a story last week that concluded with this statement: “It struck me that elected officials are the last people …
Act Now: Curb the influence of money in politics! Read More »
NEWS RELEASE Montpelier, VT – Vermont received a “C+” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to “Following the Money 2013: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data,” the fourth annual report of its kind by a federation of public interest research groups that includes the Vermont Public Interest Research …
When the Senate Government Operations Committee initially contemplated dramatically raising the contribution limits to candidates and political action committees, VPIRG organized a response that also included the LWV-VT and Ben Cohen. After threatening to oppose the bill, the committee reconsidered its position and ended up with limits much closer to those VPIRG suggested. The limits …
More sensible campaign contribution limits move forward Read More »
Some of Vermont’s most well-known advocates for campaign finance reform took issue today with a proposed bill in the state Senate that would dramatically increase the amount of money in Vermont’s political campaigns. The Senate Government Operations Committee has been working all year on legislation – S.82 – that would require increased reporting from political …
Senate bill criticized for opening the flood gates to campaign cash Read More »
In communities across Vermont, citizens are bringing solutions to town. Whether its town meeting resolutions to keep Vermont free of tar sands oil or spreading critical information about upcoming changes to health care, check to see what’s on the docket in your community.
