Vermont’s campaign finance system is being corrupted in an unprecedented way by the spending of a single individual this year. “Vermonters are seeing first-hand the kind of corruption that the Supreme Court has invited with its recent campaign finance decisions,” said Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG. So-called Super PACs are now allowed to raise …
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group released its 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard on public interest issues today. As the state’s largest consumer and environmental advocacy organization, VPIRG is involved in a broad range of policy debates in Montpelier, from health care reform to banning fracking. The 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard tracks votes on clean energy, health care, consumer protection, …
South Burlington resident and soon-to-be Connecticut College senior, Scott Britt, is interning with VPIRG’s Field team this summer. As a government major, he’s focused on learning how to inform and engage citizens on important issues of the day, from wind energy to the Bottle Bill. Having wasted no time getting his hands dirty, Scott has …
The 2012 legislative session marked another busy and successful year in advocacy for the public interest. We came into the session with ambitious plans – from taking on the Oil and Gas Industry to ban fracking to initiating a campaign to require GMO labeling to standing up to health insurers and making sure they cover the medical care they should. We take our role as “Vermont’s Voice” in the State House seriously – bringing research and policy analysis, strong partnerships and principled organizing and advocacy to the fore.
The end of the legislative session is always lively. While things are changing by the minute, here’s a snapshot of where things stand with the public interest bills on the eve of the session’s close.
The Senate voted 19-9 to delay consideration of the campaign finance reform bill (S.20) for another year. The bill would have reestablished common sense limits on campaign contributions and required more disclosure from candidates (including the occupation and employer of their larger donors).
The Vermont House of Representatives voted 92-40 in favor of a joint resolution (JRS 11) urging the US Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution to make clear that corporations are not people and money is not speech. VPIRG applauds the grassroots activists who laid the foundation for this movement by getting over …
In response to the overwhelming support for a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s disappointing Citizen’s United decision as displayed by Vermonter’s across the state on town meeting day, the VPIRG supported resolution at the state level (JRS 11) was given an extension from the crossover deadline.
Town Meeting Day in Vermont marked a milestone for the movement to take back our democracy. Sixty Vermont cities or towns passed resolutions calling upon Congress to amend the US Constitution to state that “corporations are not people” and “money is not speech.”
Democracy is alive and well in Vermont, demonstrated by the gamut of activity on municipal election ballots in cities and towns across the state. Read up on exciting issues and measures on the ballot.
