BREAKING NEWS! House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Bill Lippert, notified the leaders of the VT Right to Know Coalition late Friday afternoon that the GMO Labeling Bill, H.112, will be introduced to his Committee on Thurs. April 18 at 8:30 AM. The Committee will begin its work on the bill by hearing from Legislative Counsel, Mike …
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 …
Last week, VPIRG Consumer Protection Advocate Falko Schilling presented the House Health Care Committee with one of the first comprehensive overviews of insurance claims denials in Vermont. The information was gathered from new reporting required by VPIRG backed legislation passed by the legislature last year. The new law pulls back the curtain on insurance claim …
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 »
Vermont leads nation in collecting discarded mercury thermostats Manufacturer-led recycling programs found to be ineffective in most other states Montpelier, VT – While a manufacturer-run program for collecting mercury thermostats is failing to keep the toxic heavy metal out of the trash—and the environment—in most states, Vermont leads the nation in per capita collection rates, …
News Release: Vermont leads nation in collecting discarded mercury thermostats Read More »
NEWS RELEASE: Vermont Senate votes unanimously to ban toxic flame retardant chemicals March 29, 2013 Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Senate voted unanimously in support of legislation to ban toxic and ineffective flame retardant chemicals (S.81, vote 28-0-2). Chlorinated Tris, a chemical targeted in the bill, was banned from children’s pajamas in the 1970s because it …
Nation’s strongest bill to on toxic flame retardants passes Senate…unanimously! Read More »
Just hours ago, VPIRG’s organizers, advocates, student interns and member activists were helping our advocates behind the scenes to fight a bill (S.30) that threatened to throw the brakes on to renewable energy projects in the state. And now, after a lengthy Senate debate and vote, we’re celebrating a major victory for Vermont’s clean energy future! …
Victory for Clean Energy – S.30 Gutted by Environmental Champs! 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 …
The goal of S.152, which is headed to the Senate floor later this week, is simple: give you the heads-up when your health insurance company wants to raise your premiums. The bill, which earned approval from the Senate Appropriations committee on March 22, will make the process of reviewing proposed rate hikes both simpler and …
One step closer to getting you the heads-up on your health care Read More »
“There are far too many violations and far too few prosecutions for the state’s enforcement efforts to create a credible deterrent to breaking the law. If it is cheaper for companies to ignore our environmental laws than it is to abide by the laws, there is an economic incentive to ignore the laws. Unfortunately, that’s …
House Resolution Honors Environmental Champion, Late Joan Mulhern Read More »
