Vermont

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Discussion of Satellite and Cloud Tax 02/27/2024

Discussion of Satellite and Cloud Tax at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Tuesday, the committee took testimony from the satellite dish industry representative related to S.181.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Government Operations - Testimony of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law 02/27/2024

Testimony of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law at the Senate Committee on Government Operations.

On Tuesday, the Senate Government Operations & Military Affairs committee continued testimony and discussion on S.55, a bill which would make multiple changes to current open meeting law. Lauren-Glenn Davitian gave testimony on draft 4.2 of the bill - the committee did not have any follow up questions but expressed appreciation for VAN’s input. A link to Lauren-Glenn’s written remarks and start of testimony is included below. After testimony, the committee did bill mark-up with legislative counsel. The committee addressed multiple small changes to language - adding language about transparency, accountability, and trust in government as well as telephonic access to meetings.

S.55, Draft 4.2:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Government%20Operations/Bills/S.55/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20and%20Legal%20Documents/S.55~Tucker%20Anderson~Draft%204.2,%20Strike%20All%20Amendment~2-21-2024.pdf

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Republican Caucus - Discussion of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 02/27/2024

Discussion of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the House Republican Caucus.

On Tuesday, the House Republican Caucus briefly discussed H.657. It was mentioned that cloud taxes will likely return as well as a 72 cents per line for any numbers that can dial out (seems like iPads and smart watches with numbers will not be taxed).

Draft 1.4 H.657:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Ways%20and%20Means/Bills/H.657/H.657~Maria%20Royle~House%20Ways%20and%20Means%20Amendment,%20Draft%201.4~2-22-2024.pdf

All Brains Belong VT - Brain Club: Book Chat Together by Vivek H. Murthy, M.D. 02/27/2024

Recorded on February 27, 2024.

All Things LGBTQ - Interview Show: Cheryl Finfrock and Eva Weiss 02/27/2024

Provided by ORCA Media:

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Questioning Community presents local and national news. Recorded on February 27, 2024.

Under the Dome: Education Funding Update for Town Meeting Day 02/26/2024

Host Bobby Lussier, CCTV's Development Director, speaks with Representative Carol Ode and Senator Martine Gulick about school budgets and tax impact, and how these impact upcoming local elections.

To contact your local representative, you can find their contact information on the State's website.

For more information about upcoming Town Meeting Day 2024 coverage visit bit.ly/TownMeeting2024.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Committee on Government Operations - Review of VAN FY25 Request 02/23/2024

Review of VAN FY25 Request at the House Committee on Government Operations.

The committee is including support for VAN’s one-time funding request of $1m in their budget memo. Great job with your outreach to this Committee! Details on their discussion this week is below:

On Friday, the committee had a brief discussion on their budget memo. Chair McCarthy described VAN’s current funding issue - he said the committee will qualify their support that one-time money is needed but a permanent fix to PEG’s revenue source is also required (the draft does not have that, there is an incomplete sentence at the end of the paragraph where it was intended to go). RepresentativeBob Hooper asked if there was information about whether the revenue source will be stabilized, Chair McCarthy said there are some “interlocking tax policies” and the committee has had some updates but that House Ways & Means had not made any decisions yet. The Chair said we support VAN but we don’t have a fix for the revenue source.

House Government Operations Draft Memo:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Government%20Operations/FY%202025%20Budget/W~Michael%20McCarthy~FY%202025%20DRAFT%20HGO%20and%20MA%20Budget%20Memo~2-23-2024.pdf

Moments with Melinda: Interview with Tom Verner 02/23/2024

From Melinda Moulton:

Tom Verner is a practicing psychotherapist and professional magician, and was a professor of psychology at Burlington College for 35 years. He and his wife, Janet Fredericks, are the founders of Magicians Without Borders.

For more information visit: https://www.magicianswithoutborders.com/

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Democratic Caucus - Discussion of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 02/22/2024

Discussion of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the House Democratic Caucus.

On Tuesday, in the House Democratic Caucus Representative Simms presented H.657. She said the bill had been stripped of the pole attachment provision and that this section will become a separate committee bill.

H.657 was voted out of the Ways & Means Committee with a 12-0 vote without the pole attachment tax this week.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Committee on Government Operations - Review of VAN FY25 Request 02/22/2024

Review of VAN FY25 Request at the House Committee on Government Operations.

The committee is including support for VAN’s one-time funding request of $1m in their budget memo. Great job with your outreach to this Committee! Details on their discussion this week is below:

On Thursday, the committee discussed their memo to House Appropriations regarding the FY25 Budget, listing their priorities for the year. Chair McCarthy noted that he will draft the memo this evening, and share it with the Committee tomorrow. Then they discussed what they wanted to put in the memo. Chair McCarthy talked about PEG TV stations and local access, and recognized that Paul Snyder was in the room. VAN is asking for $1M to backfill the declining revenue from cable TV.

Featured Story

CCTV Receives NEH Grant to Support Community Archives

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is pleased to announce receipt of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant alongside 32 peer archival institutions across the country. This $49,927 grant award will support efforts to preserve and expand access to audio/visual community history materials in the CCTV Archives. Read more about this opportunity here!