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Vermont

Don MacDonald Talks: [POSTPONED] Local History and Transportation 04/23/2024

Bobby Lussier, CCTV's Development Director, interviews community producer Don MacDonald about local history and transportation.

Under the Dome: Climate & Environment: Neonics, Flooding, and Renewable Energy 04/22/2024

Host Bobby Lussier, CCTV's Development Director, speaks with Representative Gabrielle Stebbins and Senator Irene Wrenner about climate and the environment on this Earth Day edition of Under The Dome.

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

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Testimony of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 04/19/2024

Testimony of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Friday, the Cmte heard from the Department of Taxes, who discussed the challenges inherent in conducting an inventory of the various properties and items in H.657 that would be assessed for fees. This includes the telephone property tax, the Universal Service Charge, and the Right of Way fees. The Cmte asked Leg Counsel to strip out all of these items from the bill, and instead ask VTRANS to conduct a study on what it would take to complete their inventory of poles and wires in the state right of way, and what the cost-benefit analysis would be for completing that inventory, administering fees, and the revenue that would be generated.

H.657: As Passed by the House:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Finance/Bills/H.657/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20Other%20Legal%20Documents/H.657~Maria%20Royle~As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House~4-10-2024.pdf

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Republican Caucus - Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law 04/19/2024

Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law at the House Republican Caucus.

On Tuesday, Representative Higley gave a brief update on S.55 in the House Republican Caucus - the bill is currently in the House Government Operations and Military Affairs committee. Representative Higley said CUDs have concerns about having a physical location with the bill due to the large areas of land they can represent. Representative Parsons brought up that his town (Newbury) has one phone line and limited access to the internet which could complicate implementation of S.55 requirements. The committee does not plan to vote on the bill this week.

S.55: As Passed by the Senate:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0055/S-0055%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations - Discussion of VAN FY25 Request 04/19/2024

Discussion of VAN FY25 Request at the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

On Friday, the committee finally revealed the language that will go along with your appropriation, which is great - it directs the Secretary of State to recommend the level of funding for VAN for future years as part of its budget presentation next year. This language might change a bit.

Both the base appropriation and this language will be items to be discussed in the Conference Committee on the Budget because, as you recall, the House only included $1m in base funding for VAN. That process should start up in about 2 weeks.

Promise and Pitfalls of Lab-Grown Meat 04/19/2024

From the organizer:

Aaron Carroll recently stopped raising pastured chicken on his Sowing Roots Farm in Underhill for a mix of ethical reasons. The writer/photographer is now largely vegetarian and "eats a lot of lentils." Kevin Markey is a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef with a master's degree in climate change, agriculture and food security. He is currently part of the team working on lab-grown meat at the University of Vermont. Aaron and Kevin will share their perspectives on animal agriculture and alternatives facilitated by Melissa Pasanen, food writer for Seven Days newspaper.

For more information: www.publicphilosophyweek.org

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Testimony of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 04/18/2024

Testimony of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Thursday, the Cmte heard from the Controller of the Franklin Telephone and Independent Telephone Companies, one of two small telecommunications providers exempted from certain fees in the bill. They also heard a proposed 18-page amendment to H.657 offered by Sens. Wrenner and MacDonald, that would postpone the right-of-way fees in the bill until such time as an inventory of poles and wires in the state can be completed. And, that the inventory should be completed using specific GIS technologies. Steven Whitaker provided input on this amendment, and also testified along with Sen. Wrenner.

H.657: As Passed by the House:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Finance/Bills/H.657/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20Other%20Legal%20Documents/H.657~Maria%20Royle~As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House~4-10-2024.pdf

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations - Discussion of VAN FY25 Request 04/18/2024

Discussion of VAN FY25 Request at the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Throughout the week, the committee continued to work on the budget, finishing it up on Friday. VAN’s allocation of $1m in base funding continued to appear on various documents that were reviewed by the committee, and they repeatedly confirmed that they were supporting this allocation. Also on Thursday, the committee briefly discussed the streaming tax (S.181) and Senator Sears once again expressed opposition to the bill, saying it is a “double tax.” Senator Kitchel pretty quickly shut down this conversation.

Kindness Connection: Vermont Cancer Network 04/18/2024

From Jan Riordan:

Host Jan Riordan interviews Jeffrey Moreau, Executive Director of Vermont Cancer Network.

For more information visit: www.vcsn.net

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Testimony of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 04/17/2024

Testimony of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Wednesday, the Cmte heard testimony from the Department of Taxes about how to inventory and track the assets (wires, poles, etc.) on which the right-of-way fee would be charged, and heard there should be no problem with this.

H.657: As Passed by the House:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Finance/Bills/H.657/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20Other%20Legal%20Documents/H.657~Maria%20Royle~As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House~4-10-2024.pdf

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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!

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