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Vermont Business Magazine Advocates for improving end-of-life care options for terminally ill adults praised the Vermont legislature and Governor Phil Scott (R-Vermont) for becoming the first state to remove the residency requirement from its medical aid-in-dying law. The signing of the bill, H.190, into law removing the residency requirement means that people who reside in other states can seek medical aid in dying in Vermont. The governor’s signature today comes on the heels of strong tri-partisan support for H.190 in the legislature.

Vermont Business Magazine The latest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Forecast Report (1990-2020) has been released today by the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) Climate Action Office (CAO). The report provides estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in various sectors of the Vermont economy. As in prior years, the largest emitting sectors of GHG emissions in 2020 were transportation, building energy use, and agriculture. Vermont’s GHG emissions declined 10% percent from 2017 to 2020, as shown in Figure 1. The decrease in transportation emissions was responsible for most of this decline and was largely due to the global pandemic and Vermonters staying home. However, it remains to be seen how much of those emission reductions will remain long-term due to policies like telework being more prevalent since the pandemic. In addition to providing sector-based estimates of greenhouse gas emissions, the GHG inventory is integral to assessing Vermont’s progress toward meeting the emission reduction requirements established in the 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA): 26% below 2005 levels by 2025, 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Law and Graduate School announced a new VLGS scholarship initiative to support the Indigenous people of Vermont. The First Nations scholarship is available to citizens of state or federally recognized tribes. The purpose of the scholarship is to enable Indigenous students to pursue careers in any of the many programs offered by Vermont Law and Graduate School, including legal degrees within the Law School and master’s degrees offered by the Graduate School and its School for the Environment.

Vermont Business Magazine Corporate treasury departments are embracing social tokens, real-time payments, virtual cards and other digital innovations for their speed, security and convenience, according to new research from Citizens. Yet, traditional payment modes – checks, automated clearing house (ACH) and physical credit cards – still have a stronghold. “This is a time of disruption in the payments world,” said Matt Richardson, executive vice president and head of treasury product solutions, Citizens. “While we see many treasury departments taking advantage of new technologies, some have been slow to adapt.” The Citizens survey of 205 treasury executives at middle-market businesses ($50M to $1B annual revenue) in February and March 2023 focused on company use of payment modes today and what treasurers think of their options.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today addressed a luncheon hosted by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Governor discussed his priorities as the legislative session enters its final weeks. “To restore the strength and vitality of communities like Springfield, it takes a holistic approach. All the pieces have to fit together. For strong, healthy and safe communities, we need to grow our workforce. To grow our workforce, we need more housing, childcare, good schools, and thriving downtowns. We also need to help families keep more of what they earn, so they can actually enjoy all Vermont has to offer, instead of pushing them to the point where they can barely get by."

Vermont Business Magazine 2023’s US Good Food Awards’ results have just been announced and Blake Hill Preserves is honored with THREE WINNERS - two in the Elixirs category for their Wild Mint Botanical Shrub and Spicy Jalapeño Botanical Shrub, and Blake Hill’s Fresh Tomato Savory Jam is a Winner in the Preserves category. Blake Hill’s Botanical Shrub Collection continues to be their most successful new product launch yet, with six US Good Food Awards since its introduction just two harvest seasons ago. This unique Collection captures the essence of everything that is Blake Hill. At its very heart are wild herbs foraged from the meadows at Blake Hill, and fresh organic produce from local farms to provide a special taste of terroir.

by Steven Berbeco May is Mental Health Awareness month. So often when we hear about mental health – especially lately – we hear about problems and cracks in the system. It can be overwhelming and difficult to know what we can do as individuals and community members to support each other when so many of us are struggling. This mental health crisis we keep hearing about in the news and in our communities is real and dire, but it is not hopeless. As a community, we have the power and the capacity to be protective factors for each other.

Vermont Business Magazine A Vermonter’s quality of life is significantly enhanced by their ability to receive in-home care versus residential care in a facility such as a nursing home. According to the most recent US Census data, the State of Vermont’s median age is the second oldest in the United States. The shortage of direct care nursing staff statewide is a challenge to providing those critical in-home supports. A new initiative is underway to address this critical staff shortage within in-home health. The Vermont Direct Care Initiative is an intradepartmental collaboration within Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living between the Adult Services Division and HireAbility Vermont. The goal is to increase the number of trained Direct Care Workers providing in-home health care, improve recruitment and retention of Direct Service Workers, and promote the healthcare career ladder through scholarships and mentorships.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark continued her efforts to protect medication abortions and reproductive health care yesterday by joining a pair of multi-state actions. In the first case, Attorney General Clark announced that she joined with 23 other attorneys general to file an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit arguing that the decision issued by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas would do serious harm to Americans’ access to the medication abortion drug, mifepristone. In the second multi-state action announced today, Attorney General Clark joined with 23 states to support reproductive health care as provided by the Title X program, the sole federal program dedicated to family planning services.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Vermont Senate passed H.230, the gun violence prevention bill. This bill seeks to reduce gun violence and prevent deaths by suicide by instituting a negligent storage provision, expanding eligible petitioners for Extreme Risk Protection Orders to family or household members and creating a 72-hour waiting period for firearm transfers. The 19-9 vote would be one vote short of a veto override, should it come to that. There were two senators absent. "H.230 is the most far-reaching and comprehensive gun safety legislation since S.55 was signed on the steps of the Vermont State House in 2018. It will reduce suicides, it will reduce homicides, and it will not in any way infringe on self-defense, or traditional hunting and target shooting,” said Senate President Pro Tem Philip Baruth (D/P-Chittenden).

Vermont Business Magazine Although the day started with a steady rain, by the time the gates opened for the thirteenth Homebrew Festival produced by the Southwestern Vermont Chamber and Hopridge Farms, the weather had turned and the rain had stopped. Cloudy with a high of 50 degrees, the loyal crowd enjoyed a large variety of amateur brew at the festival in downtown Bennington, Vermont this past Saturday. The festival topped out at over 500 attendees, brewers, vendors, sponsors and volunteers. The festival opened its doors at noon to exclusive VIP ticket holders for a private tasting of both regional food and brews. The general ticket holders were able to attend from 1pm - 4pm.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Hold on tight. This is when being in the building matters most. Language changes come in at the last minute and the addition or deletion of one word can make a big difference. See below for what we’ve been following. Workplace Violence: The Senate concurred with the House changes to S.36, the workplace violence bill with one change—adding “tumultuous” back into the definition of disorderly conduct. The House will likely consider the amendment this week. Budget: The Senate budget maintained several rate increases and funding to assist the health care system. Workforce: The Senate-passed budget has several workforce development proposals. Mental Health: The mental health initiatives in the Senate-passed budget include $1.15 million for mobile crisis response expansion.