Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) has awarded over $1,600,000 in grants to producers and processors in two industries through the Meat and Produce Agriculture Development Grants (ADG) program. Thirteen operations across ten Vermont counties received funds for projects investing in infrastructural upgrades, increasing operational efficiency, enhancing food and worker safety, and improving climate resilience.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.45 per gallon, down 2.7 cents per gallon from last week's $3.48/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.24/g while the highest was $3.65/g, a difference of 41.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.41/g today. The national average is down 18.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 13.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. 

Vermont Business Magazine Montpelier Alive, the capital city’s downtown association, has coordinated with 14 businesses to act as collection points for the National Life Group Do Good Cupboard, located at 58 Barre Street in front of the Montpelier Senior Activity Center. Established during the pandemic, the Do Good Cupboard is a community resource available 24/7 for those who need emergency, shelf stable items such as nonperishable food and hygiene products. It is not intended to provide on-going assistance but items that could be helpful during a time of hardship. Items in the Do Good Cupboard are often depleted daily.    

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published finalized requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water used by produce farms that are subject to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. Pre-harvest agricultural water is water used during growing that directly contacts produce, such as water used for irrigation, crop sprays, or frost protection using a direct application method. When the new rule takes effect, produce farms will be required to make pre-harvest agricultural water assessments to identify any potential hazards and implement corrective or mitigation measures as appropriate. These revisions replace the mandatory microbial water quality testing that was previously required in the 2015 version of the Produce Safety Rule.

Vermont Agency of Transportation This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will impact traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont - Week of 6/17/24. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it. 

by Brendan Baxter, Senior Vice President for Public Sector Business Development, NBT Bank What do Huber Heights, Ohio (population 43,439), Cullman, Ala. (population 14,775) and Scotland, Conn. (population 1,576) all have in common? Yes, they represent a cross-section of “small town America.” They also were all victims of costly cyber-attacks in 2023. Unfortunately, these municipalities are not unique in their experience with cybercrime. In 2023, government organizations and schools across the nation experienced financial loss and disruption of life-saving services, including first responder services, as a direct result of cyber-attacks, such as ransomware, phishing, denial of service and business email compromise. Municipal services are a key part of America’s critical infrastructure which makes them all high-value targets for cyber criminals. It is imperative that local government officials not only understand the unique risks these attacks pose, but also how they can protect the vital services as smaller entities with limited budgets and staffing.

by Representatives Michael Marcotte, Stephanie Jerome and Monique Priestley Your voice matters more than you might realize — right now, it has the power to impact the lives of not only you and your children, but everyone else in the state. Please reach out to your State Senators and Representatives to urge them to override the Governor's veto of H.121, the Vermont Data Privacy Act and Kids Code. Every time you are connected to the Internet, you’re being tracked. What you search for online, your browsing history, what you buy, and your location are being collected by companies on the other side of your screens, smart speakers, and even your car. Your data is big business. Big Data has been active in our own backyard this legislative session, fighting to stop you from getting the privacy and security protections you deserve to the tune of $1 million in lobbying expenditures. When Governor Scott vetoed H.121, he mentioned the risks of passing protective measures. What he failed to mention were the risks of doing nothing – letting Big Data companies continue to exploit our information for profit.  

Vermont Retail & Grocers Association & Co-Signers H.121, a data privacy bill passed by the legislature and vetoed by Governor Scott, is a well-intentioned attempt to protect consumers’ personal data that misses the mark. In its current form, this bill will create major problems for Vermont’s businesses, consumers, and economy. Our organizations strongly support comprehensive data privacy legislation, but H.121 goes far beyond the measures adopted in neighboring states like Connecticut and New Hampshire, which we support as workable models. H.121 goes far beyond these measures and would make it harder for businesses to serve their Vermont customers than to serve those in other states. Unfortunately, when Vermont businesses tried to provide input throughout this policy-making process, they were routinely dismissed by some in the legislature as misinformed or as being influenced by big tech. This is an inaccurate characterization. Further, it has had a chilling effect on the ability of Vermont businesses to engage in the legislative process for fear of being villainized and of ramifications for their businesses. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has announced a call for presentations for the upcoming Solutions Summit: A Focus on Vermont’s Workforce. Scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, in Burlington, the conference will bolster the Vermont Chamber’s mission to advance the Vermont economy through solution-based content that addresses the challenges and opportunities unique to Vermont’s evolving labor market. The Solutions Summit will explore innovative strategies, technologies, and policies to attract and retain talent. The Vermont Chamber seeks presentation proposals from professionals with expertise in fostering environments that support talent and will provide attendees with actionable tools to address workforce shortages. About 14,800 workers are projected to retire annually through the end of this decade. This is only partially offset by 2,100 high school graduates and 4,500 college graduates staying in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark issued the following statement in response to Governor Scott’s veto of H.121, An act relating to enhancing consumer privacy and the age-appropriate design code: “I am extremely disappointed in the Governor’s decision to veto H.121. The process to arrive at this bill took years of public forums, research, broad and various testimony, and collaboration among the Legislature, my office, industry groups, non-profits, small and mid-sized businesses, and consumers. The Governor’s Office and Administration were almost entirely absent from this process and may lack the relevant and important knowledge that would have been gained had they participated. All of the efforts made culminated in a strong and thoughtful bill Vermonters can be proud of. Indeed, the Legislature has already considered the issues raised in the Governor’s veto letter. I would like to correct some misstatements and misunderstandings."

Hunger Free Vermont issued the following statement after the Scott Administration suggested last Wednesday that property tax hikes could be mitigated by about $20 million by cutting the universal school meal plan: Governor Scott’s harsh and irresponsible proposal to defund Vermont’s permanent Universal School Meals program would be detrimental to Vermont children, families and schools. Ending this program would result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding for Vermont, shifting school meal program costs back to individual schools and local taxpayers. Universal School Meals is one of the most innovative, cost-effective and results-producing educational support programs currently operating in Vermont schools. 

by Christopher M. Scott I want to thank the Governor for vetoing the data privacy bill passed by the legislature. I have become increasingly concerned about the potential impact of H.121 legislation on my hotel business. The more I learn about it, the more I realize how it could disrupt our operations and affect our ability to serve and reach our customers. Our primary concern is related to the basic data we collect and store to maintain a personal relationship with our guests. The bill restricts data collection to "what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide or maintain a specific product or service requested by the consumer." We are worried that if a customer checks in for the first time, we may be breaking the law by collecting their email address or sending them a future email without explicit permission.