Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Benjamin Mallery, 32, of Sheffield, Vermont, was sentenced yesterday in Vermont Superior Court, Caledonia Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to one felony count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. The Court, Judge Michael Kainen presiding, sentenced the defendant on May 16, 2024, by agreement to 18 months to 5 years in jail all suspended with a 10-year term of probation with conditions that require a treatment regimen for sex offenders, restricts access to pornography and the internet, and requires that any contact with minors be supervised.

Vermont Business Magazine Today Senator Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia) announced her retirement from the Vermont Senate after 20 years of service. Kitchel has served as chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations since 2011, after having served as vice chair since 2005, and as a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation since 2005. In April of 2024, she was elected by the Senate to the position of third member on the Committee on Committees. She is the first woman to hold this position and the first woman elected to represent her district in the Senate.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that Secretary Kristin Clouser will be leaving her role leading the Agency of Administration next week. Secretary Clouser was first appointed by Governor Scott as deputy secretary of the Agency in November of 2020. In December of 2021, he named Clouser secretary of administration. Prior to her appointment, she served as the chief of the Human Services Division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and general counsel to the Agency of Human Services. Secretary Clouser’s last day will be May 24. Deputy Secretary Sarah Clark will serve as interim secretary.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) has taken a proactive step to safeguard the state's ecosystems from the threat of invasive plant species. Recognizing the significant risks posed by non-native invasive plants and utilizing existing statutory authority, Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts has declared eight new plant species as plant pests. This list includes Kudzu, Mile-a-Minute, Japanese Stiltgrass, Porcelain Berry, Wineberry, Waterwheel, Water Hyacinth and Water Soldier. These designated plant species are not native to Vermont and present an ecological and/or economic threat to Vermont.

Vermont Captive Insurance Association #VCIA2024 Conference registration has opened to be where the captive world comes to meet August 12-14th in Burlington. #VCIA2024 provides a wide-ranging captive curriculum led by preeminent speakers covering the latest captive trends/emerging risks, including cyber and AI, nuclear verdicts, creative uses for captives, and how to successfully form and maintain a captive with evolving regulatory standards. 

Vermont Business Magazine May 18, 2023, JAG Productions has announced their next production as part of JAG Underground: WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF YOU?, an immersive night of cabaret and storytelling for audience members in Hanover’s only speakeasy (for a weekend, anyway), Sawtooth Kitchen. Since its inception, JAG Productions has built a reputation for not only top-tier theatrical performance but for radical inclusivity, community engagement, and powerful, spiritual spaces that evoke the sense of stepping into a new world for an evening. For the evenings of May 18th and 19th, JAG is blowing open the confines of a traditional theater set and is transforming Sawtooth Kitchen into a speakeasy.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Department for Children and Families (DCF) announced today that the state will develop a secure youth treatment center, the Green Mountain Youth Campus in Vergennes. Situated off Comfort Hill Road on state-owned property, the Green Mountain Youth Campus will focus on rehabilitation and advanced therapeutic interventions. Specifically designed for Vermont's justice-involved youth grappling with complex trauma and treatment requirements beyond community resources, this venture aims to provide essential support where it's needed most.  

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Rep. Becca Balint introduced the Mental Health Emergency Needs in Disasters (MEND) Act. Following the devastating 2023 flooding in Vermont and as we face a growing climate crisis, Rep. Balint is introducing federal legislation to provide communities with the mental health support they need in disaster recovery. Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (PR-AL) joins Rep. Balint as a co-lead of the bill, a display of bipartisan support for robust disaster recovery. While there is often a focus on infrastructure repairs, it is as important to establish systems of mental health care impacted communities. Unfortunately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has limited resources to address mental health needs following a disaster. The MEND Act builds on successful pilot programs to expand effective, tailored services for communities impacted by disasters. This bill aims to reach directly into the community to support victims, victims’ families, and the community at large.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) led a group of senators in calling on Congress to fund the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (Community Forest Program or CFP) in the upcoming FY25 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Created in the 2008 Farm Bill and administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the Community Forest Program helps local government entities, tribes, and non-profit conservation organizations purchase forestland for local ownership and management. In FY24, CFP received $5.5 million. However, applications for CFP in FY24 exceeded $12 million. Despite increasing demand, funding for this program has not kept pace to support local conservation, boost the economy, and provide recreational, health, and educational benefits for local communities.  

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office announced that Robert Charbonneau, 50, of Burlington, Vermont, was arraigned today on one felony count of Luring a Child. The charge brought against the defendant is the result of an undercover criminal investigation conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC) and the Hartford Police Department during which Mr. Charbonneau initiated contact online via Kik messenger with a Hartford Investigator posing as a 14-year-old minor. The defendant engaged in sexual conversations with the Investigator and attempted to arrange to meet for sexual acts. Mr. Charbonneau pleaded not guilty at the arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Criminal Division.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation is actively participating in nation-wide efforts to collect and analyze insurance claim information that will provide important insights into property insurance market costs, coverages and protection gaps. The Department recognizes the critical importance of market intelligence at a time when consumers, insurance regulators and industry face the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters. State insurance regulators working through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in March issued the Property & Casualty Market Intelligence Data Call (PCMI), and data collection is ongoing through June 6, 2024. The NAIC is a standard-setting and regulatory support organization comprised of the chief insurance regulators of the U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. 

by Attorney General Charity Clark Last week, the Vermont Legislature voted out one of the most impactful consumer bills seen in decades, H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer data privacy and the age-appropriate design code. I am proud to say that I was one of the original authors of H.121 – and humbled to say that the final bill that passed is much, much better. In the bill, consumer protections for our data privacy are balanced with protections for small businesses, and the beneficiaries are all of us: consumers, the marketplace, businesses, and children.