by Nat Rudarakanchana May 19, 2013 vtdigger.org An attempt to regulate police Taser use and training more closely stalled, despite calls from advocates and relatives of victims of Taser use. The House Government Operations Committee decided it needed more time to address the concerns of police, who feared regulators would micromanage the use of an effective weapon.
Morgan Brown protests a Taser hearing outside a Montpelier public forum on March 11, 2013. Photo by Nat Rudarakanchana
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Campaign finance
Momentum for campaign finance reform, spurred by 2012 elections featuring Super PACs from inside and outside Vermont, ultimately fizzled this year, making it several years in a row. The House and the Senate couldn’t agree on controversial provisions regarding Super PACs and donation limits, amid the threat of a legal challenge to a Super PAC cap. Although lawmakers will take up the issue again in 2014, fresh regulations won’t come in time to affect the 2014 election cycle.
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Child care workers testified in force at a Statehouse public hearing on Wednesday evening. Those in red represented the Vermont Workers Center, while those in blue supported the legislation, and those in white opposed it. Photo by Nat Rudarakanchana
Unionization for child-care workers
Allowing child-care workers to unionize faced yet another year of little progress, as the issue failed to reach a Senate floor vote. In a surprise development, legislation died in committee on a 3-2 vote. Senators also ruled a floor amendment out as non-germane, so the topic didn’t receive substantive debate on the floor. Advocates vowed to return next year for a more vigorous push, and Sen. Dick McCormack, the bill’s chief champion in the Senate, showed no signs of backing down.
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Deputy state’s attorney union
Deputy state’s attorneys, who prosecute criminals for the state, sought the right to form a union. But the bill, pushed for by the state employee union VSEA, never cleared either chamber. It reached the Senate floor for debate, but some senators preferred to wait for the results of an ongoing study into working conditions for all state-employed attorneys. It could see action next year.
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Social media privacy
A bill designed to protect job applicants from employers snooping around inside their social media accounts, like their Facebook accounts, didn’t make it very far. Lawmakers instead formed a committee to study social media privacy for employees and job candidates, due in January 2014. The key issue is whether businesses can force people to turn over their social media passwords, as a condition of employment or otherwise.
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