Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed into law H.42, An act relating to temporary alternative procedures for annual municipal meetings and electronic meetings of public bodies, passed by the General Assembly. He noted that he has concerns with the bill related to transparency. He is also calling for extending universal mail-in voting to all elections.
On January 25, Governor Scott signed a bill of the following title:
- H.42, An act relating to temporary alternative procedures for annual municipal meetings and electronic meetings of public bodies
When signing H.42, Governor Scott issued the following statement:
“I’m signing this bill at the request of Vermont municipalities who value an extension to pandemic-era flexibilities. However, I have concerns with the removal of the disclosure of per pupil costs from Vermonters when voting. Voters deserve this transparency, and I see no defensible reason why we should extend its omission from ballots.
“Further, over the past several years, when signing elections legislation, I have continued to call on the Legislature to extend the automatic mailing of ballots to all Vermont elections – including municipal and primary elections. As I have said, we should all support increasing voter participation. Currently, universal mail-in voting only applies to general elections, which already has the highest voter turnout.
“I look forward to reading the Office of the Secretary of State’s report this month, as required by Act 60 of 2021, on how we can implement universal vote by mail for all elections this biennium, thus increasing accessibility and participation in the democratic process for all Vermont elections.”
To view a complete list of action on bills passed during the 2023 legislative session, click here.
1.25.2023. Montpelier www.vermont.gov
