The 2021-2022 Legislative Biennium is one for the history books, with lawmakers scrambling to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and working remotely for a large portion of both sessions. Given these unusual dynamics, how much progress did lawmakers make on ensuring a clean and healthy environment for all? Ultimately, we had some notable wins and some disappointing losses. In good news, lawmakers dedicated historic levels of funding to important climate initiatives and clean water infrastructure. Further, VNRC and VCV fought to help secure groundbreaking wins like Vermont’s first comprehensive environmental justice policy, and a first-in-the-nation bill to hold toxic polluters accountable for medical monitoring costs for victims of toxic contamination. We also advocated for important climate resilience initiatives including updates to the Current Use Program to make it easier to protect old forests, and to better track and protect withdrawals from our precious surface waters. These are notable victories that VNRC and VCV played important roles in helping secure.
Read more in our Summer 2022 Legislative Bulletin here: