Gov. Phil Scott (R-VT) held a weekly press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [AUDIO OUT]
00:27 -Affordability, housing, and public safety are their top priorities.
00:33 That's why I asked the legislature to focus on these issues earlier in the year.
00:38 So this week, we'll be talking about public safety.
00:41 And I can't really begin without taking a moment to talk about Senator Sears' passing last weekend.
00:48 He and I, along with John, served in the Senate for many years together,
00:54 and he was someone I had a great deal of respect for.
00:57 Just this past session, he worked closely with us to pass the public safety legislation
01:02 we'll talk more about today.
01:04 And I don't think we would have gotten it where we did without him.
01:10 So I share my gratitude for his service and decades-long commitment to Bennington,
01:16 and my thoughts are with his family and friends, including all those in the Senate.
01:22 A couple of weeks ago, I was asked if there was any bright spots this session.
01:27 The first thing that came to mind was public safety.
01:30 That's because Senator Sears and Representative Mulron were willing to work together to improve our policies.
01:38 None of us got everything we wanted, but we each gave a little to come to a compromise we could all agree on.
01:47 I've always believed public safety is the highest responsibility of any government.
01:53 That's why it's so important we get it right.
01:57 In January, we proposed a public safety package to help make our community safer.
02:02 I know many of us have heard from municipal leaders, business owners, community members,
02:07 police chiefs, and others about the need for action sooner rather than later.
02:14 And the data shows us their right to be concerned, which is why I'm very happy we took a few steps forward.
02:22 Just last week, I signed two major public safety bills into law, S-58 and S-195,
02:29 which address a few of our collective concerns.
02:33 We know many crimes in Vermont are the result of drug trafficking.
02:38 S-58 increases enforcement of drug crimes, which is critical to slowing down the deadly supply of drugs coming into our state.
02:48 We also focus on repeat offenses because existing policies create a lack of accountability.
02:56 We've all heard stories about people committing crimes only to be back out on the street recently, just hours or days later.
03:07 S-195 makes changes to the conditions of release and bail to give judges more tools to get people into court
03:16 so they can hold repeat offenders accountable.
03:20 I want to be clear. In order to be most effective, we need the courts to use these new tools to help keep our communities safe.
03:30 And Vermonters should know, these bills are not going to solve all our problems,
03:36 but they are important steps forward as we continue to focus on this issue.
03:41 For more details on these new tools, I'll turn it over to Tucker Jones from the Department of Public Safety.
03:51 Thank you, Governor. Good afternoon, everyone.
03:54 My name is Tucker Jones with the Department of Public Safety filling in for Commissioner Morrison today.
04:00 I'd like to echo the governor's comments about Senator Sears.
04:04 I'd like to highlight some of this public safety legislation.
04:08 But before I do, I'd like to acknowledge his passing.
04:12 Senator Sears was a key architect for much of the legislation I'm going to mention,
04:18 but he was also an extraordinary force in the Vermont Senate.
04:22 In his committee room, Senator Sears expressed his views and they were often strongly held.
04:30 But he also maintained a genuine openness to changing his mind.
04:35 The result was that whatever the outcome of a particular bill, people left with a sense that they got a fair shake from him.
04:42 That and his remarkable institutional memory dating back to the early 90s were such valuable qualities in a legislator.
04:51 And his legacy will be long remembered by many.
04:54 The commissioners of the Department of Public Safety, the colonel and our entire policy team have learned a lot from Senator Sears.
05:01 And we mourn his passing. With that said, here are some of the highlights for public safety legislation this session.
05:10 First, as one ninety five, as the governor mentioned,
05:14 an act relating to how a defendant's criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release,
05:19 creates new ways to monitor people on pretrial release after they have been arraigned for a criminal charge.
05:27 Over the next year, we will see whether these changes effectively address the so-called revolving door issue,
05:34 where people who are charged with a crime continue to commit crimes while on pretrial release and in violation of court ordered conditions of release.
05:44 As one ninety five focuses mostly on monitoring pretrial defendants,
05:49 and we will continue to examine whether the courts have enough tools to quickly enforce violations of conditions of release when they occur.
05:58 The issue of repeated criminal activity by people already on pretrial release for other crimes gives rise to perhaps the greatest challenge with public safety
06:09 and a perception that the existing tools to protect public safety can be ineffective.
06:15 So we will continue to examine this issue between now and the next legislative session and work with stakeholders to address it further if necessary.
06:25 Additionally, several bills this year filled gaps in the criminal law.
06:30 As 58, an act relating to public safety made some changes to juvenile jurisdiction,
06:36 recognizing that certain firearm and drug offenses can present an immediate public safety risk
06:43 and that those cases can begin in the criminal division in the discretion of the state's attorney for those 16 years of age and older.
06:52 There were also some changes to drug laws in 58, including a provision to make the sale and dispensing of xylosine a criminal offense.
07:01 It was important to fill this gap because I was seen as now found in 55 percent of glass and bags tested by Vermont's forensic laboratory.
07:11 Going forward, we will continue to mark to monitor emerging trends in any new substances that arise in overdose fatality and forensic lab data.
07:23 Also, penalties for retail theft in age 534, an act relating to retail theft,
07:29 have been changed to reflect the issue of people repeatedly committing this offense, but doing so below the felony threshold of nine hundred dollars.
07:38 Likewise, age 563, an act relating to unauthorized entry and operation of a motor vehicle,
07:44 but just the language regarding the criminal offense of entering a motor vehicle or operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent to make sure that behavior is adequately captured in the criminal law.
07:57 And then finally, on a related note, age 872 made significant changes to the professional regulation of law enforcement officers by calling for a single uniform and enforceable code of conduct applicable to all law enforcement in the state.
08:16 This code of conduct will provide greater clarity and transparency about what conduct is subject to professional regulation discipline.
08:25 This will not only increase trust and accountability in law enforcement, but assure the law enforcement profession that regulation of the profession is handled in a clear, uniform and fair manner at the state level.
08:38 This is especially important today when recruiting and retaining public sector employees generally and law enforcement officers specifically is a key public safety goal.
08:48 Right now, the functional vacancy rate at the Vermont State Police load is about 23 percent and attrition continues to outpace recruitment of new officers.
09:00 Going forward this year, the Department of Public Safety's priorities will continue to be keeping our community safe and reducing crime.
09:07 To do this, the department is focused on three topics.
09:11 First, this year, the department will be monitoring the impact of the legislation that I just mentioned, with a focus on whether these legislative changes adequately address behavior that presents immediate public safety risks.
09:24 Second, the department will continue its effort to recruit skilled troopers with hiring bonuses and recruitment awards.
09:32 And third, the Department of Public Safety will continue its work with the Public Safety Enhancement Team, known as PSET, which is a state-level interagency group working with specific communities around the state to address resource coordination and the underlying drivers of criminal behavior in those communities.
09:53 The PSET is part of the ongoing work set forth in the governor's August 2022 10-point plan to apply the cross-government pandemic response model to reduce violence in communities.
10:05 Thank you.
10:11 Hi, my name is John Campbell. I'm the executive director for the Department of State's attorneys and sheriffs.
10:15 And if I could start saying that we have all mentioned Dick Sears, I get it.
10:20 As the governor mentioned that the governor, myself and Senator Sears were all in the legislature together inside.
10:28 And in fact, then Governor Shumlin, when he appointed me to the Judiciary Committee at first, he said, Campbell, you said your only job is to make sure that you control his blood pressure.
10:40 And because Senator Sears, for those of you who know, he certainly had a tendency to elevate.
10:49 But I tell you, the one thing that he he was always constant, was always constant with him, was the fact that there was concern for victims, victims of crime.
10:58 That never left. He never lost sight of that. And thankfully for that vision, we have had a wonderful awareness.
11:08 And the legislation legislators in the 2000s and nearly the last 10 years, they really took that into consideration.
11:17 However, recently, I don't think it's too.
11:22 I'm sure most people realize this is that there's been a sort of a change, the change of accountability.
11:29 As the governor mentioned, there seems to be a lack of accountability and lack of consequences for actions that people take.
11:38 We're not talking about some of these young people make bad decisions.
11:41 We're talking about people who decided that they're going to have a criminal lifestyle.
11:46 That's the way they're going to make their living and they're going to prey on other people.
11:51 It's been very tough over the last few years to try to deal with getting legislation passed that recognized that there are still many, many victims of crime.
12:00 They occur. It continues to occur on a regular basis.
12:03 And so that's what I want to thank Governor Scott, his team, and also for public safety for being over the legislature with us,
12:12 trying to help push that and to realize that that there is a problem and that problem has to be dealt with.
12:19 Because if not, no one's going to be safe out there. No property is going to be safe.
12:23 It's just going to continue to continue to see the problems that we have arisen.
12:29 One of the 195, the one bill that Tucker had mentioned, there are two things in there that we really are,
12:36 or I should say three, that we're really happy to have seen.
12:40 One removes the $200 cap bill that was put in place by the legislature a couple of years ago for certain misdemeanors.
12:49 And now the judges, they will take into consideration whether or not an individual has also been convicted of another crime or is currently awaiting trial on a crime.
13:03 So they'll be able to take that into consideration when determining whether or not the $200 will be sufficient to determine whether that person will be at risk of flight.
13:14 The second one is actually those conditions of release and dealing with risk of flight.
13:19 When making that determination of whether the conditions are sufficient, the courts now have to consider two things.
13:29 They'll not only consider the seriousness of the offense, but also whether the defendant was currently out on other conditions of release,
13:39 which we're fighting a lot of, and whether or not the defendant was compliant with court orders,
13:45 and whether or not that person failed to appear in a prior hearing.
13:52 One of the probably most shocking statistics that I heard, and I actually had, when my team came to me and told me about it,
13:59 I said, "You know, I checked that figure. That seems like a lot."
14:02 But there's over 60% of the people that, well, in fact, there are currently about 21,000 cases of criminal cases,
14:11 and about 60% of those have been committed by one person, one or more people.
14:19 They'll have one or more offenses that they've committed.
14:21 So 60% of those cases, they involve persons with one or more criminal dockets.
14:31 It's pretty shocking, the fact that there are so many multiple offenders.
14:35 I know there are several of them that we came across that have 50 or 60 cases, outstanding cases.
14:41 Last year alone, 5,000 arrest warrants were issued for failures to appear.
14:48 That just cannot continue.
14:51 And if we're going to be able to get our backlog of our court cases, get through them,
14:57 if we're going to try to get some samples of order brought back to the state, we need to have that accountability.
15:03 These defendants need to be brought into court, and they need to address the crimes that they have allegedly committed.
15:11 So the final issue in 195 that we're happy that was passed is that the work crew program,
15:19 which the Department of Corrections had to, for resource reasons, had to abandon for a while, that is now back on the table.
15:28 So we'll be having, I believe, a pilot program in several of the counties to reestablish the work crew.
15:36 Again, thank you very much for coming, and thank you to everybody.
15:42 Thank you, John. Thank you, Tucker. We'll open up to questions at this point.
15:47 Governor, there's an awful lot of out-of-state drug crime going on.
15:51 There's a lot of the violence that seems to be coming from people from out-of-state.
15:57 Can you talk about specifically how this legislation and how your policing practices will be trying to mitigate that?
16:06 Well, first of all, we have been trying to mitigate that for quite a number of years,
16:13 and I want to thank our public safety team, the colonels here, for all they've done.
16:21 And you don't see that a lot in terms of what's happening behind the scenes,
16:27 but it's all productive and it's difficult and it's not easy.
16:33 So we'll continue to work on that approach in trying to cut off the supply before it arrives here.
16:42 But that also relies on cooperation from other states, which we do as well.
16:49 So this is a big team effort throughout the Northeast, just combined with Vermont.
16:54 Everyone is experiencing this.
16:58 Some of what we've seen as well with the bail is that the conditions of release are implemented,
17:08 but they don't show back up, and that goes for those in-state and those out-of-state.
17:14 So I believe that this will be helpful in that regard when we see those repeat offenders,
17:20 to hold them accountable and bring them, at least get them into court to face prosecution.
17:28 So that in itself I think would be helpful.
17:32 Dr. Anything else you wanted to add to that as well?
17:35 Governor, I just think that one of the things you did say, and I think it's really important for us to know,
17:42 is that especially at 195, it gives tools to the judiciary,
17:46 but the judiciary are going to have to be the ones that actually take those and enforce them.
17:53 So we're hoping, and I'm sure we have incredible judges on the bench,
17:58 and so they're the ones that are going to have to implement and help with finding these individuals
18:05 who really have little respect for the judicial system here, especially the repeat offenders.
18:14 Dan, anything you want to add to that? Or Colonel, anything you want to add to the police department aspect?
18:21 Thank you, Governor. Matt Birmingham, Director of the State Police.
18:24 I'll just echo a couple of things the Governor said.
18:27 First of all, this is a nationwide problem that's struck epidemic,
18:31 and it is compounded by the prolific introduction of fentanyl and heroin into our drug markets around the country.
18:38 And I'll also echo what the Governor said, that this is not only a nationwide problem,
18:44 but the nationwide effort to really get our arms around this.
18:48 There's a significant demand for these drugs in Vermont and across the nation.
18:52 We have to stay focused on demand reduction.
18:56 We cannot forget about that because that's what's driving the economics of the drug trade.
19:02 And law enforcement will continue to focus on the supply chain.
19:07 These are very dangerous groups that are operating around the country, starting with the drug cartel in Mexico.
19:13 We work very closely with our federal partners.
19:15 There are many federal agencies that work on this issue nationwide,
19:19 but they are moving a tremendous amount of fentanyl and heroin and nilazine as part of the mix.
19:26 These are incredibly dangerous and deadly drugs, and law enforcement will continue to work on the supply side.
19:33 But I have to reiterate it, and you're seeing it across the state, these are violent groups,
19:37 and they're bringing the violence to Vermont, and we're seeing it all the time here in shootings and homicides or drug-related.
19:44 So that is concerning to law enforcement in this state, and something that we are laser-focused on.
19:50 The Vermont State Police administers the Vermont Drug Task Force,
19:53 which is a statewide, multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement group made up of state, county, local officers, and federal agents.
20:02 And they are laser-focused on bringing the suppliers and the supply chain and the people who are profiting on this
20:10 and preying on victims to justice.
20:13 So it's good to see some of the gaps that Tucker talked about being closed in the criminal statute.
20:21 So that's all. Thank you.
20:23 This might be a question for Colonel Birmingham, but I know the Biden administration, maybe six months, eight months ago,
20:36 worked out a deal with China where they were going to manufacture –
20:41 they were going to export less of a chemical that is a base, part of fentanyl,
20:47 the hope being months, maybe years down the line, we're seeing less fentanyl coming into the country.
20:53 Is that the case? Has that paid off at all?
20:56 I mean, I –
20:57 Going way back –
20:58 Yeah, I can't speak to the Biden administration's policies on this.
21:00 I can tell you that a lot of the precursors for fentanyl come from China, and they are manufactured in Mexico
21:07 and in areas outside the country.
21:10 Fentanyl is a 100 percent chemical compound.
21:14 So unlike heroin, where you have to grow plants, fentanyl can be created in labs and laboratories across the world.
21:21 So I know that, you know, the United States government in its entirety is working very hard
21:27 to prevent the precursor chemicals from coming into the United States,
21:31 and they're working very hard to prevent these clandestine and sometimes open laboratories
21:36 from producing fentanyl-endangered chemical compounds and then preventing that from entering the United States.
21:42 But as you can see, it's an incredible challenge.
21:51 I'm going to switch topics unless you guys have anything else on public safety.
21:54 I have one more on public safety.
21:57 You mentioned – I guess there's been a budget hiring some new state's attorneys, deputy state's attorneys.
22:03 How are you going to make sure that they're not – pardon me for saying this –
22:07 clones of Sarah George who basically don't want to incarcerate anyone anyway?
22:13 Someone – people who actually will deliver justice?
22:18 These are elected positions, so there's not a lot of control in some respects in our office,
22:24 but I think John has some idea of each.
22:28 First of all, I don't think I can agree with you on how you describe Sarah George.
22:36 All the prosecutors are elected, as you said, individually.
22:39 They have discretion within their departments.
22:42 They all have different challenges for each one of the counties that they're in.
22:47 I do know, though, that the individuals that – positions that we've received,
22:52 we're very happy to have gotten those, and they will help us with not only the backlog
22:58 but also to prioritize those crimes that we're dealing with.
23:04 You have to also understand that things have changed in the last few years.
23:08 Not only have the crimes become more complex, but there are also more requirements on the part of the attorneys,
23:15 the state's attorneys, prosecutors, such as reviewing all of the body cams and the cameras from all the vehicles.
23:24 They have to sit there and go through hours and hours and hours, and for one person to try to do that,
23:30 and those are in almost every matter.
23:33 So it's a tough challenge, but our folks are up to it, and I believe that we have a –
23:40 all of our offices are efficient, and I think they're going to do a great job.
23:44 John, we're seeing staffing shortages across state government, across the workforce.
23:49 These are really specialized – whether we're talking judges, state's attorneys, public defenders.
23:55 How much of the impact or what's your confidence level that we're going to be actually –
24:00 that the money is going to solve the problem here?
24:02 I don't think money is going to be the only solution.
24:05 I don't think that we can spend our way out of this.
24:09 I think that it's going to be a combination, and it's going to be a combination of changes in some of the laws that we've seen.
24:16 Again, I cannot stress the fact that I – you know, we need to start saying to people,
24:20 we're going to hold you accountable, and there are going to be consequences for your actions.
24:25 Until we do that, until we get serious, then people are just going to, you know, continue to act like they're superior.
24:33 They're just going to say, and that makes our job a lot tougher.
24:38 Unfortunately, we have people in our department that they don't know when a 40-hour work week is –
24:44 it's always a farm and access to that.
24:47 And because they're public servants and they really believe in what they're – in the job that they're doing,
24:53 I think they are – at least we hope that they're going to stay on.
24:57 And we do – we have a very good rate as far as keeping our folks, and I'd say the retention rate for employees.
25:06 So I think that, again, these dedicated individuals are going to be making a difference.
25:15 As well.
25:16 If I could just add, the demographics that we're facing, the crisis we're facing in that regard,
25:23 is our highest priority in some respects.
25:26 We see in every single sector throughout Vermont, whether it's in public service or private service,
25:32 private individuals and so forth, every single sector is suffering in terms of workforce.
25:40 So I talked about this previously, but I'll give these three numbers again.
25:48 But when you look at the census from 2010 to 2012, we had 14,000 fewer kids under the age of 18 than we did in 2010.
26:00 And with the age group 40 to 54 is about 24,000 less.
26:08 I mean, that's in need of our workforce.
26:11 That's the center.
26:13 And then over the age of 65, there are 48,000 more.
26:18 That tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what we're facing here in Vermont
26:23 as we try to bring more people in, or we're trying to keep more people here.
26:28 But it really is about resupplying our workforce.
26:33 And how do we do that?
26:35 Housing is a barrier for us.
26:39 The other barrier for us, from my perspective, is the cost of living, the cost of living in Vermont.
26:45 And that's why we work so hard to try and make sure that we don't raise taxes and fees any more than we have to,
26:51 so that we can attract more people to the state and keep more people here.
26:56 So it all has to work together, but demographics is really our biggest challenge.
27:03 Governor, do you reckon that people are more self-sufficient?
27:07 I don't.
27:09 I wouldn't recommend that.
27:12 But for those who--I mean, they should do what they think is right for them, whatever situation that is.
27:21 But at the same time, this isn't a wild, wild west either.
27:27 We have to be judicious about their use of firearms, make sure that we're safely using them,
27:35 and that we're safely storing them as well.
27:38 And I have my guns, they're bullet guns, but they're in the gun center.
27:43 And so I think that we just have to be careful about our use of them.
27:49 But if you have them, you have to make your own decision about whether you keep them closed or not.
27:57 Within the last hour, you vetoed the old bill.
28:03 I think we were all pretty much expecting that.
28:05 But you've also kind of been teasing this potential different option.
28:08 Do you have any updates on that?
28:10 And you also mentioned how you wanted to discuss with House and Senate leadership, and has that happened as well?
28:14 We reached out to the House and Senate.
28:18 We received a response, I think, from the Senate, but maybe it was the House as well.
28:22 And I think it was determined that they wanted to wait until the--when I did veto the bill.
28:30 So that's why I decided to get it out quickly.
28:32 We received it this morning.
28:34 There was no real decision to make from my standpoint.
28:37 And we wanted to make sure that there was enough runway now to have those discussions.
28:42 So I think we have something scheduled for next week.
28:45 You shouldn't expect there's going to be anything different than what we've been talking about,
28:52 maybe a little variation of some of what we've testified on in some of the debates.
28:59 But I think there's a path forward.
29:01 And I hope that they will take it seriously because there really is two ways to accomplish this.
29:09 One, they override the veto, which they have the supermajority who are capable of doing that.
29:17 Secondly, is to work with us to try and reduce rates, to try and put some constraints on future budgets,
29:26 to try and find some ways to--and we have ideas about this--to fix the structural issues we have with our education system.
29:36 So I'm hoping that they'll work with us and that we can get Vermont as relief whenever they're--
29:42 because that will increase property taxes.
29:46 As much as we talk about it, we'll be surprised.
29:51 [inaudible]
29:55 What happens if they don't override it, they don't--what kind of deal--if there's no veto,
30:01 essentially, it requires that it will happen?
30:03 I don't think we even have to consider that.
30:06 I mean, there is a provision for that.
30:08 But they've already said that they want to talk, just talk and listen.
30:14 And they'll have to do their own counting.
30:17 They know what their numbers are, and they think they can override.
30:21 They think that's the right path.
30:23 That's what they'll do.
30:24 They've shown they can do it, and they've shown they can do it again.
30:28 How are school districts--excuse me.
30:31 How are school districts supposed to take this news?
30:33 There were a handful of school budgets that passed this week,
30:37 but there are still some that have yet to pass a budget.
30:39 They're going to be budgeting, and they're thinking about that 87% rule,
30:45 which if we don't have a deal--I guess--what do you think that school districts--
30:50 I just don't think that that should be a consideration.
30:53 We'll come to some agreement before that happens.
31:00 I'm confident in that.
31:06 Governor, you've been saying that you're hoping for more centrist candidates.
31:11 The deadline is May 30, and I guess probably you and your folks have looked at it.
31:14 It's been filed, and who hasn't?
31:16 How do you think that's going?
31:18 Are you getting more centrist candidates?
31:20 We're seeing a few, not as many as I'd like, but we're seeing a few.
31:27 We're, again, suffering from the same thing that everyone else is,
31:32 this demographic challenge.
31:34 People I've talked with have said either they have so much going on in their lives,
31:41 they have their work, their businesses, and so forth,
31:43 and they just can't take the time to do this, not right now, maybe later.
31:48 And others say, "You know, if I was only younger, I would do this."
31:52 But now they're looking forward to retirement, and they don't want to do this either.
31:56 So there's a certain amount--I use the term apathy out there--
32:00 but I think it's more of an unwillingness to put yourself out there into this group that you endure.
32:10 And we're seeing more and more of that, not just here in the states, but throughout the country,
32:14 the polarization, the divisiveness, and social media as a way of tearing families apart.
32:23 So some people say, "Why would I want to put myself through that?"
32:30 What do you think is going to lead for the balance of power next session?
32:33 I mean, I know there's, I think, 70 or so challenge seats in the House.
32:39 We're going to set aside--how do you see that working next session?
32:44 I hope we will see more balance.
32:47 That's what we need.
32:49 And I think it actually would help the process.
32:53 At this point in time, when you have a supermajority, you don't have to speak to the executive branch.
32:58 You don't have to listen to them.
33:00 You can continue to do what you want to do and force it through.
33:04 When you don't have that supermajority, then you have to come to the table.
33:09 And I think the results are better for Vermont.
33:13 Senator Mazza, Senator Sears, Senator Kitchell won't be there in the Senate.
33:19 How does that factor into it?
33:21 And how will that fundamentally, if at all, change the nature of the session next year?
33:28 We're going to see a huge shift in the Senate.
33:32 We've seen some shifts even in the last election.
33:35 And some of these folks who are leaving, the majority of them this year, I would classify as being moderate Senators.
33:44 Bobby Starr, Senator Mazza, Senator Sears, and Kitchell.
33:48 And it's going to be difficult.
33:52 But hopefully we'll have opportunities to bring new Senators into the equation.
34:01 Earlier this week, you signed the transportation bill.
34:07 And you've always talked about taxes and fees and not raising them.
34:10 But there are those new EB fees that will be added.
34:12 I know it's making up the lost gas tax.
34:14 But did raising those fees and creating them kind of play in your role in your decision making with that?
34:18 Or is it just fair that it's balancing that out now?
34:20 I think, again, from my perspective, I think it's a user fee.
34:25 I think everyone has to pay something so that we can keep our roads in good order.
34:32 We can replace bridges.
34:35 The infrastructure is important.
34:37 And then we have to match all the funds that we're contemplating over the next few years.
34:42 So I think it's just a fairness standpoint, I think, that it is worth looking to.
34:50 All right, we'll go to the phones.
34:52 Tom Davis, Compass Vermont.
34:59 Tim McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine.
35:03 Governor, you're talking about the law and how to keep dangerous people off the street.
35:10 But do you anticipate running into constitutional problems on that?
35:17 You can't incarcerate people forever, right?
35:21 No, but we can get them through the judicial system.
35:26 And that's what we need to do.
35:30 We just want to make sure that they have their day in court, make sure that they're in court.
35:35 And then it's adjudicated.
35:41 Okay, thank you, Governor.
35:44 Keith Whitcomb, Rutland Herald.
35:49 Hi.
35:50 So with regards to incarceration, I was sort of curious sort of how our prison system is going.
35:58 Like, do we have enough room for people?
36:00 Is there enough staff in the prisons, cost to ship them out of state whenever that's needed?
36:05 Or what's that looking like?
36:07 I remember years ago this was talked about a lot.
36:09 I don't know what the state of it is now.
36:12 Yeah, I think it's fairly steady at this point.
36:15 It may have elevated a bit since the pandemic.
36:19 But in terms of the incarceration rate, staffing levels have increased.
36:24 I think the commission has done a great job in trying to promote the department and bring more people in.
36:31 So that's been very, very helpful.
36:33 And it's still -- we're not declaring victory here, but it's substantially better than it was a year ago or two years ago.
36:43 So we're good from that standpoint.
36:45 But let's be clear about this.
36:49 Some of what we're talking about today, we're hoping that this will be more of a deterrent so you don't commit the crime,
36:57 so you don't end up in prison, so that we can head some of these things off and that we hold people accountable,
37:04 so that we're not an easy mark here.
37:06 So I think that's part of our goal.
37:12 Do you want to add to that, John, or Dr. --
37:15 No, I think number one is we try to keep people out of the system,
37:20 and that is convincing people that, number one, if you decide that you want to commit an illegal act,
37:28 that there is going to be consequences for that.
37:30 And they're not going to be three, four, five years down the line.
37:34 They're going to be immediate.
37:35 So we'll try to do that.
37:37 And also the communities about themselves, hopefully the resources that they have there,
37:43 we'll try to work with the young, our youth, to help keep them out of the system as well.
37:51 But you'd like to try to do that.
37:53 But if not, if they're going to be in the system, we're going to say that there's going to be some consequences for your actions.
38:03 Thank you.
38:05 Chris Roy, Newport Daily Express.
38:08 No comment.
38:09 Back to the room.
38:11 What kind of consequences?
38:15 It's not going to be prison.
38:17 What I'm saying is it's not going to be prison.
38:20 But in the long run, it's not our goal to put more people in prison.
38:24 Our goal is to keep the crime from happening in the first place
38:28 and to hold people accountable and show that there are consequences, I think, will alleviate some of that.
38:36 What kind of consequences are you talking about?
38:38 What's the alternative?
38:41 There's some of the consequences we're talking about.
38:45 In addition, clearly, if someone's going to commit a serious crime, incarceration obviously is an option.
38:52 But the other thing is what we're seeing now when these people aren't showing up to court,
38:56 they're pretty much thumbing their nose at the whole system.
38:59 The consequences are the fact that they can be--the judiciary will be able to put a bail, order bail.
39:08 They'll be able to order additional conditions of release.
39:12 That will be monitored.
39:14 If they violate these conditions of release, the sanctions will then become harder,
39:22 and the judge, of course, is going to be up to the judiciary on what they decide to do at that point.
39:27 That is why we need to have a judiciary that have provided them these tools so that they can do this.
39:33 Otherwise, the system that we have now is one where people know that, you know what, I don't need to go to court,
39:41 even though I got cited here, because nothing's going to happen to me.
39:45 That message is going to stop.
39:51 Governor, earlier this week you signed Senate Bill 25 banning PFAS in textiles, personal hygiene products,
40:00 menstrual products, turf, et cetera.
40:04 What is your rationale and your thinking behind that?
40:07 These are--we've learned over the years these are forever chemicals.
40:12 They don't dissipate.
40:14 So we need to get them out of the system.
40:17 And there are replacements for that.
40:20 So it isn't PFAS or nothing.
40:23 There are alternatives.
40:25 So that's what we're doing, in my thinking.
40:27 We're paying a heavy price here and throughout the country for these forever chemicals,
40:33 and we need to make sure that we can stop the supply.
40:36 My understanding of the bill is there's exemptions for if we don't have, let's just say, pads or tampons, for instance.
40:43 If there isn't a suitable alternative at the same scale and the same price, there's exemptions for it.
40:50 At the same time, like ski jackets and rain jackets, the industry is already kind of moving toward PFAS upstream anyway.
40:58 How much of an impact do you think this bill would make?
41:02 I think anything will help at this point.
41:04 Again, these--it doesn't take much to impact those--a lot of supplies.
41:12 So we just need to send a message that we have to accelerate this because this is helping our environment.
41:20 It's costing us a lot of money.
41:24 Governor, you vetoed H.645, restorative justice, I believe citing a lack of funding at the present time,
41:31 which Attorney General Clark acknowledged but still disagreed in her statement.
41:36 Do you have a response to her?
41:39 I have no response to her in particular, but when I have a bill that comes across
41:45 and there's funding that's needed, positions that are needed in order to accomplish whatever the bill is supposed--
41:51 is intended to do, and there's no funding--it's not a lack of funding, there's no funding--it's just not good government.
41:59 It's like pushing it off.
42:01 What I heard was the Attorney General would hope to go in in January in budget adjustment and get the money.
42:09 Well, that's just, again, bad government, bad financial planning.
42:14 And we don't know that there's going to be any money left to distribute at that point in time.
42:20 So, again, we would encourage--I heard that there are things she can do in preparation for that.
42:30 And I would say she ought to move forward with that and go back at it in January.
42:35 But, again, I fully expect the legislature, with the supermajority, to at least attempt to override that.
42:43 Maybe they'll be successful.
42:45 It's just a financial--it's not the bill itself or what it's intending to do.
42:51 It's just rushing it to the end and not putting any money in.
42:57 That's just poor planning.
43:02 And have you heard about the looming Canadian border workers' strike that could be happening?
43:08 And how might that impact Vermonters either traveling or commerce-wise crossing the border?
43:12 I have not heard about that.
43:17 But if it's Canadians, then we welcome them in.
43:23 I think it's a good one.
43:26 It being the 80th anniversary of D-Day, you put out the statement earlier about its importance to you.
43:30 I guess if you could just kind of give us a few words or talk about its importance to you today.
43:34 Yeah.
43:35 I mean, history has a way of repeating itself.
43:38 And I think D-Day was an occasion where a lot of brave young men met their death, and tens of thousands of them, to liberate Europe, to liberate France.
43:57 And it was a turning point in World War II for the British generation.
44:01 And so to reflect on that, we should honor those we lost, but also thank the ones who survived and thank the ones who are still alive today.
44:17 Because there won't be another opportunity, I don't believe, another monumental occasion for D-Day.
44:24 I don't think we'll see World War II deaths later around that important day.
44:31 Governor, the Vice of Any Freedom has filed suit on behalf of some Christian parents against DCF.
44:42 DCF says you need to affirm trans education for children, and these Christian foster parents don't want to do this.
44:58 Do you have a position on that?
45:03 Yeah.
45:04 These are the times when I'm going to miss Senator Cedars in some respect.
45:08 He fostered, he was a foster child himself.
45:12 He fostered many children, and I would ask him what he thought about this situation.
45:19 There's no doubt we need more foster parents.
45:23 We need people to take care of so many youth and children that have been neglected and left behind.
45:31 Having said that, I know that we have criteria that we want to make sure, and in all it's geared towards the children.
45:44 How we best serve the children.
45:47 So, having said that, again, I know that there's a lawsuit pending.
45:54 There's not much I probably should say at that point, but I just want to remind everyone, our whole goal here is to protect the kids.
46:05 The state is coming up on the one year anniversary of last year's flood.
46:15 Is there anything that the state is planning to do to commemorate that, or how are you feeling?
46:21 Yeah, no, no, we will be working to come up with a day of reflection.
46:28 Where we are today, where we were then, what we're going to continue to work on.
46:35 So we'll be taking that up in July.
46:39 How are you feeling about where the state is at for the next 11 months?
46:42 Again, I think we've done a pretty good job in some respects. I think the community has done a good job as well.
46:51 It was a tough week in fact, just less than a year ago.
46:57 It was pretty devastating here in Montpelier, in Barry, in Johnson, in Hardwick, and so forth.
47:05 So we've come a long ways, and there's always challenges that we face.
47:14 The PEMA being one of them, but we've been fortunate to work with them in a number of areas.
47:21 But it's still a frustrating bureaucratic process, and we know we have a long ways to go.
47:27 So again, everyone in the legislature has been helpful.
47:31 We have a great team. Doug Farmer is here. He's heading this effort up.
47:39 Doug, anything you'd like to say on this, where we are?
47:46 Thank you, Governor. So Doug Farmer, the Chief Recovery Officer.
47:50 As the Governor said, a lot of our communities have done an amazing job, and they're still working very hard.
47:55 The main vehicle for that, of course, you've got your municipal staff that are still focusing on projects.
48:00 You've got the long-term recovery groups, and that's really the groups that are connecting to a lot of the households and need continued support.
48:07 So the state is working with those groups, trying to support them.
48:09 PEMA is helping us with the community assistance program.
48:12 So we're about to be a year in, and most states take three to five years to recover from a disaster of this size.
48:21 And of course, that's not, you know, you wait three years, and then you're recovered, right?
48:25 It's constant work over that whole period.
48:27 So I do think we have the structures in place, we have the relationships, and we're building on that.
48:33 And we have a lot of individual situations that we're still just trying to manage and find the best options for those individuals.
48:38 So I think that, you know, stopping and looking back and updating a year after will be good, but we still just need to keep pushing.
48:46 Especially with a short construction season, we need to make all the hay we can this summer, right?
48:51 So that's one thing we're really focused on right now. And then we're going to turn to, "Hey, what does this mean for preparing for future disasters?
48:58 How do we think about the structure going forward?"
49:02 But this construction season is really important for a lot of families to prevent them from having to struggle through another winter season.
49:10 How is the plan to redevelop the north end of Barry? How's that going to work?
49:15 So the governor appointed Pat Moulton as Central Vermont's regional recovery officer.
49:21 Pat has been instrumental in maintaining a really close relationship with Barry, Montpelier, Marshfield.
49:26 A lot of those communities that really have to think about, "Okay, how much transformational change is needed?"
49:32 I think the congressional delegation has been fighting hard for us, but the conditions in Washington haven't resulted in a disaster supplemental with a lot of discretionary funding.
49:43 So actually, over the last three days, we held a recovery symposium for the municipalities, which tried to connect them with the existing federal programs.
49:51 So instead of having a big pot of discretionary federal money that we can take on that project with, we're still attacking it.
49:58 We're still working on it constantly, trying to secure grants for the EPA, other sources.
50:03 We're really just still working towards it. It's just more of chipping away at it than it is one big grant that's going to make this happen.
50:10 There's a couple opportunities out there that I'm excited about, but if those happen, we'll see a big chunk of that come in.
50:17 And some of the community discussions in Barry have been amazing, really seeing that community come together and figure out what they're comfortable with, what type of housing they want.
50:25 Because that's the most important thing, right? What type of housing situations does your community want and need?
50:31 Governor, you've stated working with FEMA is a way to defend this challenging house.
50:38 Can you repeat that?
50:40 It's just a bureaucratic process. They've implemented many guidelines and support, but they're difficult to adhere to.
50:49 And they're not always user-friendly. And we're a small state.
50:55 So again, we're working through them, but this is nothing new.
51:00 We've been dealing with FEMA in a lot of different areas over the past few years.
51:06 Thank Irene.
51:08 And just by the final point on how long it takes to recover from Irene.
51:14 So, it takes time.
51:16 Governor, I have just one follow-up on the property tax issue.
51:25 You mentioned you would put out a proposal or floated ideas to the Speaker and the Pro Tem.
51:31 Are we still talking about the one, the Commissioner Bolio plan, the payback? Is that still the structure?
51:38 A lot of the things that Commissioner Bolio has spoken about, the Temp 5 and the 2, are part of this plan.
51:47 But there's been a few changes, and we haven't presented that to them yet, but we hope to next week.
51:56 Thanks.
51:58 Thank you all.
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