Legislative committees have been considering yet another exemption to the state’s public records law — this time to guarantee donors to the University of Vermont (as well as to the Vermont State Colleges and the Vermont Student Assistance Corp.) — that their names won’t be disclosed if they request anonymity.
We think UVM’s request for an exemption is unnecessary.
Want to talk about civil liberties as you munch your lunch?
The Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury and the ACLU-VT have teamed up to sponsor a four-part reading and discussion series that looks at what happens when challenges to liberties arise and how the liberties are protected. The discussion series begins Feb. 17 and runs through May 19.
The Legislature is moving to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. On Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee took up a campaign finance bill passed its way after a quick read Wednesday in the Senate Government Operations Committee.
A lack of consensus around fetal issues means the Vermont Senate won’t take up bills this year that could prompt reproductive freedom debates.
Lots of talk about the anti-choice ad that’s scheduled to air during this Sunday’s Super Bowl. For the pro-choice perspective, see the great response sponsored by Planned Parenthood on YouTube. Former college and professional football player Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner are featured.
The House Human Services Committee heard powerful testimony Tuesday concerning a resolution seeking acknowledgment and an apology for the state’s sterilization of “idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded, or insane persons” in the 1930s.