News & Commentary

Given state’s attorneys’ immense power and outsized impact on the lives of Vermonters, voters must know what these elected officials are doing in your name. Unfortunately, much of what state’s attorneys do is hidden from the public. We're trying to change that.

The Vermont legislature adjourned last week, bringing the 2022 legislative session to a close. With our allies, we helped introduce proactive civil liberties legislation, tracked more than one hundred bills, and testified numerous times before House and Senate Committees.

Vermont is experiencing an overdose crisis. State leaders must utilize every available tool to address this crisis, save lives, and make our communities safer - including authorizing overdose prevention sites.

It has been a heart-wrenching month for Vermont’s transgender community and allies.

Meaningful change in the American legal system begins with a recognition that the entire system is built on systemic racism and classism, and policies that perpetuate the same. That includes cash bail.

Now that the dust has settled after crossover week, here’s an update on key legislation advanced by the ACLU and our allies: bills that passed, are on the move, proposing studies, and stuck on the wall.

We’re about to enter “crossover week” in the Vermont Legislature, when House and Senate lawmakers scramble to vote bills out of the committees send them “across” to the other chamber. At this critical juncture, we wanted to share a status update on some of our priority issue areas.

Where does Vermont stand on police reform, two years after the murder of George Floyd forced a nationwide reckoning on police brutality and structural racism? 

Last year, Vermont lost over 200 of our friends, neighbors, and family members to drug overdoses. This is an unprecedented and tragic record for overdose deaths here. It seems as if this horrendous reality has become the "new normal." Are we, as a state, in denial? Are we to settle for this?