Rep. Angela Arsenault

Maddy summaryThis bill designates February 22, 2024 as Age Strong Vermont Day at the State House to recognize the state's aging population and the new 10-year action plan developed to support older Vermonters. It directly affects Vermont residents aged 60 and older, who make up nearly 30 percent of the state's population, by formally acknowledging the Age Strong VT roadmap that addresses seven key areas including affordable aging, health, social connection, and elder justice. The resolution requires the Secretary of State to send copies to the Governor and relevant state officials, serving as a ceremonial observance rather than creating new policy requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill would ban advertisements for Vermont's state-run gambling operations, including the state lottery and sports wagering. It directly affects the Department of Liquor and Lottery, sports wagering operators, and any entities that currently advertise these services. The law would require the department to remove existing gambling advertisements and prevent new ones from appearing in the future. This change would modify the current advertising plan agreement between the state and its gambling partners. The bill aims to reduce the visibility of state gambling promotions without altering the operations themselves.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes to reorganize Vermont's education system by converting the Agency of Education into a Department of Education that reports directly to the State Board of Education. It would eliminate the Secretary of Education position and create a new Commissioner of Education role to oversee the department and manage the public school system. The legislation also requires the State Board of Education to have membership that reflects the state's geographic diversity and student enrollment patterns. Additionally, the bill establishes a professional development institute within the department to support evidence-based teaching practices and student support services.

Maddy summaryThis House resolution honors Vermont television journalist Stewart Ledbetter for his 40 years of news reporting. The bill formally recognizes his career achievements, including his work as a news director, political campaign moderator, and recipient of multiple broadcast awards. It directs the House Clerk to send a copy of the resolution to Ledbetter and WPTZ, the television station where he worked.

Maddy summaryThis bill would require annual mental health screenings for anxiety, depression, and suicide risk among school-aged youth in Vermont. The screenings would be implemented as part of existing school health services, directly affecting students and school districts. The legislation mandates that these assessments occur regularly to identify mental health concerns early, without specifying additional funding or enforcement details.

Maddy summaryThis bill would give Vermont's Attorney General new authority to regulate social media platforms in the state, specifically to protect the health and safety of users under 18. It establishes a new legal framework called the Vermont Social Media Safety Act and creates a funding structure to support enforcement efforts. The legislation is based on findings that social media design features can contribute to youth mental health issues and addiction, and it applies consumer protection principles to social media companies. The bill does not specify particular platform requirements but instead empowers regulators to oversee how these platforms operate and impact child users.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies Vermont's judicial retention process by requiring a single joint legislative vote for all judges seeking retention, establishing procedures for committee members to observe courtrooms in person or remotely, and adding empathy and understanding of equity and bias to the performance evaluation criteria for judges. The legislation also allocates $50,000 to reimburse the Judicial Nominating Board for paralegal services used during judicial nominations. These changes directly affect judges, justices, and magistrates in Vermont who face retention elections, as well as the legislative committee members who evaluate their performance. The bill aims to make the retention process more transparent and comprehensive by expanding how judicial performance is assessed and ensuring all retention votes occur together in one legislative session.

Maddy summaryThis bill would change how Vermont towns without their own public schools use education funds by requiring them to designate up to five specific public or approved independent schools as eligible to receive public tuition payments. The legislation establishes new criteria that independent schools must meet to qualify for public funding and allows school districts to close existing schools and pay tuition to designated schools only with voter approval. It also sets spending limits on private school tuition, capping payments for nonprofit independent schools at the average tuition of Vermont union elementary schools. The bill aims to ensure public funds support schools that serve all children while keeping tax dollars within the state.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Vermont state law to clarify how harassment is defined and evaluated in schools, directly affecting students, families, and school administrators. It removes the requirement that harassment must be "severe or pervasive" to be unlawful, allowing a single incident to constitute harassment if it objectively undermines a student's education or creates an intimidating environment. The law also specifies that harassment can be determined by looking at all circumstances together rather than isolating individual incidents, and it clarifies that harassment can occur even if the student continues their education or if the conduct happens outside school grounds. However, the bill maintains that behavior considered a petty slight or trivial inconvenience by a reasonable person would not qualify as harassment. These changes take effect on July 1, 2024.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program, which would require fossil fuel companies that operated in Vermont between 2000 and 2019 to pay for their share of climate change costs. The program targets entities involved in extracting coal, oil, or natural gas, charging them based on how much greenhouse gas their products contributed to global emissions. Money collected from these payments would go into a dedicated fund to finance climate resilience projects like flood protections, upgraded infrastructure, and health programs addressing climate-related health risks. The law defines specific types of infrastructure projects eligible for funding and establishes rules for determining which companies must pay and how much they owe.