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A brief update follows— join our call to learn more:
Your Windham County legislators continued the very serious work of responding to the COVID-19 situation this week. We are in regular communication with legislative leaders, the Administration, each other and you, our constituents. During this time when so much is unsettled and just buying groceries can be more of an adventure that we want, it is so important to watch out for each other. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us if we can be of any help during this State of Emergency.
Throughout the last week the Vermont Senate and House collaborated to pass COVID-19 response legislation. The legislation focused on three primary pressing needs: healthcare systems, economic stress, and government operations.
H.742 and H.681, are omnibus COVID-19 relief bills. H.681 grants temporary authority to the Secretary of State to hold elections in a different manner in 2020, such as switching to a vote by mail system, and makes changes to open meeting laws to allow for fully remote meetings. H.742 expands the state's unemployment insurance system to include those whose jobs were affected by the coronavirus and protects employers who lose employees during the pandemic from having to pay higher unemployment insurance rates when staff leave. It also loosens regulations so that health care providers who would normally need additional credentials can temporarily practice in Vermont. The bill expands the use of telemedicine and gives the state the authority to temporarily delay the provider taxes owed by hospitals and other health care providers.
We also passed rules changes allowing us to continue our own work remotely. In fact you can watch all of our committee work on youtube! Just follow the link on any committee's page on the legislature's website.
This last week also saw the passage of the CARES Act by the U.S. Congress. As a backdrop to the measures taken in Vermont to mitigate the crisis, the U.S. House gave final approval on Friday to a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. This bill gives Vermont as much as $2 billion in support. Among other appropriations for Vermont, it provides over $5 million to support public health preparedness, and over $4 million in assistance for emergency child care for workers deemed essential to the coronavirus response. The bill also significantly expands Unemployment Insurance eligibility and benefits. The exact implications and administration of this expansive legislation will become clearer in the coming weeks.
There are challenges ahead for everyone who is in Vermont right now. It's going to take all of us. Everything that we are doing, that we are being asked to endure is to help create a best case scenario in a situation that will be painful. We will all experience loss by the time this virus has spread through the population. Many of us will experience illness whether it be severe or mild. We will get through this together.
During this time it is crucial that we remain accessible to you and have a government that works for each of us. If you have a need for service or a question you can't find help for, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us. Stay healthy and be well!
Windham 2-1. Brattleboro
Emilie Kornheiser Ekornheiser@leg.state.VT.us 802-246-1213
Windham 2-2. Brattleboro
Mollie Burke Mburke@leg.state.VT.us 802-257-4844
Windham 2-3. Brattleboro
Tristan Toleno Ttoleno@leg.state.VT.us 802-579-5511
Dec 20, 2024, 12 to 2 PM
61st Annual Green River Carol SingDec 22, 2024, 5 PM
Book, Board Game and Jigsaw Puzzle SwapDec 27, 2024, 2 to 5 PM