My Record
Generally speaking most bills do a "voice" vote, which means that no official vote is recorded. Usually recorded votes are ones that are hot topic issues or ones that people want others on the record for. There are a lot of bills that were "roll called". If you click the link below, you can go to my legislative page to review my votes. Under that button are a few votes I think are important to Barre City. If you want more information on a specific vote, email me or call me. My contact information is at the bottom of the page our you can send me a message on the "Get Involved" tab above. I will be adding more in.
Public Safety/Safe Injection Sites
These bills primarily focused on public safety laws here in Vermont.
H.2 An act relating to increasing the minimum age for delinquency proceedings
H.642 An act relating to youthful offender proceedings(Boutin Amendment)
I voted yes on both amendments. I grouped them together because the amendments were basically the same issue. It was regarding the "Raise the Age" law that is supposed to go into effect. I do not support the laws that say adults should automatically be charged in family court. I voted yes to end raise the age and to bring accountability to young adults. If this had passed young adults could still go through family court but it would have been a judges decision verse them automatically being treated as a minor.
H.642 An act relating to youthful offender proceedings(Maguire Amendment)
I supported this amendment because it would have required courts to put public safety at the center of youthful offender decisions, particularly in cases involving violence, firearms, repeat offenses, and violations of release conditions. It also expanded the list of serious crimes that could be transferred out of Family Court and strengthened consequences for offenders who fail to comply with probation or treatment requirements. At the same time, it preserved opportunities for rehabilitation for young people who are willing and able to turn their lives around, striking a better balance between accountability and second chances.
There are two votes associated with this bill. When the bill came on the floor it had funding for the safe injection site in Burlington. It was going to allocate an additional $1,100,000 to the safe injection site. The Republicans asked that the question be divided. So the first vote as to whether or not to fund the safe injection site, got a no vote from me. As for passing the underlying bill I voted yes because there were some good allocations in the bill. Nevertheless we took a stand against safe injection sites. The next year, the funding for the safe injection site was stripped out. Which was a huge victory.
H.218 An act relating to fiscal year 2026 appropriations from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund
Homelessness
These bills primarily focused on bills that dealt with homelessness.
H.141 An act relating to fiscal year 2025 budget adjustments
I voted against this because of the continued expansion of the General Assistance Housing Program. I did not and do not believe the hotel/motel model adequately addresses the root causes of homelessness. While emergency shelter has a role, Vermont has spent millions on a system that has produced limited long-term results and too often fails to connect people with the mental health, substance abuse, and recovery services they need. I also note that I am additionally concerned that we dump funds into non-profits designed to help with homelessness, yet we see no marketable benefit.
H.91 An act relating to the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing Program
I voted yes on this bill twice. Not because I was super excited about what it was doing. Rather it was because it was not perpetuating the hotel/motel problem. This bill attempted to change how we provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness. It basically put the Capstone agencies in charge of it. Ultimately this bill was vetoed.
I supported this bill because it begins moving Vermont away from the failed hotel/motel model and toward a system focused on housing, treatment, accountability, and long-term stability. The bill requires case management, creates clearer expectations for participants, expands shelter options, and puts guardrails around motel usage. It's not perfect, but it's a significant improvement over simply paying for hotel rooms without a clear path forward.
H.938 An act relating to establishing the Vermont Homelessness Response Continuum
