►
From YouTube: CHI-SE State Senate Forum - 9/20/2022
Description
Opening Statements - 1:12
Education - 7:39
Healthcare - 12:45
Criminal Justice Reform - 19:10
Ballot Issues - 23:35
Language Access - 29:50
Community Access Media - 33:40
Citizen Legislature - 37:30
Closing Statements - 41:20
This video belongs to http://www.cctv.org and published with permission under Creative Commons License CCTV Center for Media & Democracy Programming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A
Hi
welcome
to
general
election
coverage
by
town
meeting
tv.
This
is
one
of
a
series
of
forums
we
are
bringing
to
you
in
advance
of
the
november
general
election.
All
candidates
on
the
ballot
are
invited
to
participate
in
these
forums
and
all
ballot
issues
will
be
covered.
Tommeeting
tv
election
forums
introduce
you
to
community
decision
makers
and
the
issues
that
matter
to
you
locally.
A
I'm
mayor
christine
lott
here
with
me
tonight,
are
three
of
five
candidates
running
for
the
senate:
chittenden
south
east
district,
I'm
joined
tonight
by
tom
chittenden,
ginny,
lyons
and
keisha
rahm
hinsdale
welcome
everybody
thanks
for
having
us.
Thank
you,
I'm
going
to
ask
you
a
series
of
questions
we'll
have
about
a
minute
and
a
half
to
answer
and
I'll
take
turns
with
with
who
we
have
go
first.
So
why
don't?
We
start
with
opening
statements.
B
Right,
thank
you,
kristen
and
thanks
channel
17..
It's
always
a
pleasure
to
be
here
and
talk
with
folks.
It's
so
critical
to
let
people
know
how
critical
it
is
that
we
maintain
some
consistency
and
continuity
in
the
senate.
At
this
time
we've
got
about
a
third
of
the
senate,
leaving
completely,
and
so
bringing
back.
Some
tried
and
true
folks
is
is
very
important
and
that's
so
that's
one
of
the
reasons
that
I'd
like
to
go
back
to
the
senate.
But
beyond
that
there
are
some
really.
B
There
are
issues
that
affect
all
of
us
affect
our
local
community
and
we
see
them
across
the
state,
including
the
health
care
reform,
of
course,
increasing
affordability
and
access,
and
then
mental
health
issues
that
are
just
front
and
center
and
have
been
front
and
center
for
us
substance,
use
disorder
and
substance,
use
issues,
we're
we're
very
much
concerned
about
those
things
and
and
then
affordable
housing,
climate
change.
We
could
go
on
and
on
with
some
very
critical
issues
at
a
really
difficult
time.
B
My
own
perspective
is
one,
that's
quite
scientific.
I
am
a
professor
of
biology,
and
so
I
do
bring
that
data
informed
process
to
decision
making
and
policies,
and
I
look
forward
to
continuing
work
on
the
budget.
So
one
of
the
things
that
I
do
in
the
senate
is
to
help
formulate
the
health
care
and
health
and
welfare
budget,
so
for
all
of
our
folks
who
are
in
the
howard
center
or
other
support
services.
B
A
C
C
Tom
and
jenny
so
folks
know
in
chittenden,
south
east.
Now
we've
done
a
number
on
voters
really
redistricting
cutting
the
chittenden
county
district
in
half
lots
of
seats
open
it's
a
big
change
for
for
folks,
but
I'd
be
honored
to
return
to
my
second
term
in
the
senate,
and
I
served
eight
years
before
that
in
the
house.
C
My
work
really
sits
at
the
intersection
of
our
housing
crisis,
our
workforce
crisis
and
our
climate
crisis,
and
I
think
our
solutions
really
have
to
address
all
three
to
meet
the
needs
of
vermonters
and
address
the
critical
times
that
we're
in,
and
I
look
forward
to
going
back
to
the
legislature
to
do
that.
Work.
A
D
Thank
you
made
a
lot
as
for
for
hosting
this
forum
and
also
for
channel
17.
These
are
really
important
forums
for
the
voters
to
hear
directly
from
people
that
want
to
represent
them
in
decisions
that
are
made
in
montpelier.
I'm
I'm
running
for
re-election,
and
I
also
want
to
say
from
the
outset.
I
am
definitely
voting
for
senator
lyons
and
senator
rob
hinsdale
and
I
hope
everybody
hopes
to
as
well.
D
So
I
think
that
they
are
they've
done
phenomenal
jobs
and
you
can
vote
for
three
candidates,
so
I
hope
that
one
of
your
third
votes
will
also
be
for
me,
but
I'm
running
for
reelection,
and
this
is
a
statement
that
I
made
at
the
last
channel
17
debate
during
primary.
So
I
hope
that
that
doesn't
give
anybody
flashbacks,
but
it
seemed
to
work
then.
D
So
I
thought
I'd
use
it
another
time,
but
I'm
running
because
I
see
more
work
to
do
in
the
state
house
to
make
vermont
safer,
more
affordable
and
more
socially
just
I'm
running
for
re-election,
because
I
want
to
serve
the
state
I
grew
up
in
in
the
community.
I
love
with
transparency,
commitment,
optimism,
civility
and
determination.
D
D
So
I
want
to
see
a
state
house
about
policies
that
allow
current
and
future
vermonters
more
opportunities
to
stay
here,
live
for
your
work
here
and
thrive
here,
and
if
the
voters
give
me
another
term,
they
can
count
on
me
to
advance
policies
that
do
just
that.
Making
our
state
more
welcoming
to
people,
opportunity
and
investment.
A
C
So
yeah
I
mean
I
served
on
senate
government
operations,
although
in
the
senate
the
entire
body
kind
of
gets
a
hand
in
the
redistricting
process,
for
I
think
for
a
lot.
You
know
this
is
my
second
redistricting.
I
was
there
when
we
redistricted
in
2010,
as
was
senator
lyons,
and
you
know,
for
the
majority
of
vermonters
they.
You
know
this.
This
doesn't
have
a
huge
impact
for
them
for
people
really
paying
attention.
I
think
there's
some
concern
about.
C
You
know
splitting
your
community
in
half
or
changing
boundaries,
but
you
know
over
the
course
of
10
years,
people
really
tend
to
get
used
to
what
we
come
up
with,
and
the
basic
principle
of
redistricting
is
to
try
and
ensure
that
we
have
one
person,
one
vote,
and
so
so
often
is
the
case
that
chittenden
county
grows
in
certain.
You
know
before
it
was
burlington
this
time
it
was
actually
more
south
burlington
williston
essex.
C
So
you
have
to
reconfigure
things
so
that
people
feel
fully
represented
in
in
this
was
a
very
historic
redistricting
or
we're
still
in
the
middle
of
it.
But
you
know
breaking
the
breaking
a
county
in
in
half
and
and
also
taking
a
few
more
pieces
off
of
it.
So
we
have
essentially
eight
people
who
represent
chittenden
county
three
in
one
district
three
in
another
and
then
two
in
separate
districts
that
spill
over
into
the
islands
and
into
franklin
county.
C
You
know
no
other
county
is
broken
up,
but
before
this,
as
people
may
know,
we
had
six
senators
representing
all
of
chittenden
county
and
that
can
be
a
little
bit
daunting.
If
you
don't
have
the
financial
means,
if
you
really
want
to
get
your
name
out
there,
but
you're
worried
about
running
in
the
largest
district
in
the
state
that
represents
about
a
quarter
of
the
democratic
voters,
it
was
it
made
it
a
little
more
friendly
for
people
to
see
different
districts.
C
I
think,
what's
nice
about
our
district,
we
have
the
south
end
of
burlington,
south
burlington,
shelburne,
charlotte
hinesburg,
all
the
way
up
to
underhill
and
jericho.
So
we
kind
of
have
all
the
little
towns-
and
I
think,
what's
nice
about
that-
is
there's
no
there's,
not
necessarily
an
outsized
player
there.
Every
every
town
has
a
voice.
They
did
before,
but
now
you
know,
I
think
anyone
could
run
from
those
little
towns
and
have
an
equal
opportunity
to
win
thanks
for
all
that
detail.
B
A
D
I
think
that
was
very
great
in
a
lot
of
technical
specifics
on
how
it's
broken
up.
I'd
just
add
that
this
redistricting
process
was
really
complicated
and
there
was
no
easier
obvious
configuration
the
new
configuration.
I
think
what
senator
ron
hinsdale
just
said
effectively
just
split
our
previous
district
in
half.
So
I
really
see
this
as
if
I'm
given
another
term,
I
will
have
twice
as
much
time
to
focus
on
half
as
many
constituents.
So
I
think
that'll
make
me
a
better
senator
the
previous
district.
D
With
the
six
seats
there
was
163
000
people
in
that
district,
and
I
pride
myself
on
getting
back
to
people
when
they
reach
out
and
I'm
just
looking
forward
to
having
half
as
many
people
that
I
feel
like.
I
have
to
drop
everything
and
do
what
I
can
when
they
they
need
some
perspective
from
their
representative.
B
B
I've
always
enjoyed
the
constituents,
my
constituents
and
the
towns
I
represent,
and
you
know
when,
when
redistricting
took
place,
I
just
add
one
thing
perspective
from
outside
of
chittenden
county
was
we
have
to
break
up
chittenden
county?
The
reality
is
we
still
have
representatives
for
each
voter,
so
we
haven't
broken
anything
up
if
anything,
we've
increased
representation
and
made
it
more
accessible
to
folks.
So
I
I
look
forward
to
the
new
district.
That's
a.
A
D
I
would
like
to
see
and
senator
ron
hinsdale
was
the
leader
of
legislation
on
this
front
on
regionalized
reporting
of
data
and
how
we
report
crimes
so
that
we
can
get
better
metrics.
You
can't
improve
what
you
don't
measure
and
so
having
consistency
across
how
crime
is
measured
across
our
population
centers
rather
than
within
municipal
districts,
is
a
value
and
also
I'm
really
proud
of
what
south,
burlington
and
other
communities
have
been
doing
over
the
last
six
years.
D
With
inter-municipal
funding
for
community
outreach
programs
to
the
howard
center
finding
ways
to
get
the
needed
services
that
that
can
serve
the
population
area
of
the
greater
burlington
area
without
having
to
draw
those
lines
along
missile
boundaries,
I
think
we
can
achieve
better,
more
consistent
outcomes
at
lower
costs
with
economies
of
scale,
organizing
our
own
population
centers,
rather
than
along
imaginary
boundaries
drawn
before
the
automobile
age.
When
it
comes
to
managing
public
safety
and
community
services.
On
some
of
those
thoughts.
C
Yeah
I
mean
so
I
this
is
an
area
where
we
probably
have
nuanced
disagreement,
but
I
don't
necessarily
disagree
with
anything
senator
senator
chittenden
just
said.
I
think,
when
you
look
at
the
raw
numbers
that
are
that
we
see
in
chittenden,
county
and
vermont,
it's
clear,
there's
an
issue
and
we
can't
necessarily
just
blame
policing
for
our
community,
our
overlapping
community
crises.
So,
for
example,
young
black
men
make
up
about
two
and
a
half
percent
of
the
youth
population
in
chittenden
county,
but
25
of
those
charged
as
youthful
offenders.
C
So
we
have
to
be
looking
at
all
of
the
data
and
understanding
from
a
very
young
age,
where
we're
failing
our
kids
and
over
criminalizing
them,
and
we
need
police
at
the
table
for
that.
But
we
need
a
lot
of
other
systems
to
recognize
their
part
in
it
as
well,
including
department
of
children
and
families,
and
who
has
children
taken
away
from
their
parents
who
gets
a
second
chance.
C
B
Senator
lyons,
thank
you.
You
know
one
of
the
honors
that
I
have
is
to
be
able
to
work
on
our
justice
oversight
committee.
It's
a
a
joint
committee
with
house
and
senate
folks,
and
we
look
at
the
issues
related
to
criminal
justice
reform
and
how
we
can
help
both
with
public
safety,
as
well
as
with
community
response.
So
all
of
the
things
that
senator
chittenden
has
talked
about
and
senator
rahm
hinsdale
has
talked
about.
These
are
all
very
critical.
B
But
the
key
is
specifically
for
mental
health
to
keep
these
folks
out
of
the
criminal
system
and
to
provide
for
them
a
safe
and
secure
place
in
our
community.
So
having
the
mental
health
support
that
we
see
with
howard
center
ensuring
that
programs
that
we
have
through
our
restorative
justice
programs
are
there
when
people
need
them
and
then,
as
senator
hinsdale
mentioned
kids
critically
important.
B
So
we
have
what's
known
as
the
barge
program,
the
balanced
and
restorative
justice
program
for
kids,
to
ensure
that
if
they,
if
it
looks
like
they're
going
to
get
in
trouble
with
the
with
the
criminal
system
that
there's
a
program
to
help
them
avoid
that
or
if
once
they
are
engaged
that
we
can
keep
them
from
going
further.
So-
and
there
are
other
programs
like
that
for
adults,
a
tamarac
program
in
particular
is
a
great
one.
B
So
I
think
blaming
public
safety
for
all
the
problems
is
probably
inappropriate
that
we
have
community
groups
and
we
have
restorative
justice
groups
that
are
and
pre-trial
assessment
programs.
We
have
all
these
programs
that
we're
putting
in
place
to
ensure
prevention
and
to
ensure
that
we
don't
see
some
of
the
catastrophic
concerns
that
have
come
out
in
the
past.
A
C
C
You
know
about
how
we
fund
our
statewide
education
system
and,
while
it's
very
equitable
in
terms
of
making
sure
that
your
the
wealth
of
your
town
does
not
determine
the
wealth
of
your
school,
I
think
we
could
be
doing
a
lot
better.
I
relate
back
to.
I
relate
this
back
to
housing,
which
is
a
passion
of
mine,
and
I
serve
on
the
housing
committee.
C
But
right
now,
there's
not
a
lot
of
difference
in
how
we
treat
commercial
property
and
non-homestead
residential
property
and
without
going
into
too
much
detail,
vermont
has
one
of
along
with
maine
the
highest
vacancy
rates
of
our
houses
in
the
state.
It's
about
a
quarter
of
our
property
in
the
state
is
vacant.
C
This
is
housing,
and
you
know
I
I
don't
mind
if
people
have
second
homes,
but
they
should
pay
a
different
rate
for
their
second
home
than
vermonters,
who
pay
for
their
first
home
and
their
primary
home,
and
so
I'd
really
like
us
to
be
looking
at
how
to
get
a
deeper
into
our
tax
rates.
Our
property
tax
rates
to
make
sure
people
are
paying
their
fair
share
and
we're
incentivizing
them
to
make
their
housing
available
over
half
the
year
if
they're
not
going
to
be
using
it
in
their
snowbirds.
B
Lyons,
thank
you
for
the
question.
Of
course
you
I,
I
think
we
will.
We
will
be
looking
at
an
income
based
payment
system
and
I
think
that
is
very
important
to
do
and
as
we
know,
because
you
have
a
lot
of
property,
doesn't
mean
you
also
have
the
funds
to
support
the
taxation
that
comes
at
you.
When
you
see
your
education
tax
bill,
people
are
concerned
about
that
and
with
the
pressures
of
inflation
it's
going
to
be,
there
could
be
greater
concern.
B
So
I
think,
looking
at
an
income-based
program
is
a
good
thing
to
do
and
then
to
look
at
a
comparative
analysis.
How
will
it
benefit
or
harm
either
commercial
or
others,
and
and
then
and
getting
to
the
question
about
seasonal
homeowners
is
that's
always
that's
always
been
something
that
I
thought
about,
and
I
know
that
there
are
folks
who
live
in
this
state
who
have
second
homes
in
this
state,
and
they
would
be
very
concerned
if
they
had
pay
more
than
they
are
paying
for
their.
B
One
last
comment,
I
think,
is:
what
do
we
do
for
our
fixed
income
folks,
so
I
know
there's
a
star
program
in
new
york
state.
I
think
it's
worth
looking
at
that
for
when
someone
reaches
an
age
of
a
fixed
income
and
you
can
you
can
assess
what
that
is.
How
can
we
help
them
stay
where
they
are
and
not
feel
they
have
to
sell
off
everything
to.
D
So
I
really
I'd
agree
with
everything.
Just
previously
said,
I
think
I'd
add
two
small
things
is
one.
The
current
finance
education
funding
formula
in
vermont
is
arguably
the
most
convoluted
in
the
country,
but
I'd
also
argue
based
on
everything
I've
spent
on
this
is
one
of
the
fairest.
So
we
have
we
have
made
it.
I
think,
even
more
fair
with
the
adjustments
we've
made
this
last
session
and
I
think
it's
moving
in
the
right
direction,
but
absolutely
the
study.
We
also
passed
this
last
session,
which
has
a
public
hearing.
D
I
think,
at
the
end
of
this
month
about
looking
at
income
tax
funding
solution
is
well
worth
our
time
and
should
take
up.
I
hope,
as
part
of
our
larger
agenda
for
this
coming
session,
but
that's
needs
to.
We
can't
do
everything
by
income
tax
because
of
the
reasons
that
were
just
articulated
second
homes
and
commercial
properties.
Those
two
we
still
need
to
collect
from
property
fees.
The
other
piece
that
that
wasn't
mentioned
by
senator
ron,
hinsdale
or
senator
lyons
that
I
personally
want
to
look
at
is
how
we
fund
capital
projects
in
schools.
D
We
have
a
lot
of
deferred
maintenance
in
school
buildings
that
are
falling
apart,
and
I
I'm
hearing
from
the
presentation
from
the
treasurer,
the
previous
treasurer,
that
we've
got
a
moratorium
on
school
finance
funding
and
I
look
at
winooski
and
how
expensive
that
high
school
is,
and
I'm
so
excited
that's
happening,
and
I
see
burlington
in
the
high
school
project.
We
need
there.
A
B
B
What
services
might
be
ancillary
at
this
point,
and
how
can
we
make
recommendations
to
ensure
that,
when
someone
has
acute
care
in
the
hospital
that
as
they
leave
the
hospital
they're
met
with
with
the
home-based
services
that
they
need?
That's
just
one
aspect
of
what
we're
looking
at
we're.
Also
looking
at
prescription,
drugs
and
pharmacological
issues,
the
cost
of
drugs
is,
is
sky
high
and
trying
to
restrict
those
costs
at
a
state
level
is
quite
difficult,
so
we've
we
did
pass
some
legislation
last
year
that
improves
transparency
for
costs.
B
B
C
Yeah
I
mean,
I
would
just
say
a
few
things,
knowing
that
senator
lyons
is
sitting
next
to
me,
number
one
she's
been
an
incredible
champion
on
mental
health
parody
as
well,
which
is
just
so
critical,
and
I
think
thankfully,
so
much
more
recognized
in
this
state
and
across
the
country
coming
out
of
a
pandemic.
That's
caused
a
lot
of
isolation,
particularly
for
our
young
people,
that
you
know,
people
have
to
be
able
to
receive
mental
health
care
substance
abuse
treatment
when
they
need
it,
and
that
has
not
been
part
of
our
healthcare
regime.
C
But
we
are
vastly
improving
that
thanks
to
senator
lyons
and
others,
you
know
two.
I
would
say
that
I
understand
our
hospitals
and
healthcare
providers
asking
for
big
increases
in
the
short
term
because
of
carrying
a
lot
of
the
community
burden
around
kovid,
trying
to
make
sure
people
had
everything
they
needed
without
question.
C
We
cannot
sustain
these
huge
increases
in
health
care
premiums
over
time,
and
I
think
a
lot
of
us
are
looking
to
the
green
mountain
care
board
to
to
really
keep
budgets
down
and-
and
you
know,
keep
in
place
our
agreement
to
have
them
there
to.
You
know,
make
sure
that
we're
containing
costs-
which
is
more
so
our
job
at
the
state
level,
and
to
senator
lyon's
point
when
the
federal
government
decides
to
do
something
to
subsidize
vermonters.
C
That
benefit
is
so
much
more
impactful,
so
so
much
more
felt
right
away
than
anything
we
can
do,
and
I
wonder
if
senator
lyons
has
more
information
than
I
do
about.
There
are
efforts
from
our
health
care
advocates
to
try
and
spread
the
word
about
health
care
subsidies
that
have
been
extended
and
you
may
be
able
to
speak
to
it
better
through
medicaid.
I
thought
it
was
for
other
now
there's
like
sort
of
middle
income
subsidies
available.
If
people.
A
D
Sure
I
support
both
of
these
amendments
prop
2,
because
words
matter
and
the
words
in
our
constitution
are
outdated
and
no
longer
represent
our
values.
Constitutions
are
meant
to
be
amended
for
just
this
very
reason.
I
support
prop
5
because
I
believe
in
personal
autonomy
and
self-determination,
a
woman's
right
to
choose
is
her
right
and
nobody
else's.
B
Well,
I
think
senator
chittenden
said
it
very
well
prop
2
as
an
excellent,
comprehensive
protection
against
any
type
of
slavery
in
our
state,
and
we
all
need
to
vote
for
that
and
prop
5.
Similarly,
is
a
continuation
of
the
values
that
we
have
had
in
this
state
for
nearly
50
years
with
roe
v
wade
and
it
puts
it
into
our
constitution
and
embedded
within
the
articles
of
our
constitution.
B
I
will
say
one
thing:
I've
heard
that
there
are
some
strong
criticisms
against
the
language
and
that
it
doesn't
pass
muster
that
that
proposal
is
comprehensive.
It
protects
both
men
and
women
for
reproductive
autonomy.
Contraception
is
included,
there's
a
whole
history
of
how
important
that
language
is
and
that
the
legal,
the
legal
expertise
that
we
had
weighing
in
on
that
proposition
is
very
clear.
We
all
need
to
support
it,
otherwise
we
will
be
going
the
way,
so
many
other
states
are
in
terms
of
reproductive
autonomy,
in
particular
women's
rights.
C
Yeah
I
mean
you
know
I
would
just
add.
I
hope
both
propositions
get
a
very
high
margin
of
support
from
vermonters,
and
I
believe
that
they
will.
You
know:
vermonters
have
a
history
of
letting
people
enjoy
their
freedoms,
and
you
know
the
these
are
no
exception.
I
think
what
we've
seen
from,
I
think
very
misleading
attacks
on
prop
5
that
relate
to
what
we're
seeing
around
the
country
is.
C
You
know
that
no
medical
provider
is
going
to
kill
a
viable
baby
in
a
womb,
or
you
know
that
can
survive
outside
of
the
womb,
but
people
are
using
that
argument
to
cast
doubt
on
prop
5
that
you
know
this.
This
would
have
doctors,
you
know
letting
people
have
abortions
until
until
the
end
of
the
pregnancy.
C
Any
abortion
that
happens,
particularly
in
the
last
trimester
after
24
weeks,
is
an
abortion,
that's
related
to
the
health
and
safety
of
the
mother
and
the
and
essentially
the
child.
If
the
mother
dies,
that
baby
is
generally
going
to
die
along
with
the
mother
or
they're
trying
to
save
the
mother's
life
or
that
that
baby
just
simply
isn't
going
to
survive.
You
know,
and
so
those
are
some
of
the
hardest
decisions.
Parents
have
to
make
and
some
of
the
most
private-
and
it's
really
sickening
that
we're
hearing
arguments
being
levied
against
prop
5.
C
That
are,
you
know.
Clearly
people
are
hearing
stories
around
the
country
about
you
know
how
hard
it
is
when
you
have
to
carry.
It
can
really
cause
a
lot
of
health
issues
if
you're
carrying
a
non-viable
pregnancy
to
term.
So
you
know
really
putting
people's
lives
in
dangers
is
not
and
not
is
not
pro-life
and
those
arguments
really
have
no
place
in
in
truthful
public
discourse.
B
Can
I
just
thank
senator
rob
hinsdale
for
saying
all
the
things
that
she
said.
I've
been
working
on
this
since
2018,
when,
when
I
wrote
the
original
bill
and
the
after
a
while,
you
forget
all
of
the
information
and
you
forget
to
say
it
to
educate
others.
This
is
the
time
when
everything
that
you've
said
should
be
shared
with
with
our
with
the
voters,
and
so
thank
you
for
doing
that.
A
B
C
I
mean
you
know
very
few
people
know
better
than
you
do
may
or
live
representing
the
most
multicultural
city
in
the
state,
how
critical
language
access
is
and
knowing
that
places
like
burlington
and
winooski.
Our
school
districts
have
over
70
languages
and
dialects
spoken,
and
we
want
to
make
sure
that
everyone
has
the
opportunity
to
learn
to
participate
in
the
community,
hopefully
to
seek
a
pathway
to
citizenship
as
well,
and
language
access
facilitates
all
of
that
language.
C
Over
the
course
of
the
pandemic,
the
state
recognizes
that
I
introduced
a
bill
to
make
sure
we
have
a
statewide
language
access
plan,
and
you
know
sometimes,
when
state
administrators
come
forward
and
say
we
don't
need
the
bill,
we're
going
to
do
it
anyway.
We
get
suspicious,
but
I
have
already
seen
that
in
action
under
the
leadership
of
susana
davis,
our
director
of
our
office
of
racial
equity,
who
herself
speaks
spanish
as
her
first
language
and
has
been
a
real
champion
in
making
sure
that
all
agencies
and
departments
have
a
language
access
plan.
C
That
per
civil
rights
standards
begins
with
life-saving
information.
First,
because
sometimes
we
want,
to
put
you
know:
information,
that's
nice
to
have
in
other
languages,
and
we
miss
opportunities
with
public
safety
and
disaster
recovery.
To
make
sure
we
have
video.
You
know
language
interpretation
and
translation
people
on
on
hand,
contracts
ready
when
people
need
a
lot
of
information
interpreted
and
that
it's
you
know
we're
really
thinking
about
the
agencies,
who
don't
do
a
lot
of
public
outreach,
but
need
to
think
about
their
critical
roles
in
in
danger
and
disasters.
D
I
don't
know
if
I
could
say
it
any
better
than
what
senator
rob
hinzell
just
said,
but
I'd
say
that
we're
a
nation
of
immigrants,
my
mother
is
was
the
oldest
daughter
of
eight
kids
from
quebec
that
moved
to
the
moth
without
being
able
to
speak
any
english.
Her
mother,
my
grandmother,
never
learned
english,
but
lived
here
for
about
40
years,
and
she
was
able
to
do
so
because
her
kids
learned
the
language
and
translated
for
her,
but
not
everybody
has
kids
to
translate
for
them.
D
So
in
my
america
everybody
is
welcome
and
we're
a
better
country
when
we
have
diverse
backgrounds,
including
national
origins,
ethnicities,
cultural
habits
and
languages,
and
we
need
to
be
multilingual.
I'd
also
argue
that
language
access
is
essential
to
raise
our
kids
to
be
successful
in
the
global
economy.
The
internet
and
transportation
advancements
have
made
the
world
smaller
than
it
ever
has
been
before,
and
I
want
all
of
our
kids
to
learn
multiple
language
with
real,
rich
cultural
experiences
to
prepare
our
vermont
kids
for
the
global
landscape.
B
Thank
you,
and
just
I
won't
reiterate
everything-
that's
been
said
the
first
year,
the
pandemic.
When
we
received
federal
dollars.
My
committee
evaluated,
along
with
the
house
human
services
committee,
to
invest,
I
think,
was
four
million
dollars
initially
into
the
into
our
language
programs
and
into
our
refugee
resettlement,
and
our
african-american
programs
in
in
the
state
and
most
specifically
chittenden
county
did
benefit
quite
a
bit
and
a
result
of
your
community
winooski.
Where
there's
such
a
high
population.
B
We
did
that
again.
Last
year
we
also
asked
the
department
of
health
to
keep
data
about
our
african-american
and
other
ethnic
groups
related
to
covet.
That's
not
directly
language,
but
it
is
very
much
important
to
people
to
understand
what
their
health
outcomes
might
be.
The.
Finally,
you
know
when
you
provide
linguistic
support,
language
support
with
brochures
and
others
to
folks
it
makes
their
them
feel
welcome.
B
It
makes
their
culture
feel
welcome
and
then
the
next
step
is
to
provide
support
for
them
to
learn
a
new
language
in
english,
and
that
is
also
a
way
to
bring
folks
into
the
culture,
maybe
a
mixed
culture
which,
as
it
was
in
my
family,
but
it's
terrific
that
this
has
been.
This
has
happened,
and
I
I
look
forward
to
continuing
that
that
dialogue.
A
A
And
so
related,
I
want
to
ask
about
community
access
I'll
start
I'll
start
back
with
you
senator
lyons.
You
know
what
we
have
right
now
with
public
access.
Television
is
primarily
funded
through
cable,
which,
as
we
know,
people
are
cutting
the
cord
and
those
revenues
are
drying
up
so
curious.
What
you
see
the
legislature
doing
to
support
community
access
like
town
meeting
tv.
B
B
I've
also
am
very
alert
to
what
our
local
communities
provide.
So
it
would
be,
it
would
be
a,
I
think,
a
regional
conversation
to
understand
how
how
much
and
how
can
our
local
towns
municipalities
support
community
access,
especially
at
a
time
when
we're
all
voting
to
get
that
last
mile
of
wi-fi
out.
So
it's
time
I
think
for
all
of
us
to
appreciate
what
community
access
does
and
so
at
the
local
level
at
the
state
level.
B
I
know
that
we've
had
a
lot
of
testimony
on
this
and
to
allow
for
community
access
to
be
to
get
a
grant
or
to
have
money
provided
resources,
provided
so
that
they
can
you
you
can
survive,
we
can
survive.
This
is
us.
This
is
local
government
and
nothing
is
more
important
than
having
the
this
grassroots
information
be
exchanged
in
our
community.
So
I'm
a
strong
supporter.
I
will.
B
D
So
content
brokers
like
netflix
hulu,
prime
and
other
internet-based
streaming,
services
need
to
directly
fund
local
community
access
programs.
For
the
same
reason,
cable
companies
have
done
so
for
decades,
they're
using
our
wires
to
deliver
content,
we
need
to
support
local
access.
Sadly,
I
think
this
needs
to
be
done
at
the
federal
level,
but
the
recent
financial
viability
peg
study
done
for
the
public
educational
government,
access
television
and
vermont
study
identified
some
possible
revenue
sources
and
organizational
efficiencies.
The
possible
horizontal
integration
and
service
consolidation
in
vermont.
D
I
support
a
streaming
video
charge
to
pull
some
dollars
collected
in
silicon
valley
down
to
vermont,
but
recognizing
that
that
has
federal
implications.
The
multi-part
option:
option
number
five
in
their
report
has
some
specifics
that
seem
to
strike
the
right
balance,
which
gives
some
actionable
items
for
the
vermont
legislature
to
work
on
which
is
creating
a
vermont
telecommunity
communications
public
benefit
fund
funding
with
poll
attachments,
estimated
ten
dollars
per
year
per
attachment,
retitling
and
repurposing
the
vusf
fund.
D
I
don't
know
what
the
acronym
stands
for-
it's
not
in
my
notes,
but
you
can
refer
to
this
study,
which
also
talks
about
repealing
the
telephone,
personal
property
tax.
My
point
is:
we
need
to
modernize
how
we
fund
local
access
in
high
school.
I
had
a
public
access
show
tom's
time
it
was
a
political
talk
show
with
my
friend
tom
hearn,
and
I
know
the
value
of
the
local
public
access
and
keeping
communities
connected.
So
this
is
something
I'm
passionate
about
and
I
hope
to
be
a
voice
for
channel
17
and
other
public
access
channels.
C
C
So
as
we
figure
out
where
younger
viewers
are
and
what,
where
their
eyes
are
going,
we
need
to
make
sure
that
they
have
access
to
understanding
that
they
too
public
access
television
is
for
them
so
that
they
can
continue
to
demand
it.
Otherwise,
you
know
we're
going
to
die
off
and
there
won't
be
the
same
demand
for
public
access,
television.
A
And
the
access
the
accessibility
well,
this
brings
us
to
the
end
of
our
questions
for
this
evening.
I
want
to
thank
you
all
so
much
for
coming
and
sharing
really
informative
for
for
voters,
and
thank
you
for
tuning
in
to
town
meeting
tv's,
ongoing
coverage
of
statewide
and
regional
candidates
and
ballot
items.