A new study shows Vermont has become a popular place to move to since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state treasurer’s office analyzed recent census data and found that on a per capita basis, Vermont had the highest net in-migration of any New England state, and the third highest rate in the U.S. last year.

Vermont had a net gain of 7,592 new residents in 2023, with the greatest number coming from Massachusetts.

Treasurer Mike Pieciak says remote work flexibility and outdoor recreation opportunities are the key reasons people are flocking to the Green Mountain State.

“It’s clear that the people who are moving to Vermont are higher-income earners and what that says to me is that they are bringing their remote jobs with them to Vermont,” Pieciak says.

But he says the report also highlights Vermont’s affordable housing challenges.

As for out-migration, the report says the two most popular states for Vermonters to move to last year were New York and New Hampshire. On a net basis, after accounting for all migration, Vermont lost the most people to Illinois and Utah.

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PITTSFIELD — On behalf of a coalition of businesses, Flora Cannabis is suing the Vermont Cannabis Control Board over what they deem to be “unreasonable” and “unconstitutional” advertising regulations. 

The Middlebury-based retailer said it’s trying to block the state’s “unprecedented and unconstitutional restrictions on the protected free speech rights of the state’s 500-plus licensed cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and retailers.” The lawsuit was filed Monday in Addison Superior Court, Civil Division. 

Having a health warning on all cannabis ads and demonstrating that no more than 15 percent of those potentially exposed to an ad are under the age of 21 are considered “unreasonable” burdens, according to the complaint. Also cited in the suit are “unreasonable” prohibitions on “common promotional offers” and “depicting or describing particular cannabis products on social media websites.”

Flora said the litigation is supported by a broad coalition of licensed cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and retailers across Vermont. Scott Sparks, owner of Vermont Bud Barn in Brattleboro, said he’s involved in the suit. 

Dave Silberman, co-founder of Flora, described having attorney A.J. Ruben file the complaint “reluctantly, and only after years of failed attempts to reason with legislature and regulators to find a workable compromise, and to treat us in the same manner as the state treats other ‘regulated vice’ industries such as sports wagering and alcohol.”

“Vermont’s licensed cannabis industry supports reasonable advertising regulations, including targeted regulations to prevent advertising that is especially appealing to underage consumers, or making false or misleading statements,” Silberman said in a statement, calling the regulations “the nation’s most wide-ranging and onerous prohibition on protected speech.”

Current regulations are “illegally muzzling the cannabis industry and preventing us from being able to effectively communicate with adult customers,” Silberman added. 

CCB Chairman James Pepper said he received a copy of the complaint Tuesday night and knew it was coming. 

“The industry has come out strongly asking for advertising reforms,” he said. 

Pepper expects the court will be looking at some of the principles related to the freedom of commercial speech. 

“How they come down on this will be interesting is all I can say,” he said. 

Pepper noted the CCB’s job is to enforce law as it’s written. He plans to ask the Attorney General’s Office to defend the CCB. 

“We really are, as regulators, not in a position to say the advertising laws are good or bad,” he said. “We’ll keep [enforcing] until we’re told otherwise.”

In an interview Monday about goals and projects in the new year, Pepper mentioned the possibility of being sued over the ad regulations. 

“We may need another attorney position especially if the advertising law was struck down,” he said. 

Cannabis companies don’t like needing pre-approval before publishing ads as the process “slows things down for the businesses by about seven days,” Pepper said. With the CCB rejecting a “fair number” of submissions regularly, he anticipates enforcement actions with fines attached will require more resources for his agency. 

“It will be a lot more work for something that could have been dealt with through the advertising review process,” he said. 

CCB data released in October showed nine out of 29 advertising submissions were denied in a month. Six were missing or had illegible health warnings, one appealed to children, another missed audience requirements and one had not been classified. 

Data in July showed 16 advertising submissions were approved and nine were denied in a month. Seven had missing or illegible health warnings. One was missing audience information, and another involved a cannabis product giveaway.

A hearing on a motion for preliminary injunction is set for late January, Ruben said.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for almost the entire state of Vermont from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. 

Forecasters were expecting 1 to 2.5 inches of rain, with localized amounts up to 3 inches possible in southern Vermont, according to Abbey Gant, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Albany office. But it’s the combination of rain and rising temperatures, leading to snowmelt, that was expected to cause flooding.

Several rivers statewide were expected to come close to or surpass flood stage. The Otter Creek in Rutland and the Walloomsac River in North Bennington were anticipated to see moderate flooding, according to the weather service’s river forecast. 

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, five other rivers in central and northern Vermont were expected to reach minor flood stage by Thursday morning. Those included the Connecticut River in Wells River, the Mad River near Moretown, the Winooski River at Waterbury and Essex Junction, the Lamoille River at Johnson and the Missisquoi River at North Troy.

The weather service also warned of flash flooding in smaller bodies of water. Maureen Hastings, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Burlington office, said that flooding in poor drainage areas in urban environments could begin later Wednesday afternoon or into the evening hours. 

Main-stem rivers such as the Winooski were expected to reach flood stage at night and crest early in the morning on Thursday, Hastings said. 

Because of the late hours of the flood’s peak, Mark Bosma, a spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management, cautioned Vermonters near waterways to have their phones near them overnight in case they needed to be evacuated. In that event, emergency responders could do a “reverse 911” call to a specific area. 

He also advised Vermonters to sign up for VT-Alert for more notifications about road closures, local flooding and other emergencies. 

And he emphasized the weather service’s common refrain for dealing with floodwaters on roadways: “Turn around, don’t drown.” 

“Even if it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of water on the road, that can be difficult to really tell, and looks can be deceiving,” said Gant, the meteorologist. 

Dozens of local schools closed, opted for a delayed start or announced an early dismissal as of Wednesday morning, particularly in Windsor County, central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont Public and WCAX reported. 

Bosma said that state officials were in the midst of preparing for flooding. They were still figuring out the best place to potentially set up swiftwater rescue teams.