Vermont
Vermont ACLU Lawsuit Against Department of Health Alleges Violations Undermining Legislature’s Response to Opioid Epidemic
By Gabriela Rose
MONTPELIER, VT- The ACLU of Vermont this week announced the details of a lawsuit filed against Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s administration, charging the Vermont Dept. of Health withheld opioid settlement records and violated Vermont’s Open Meeting Law requirements.
In a statement, the ACLU said its lawsuit seeks to obtain public records concerning the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee’s budget recommendations to the Scott administration regarding the legislature’s response to Vermont’s opioid epidemic.
The Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee is composed of public health experts, especially those with experience with substance use disorder, explained the ACLU, noting the committee was created by legislature in 2022 and is responsible for advising the DOH on how to spend Vermont’s part of opioid settlement money paid by drug companies.
The ACLU alleges the committee ranked its funding priorities in December 2023, and most votes went towards $2.6 million in funding for Vermont’s first overdose protection centers, defined as a life-saving harm reduction measure, and were adopted into the legislature this past year despite Gov. Scott’s veto.
Commissioner of Health Dr. Dr. Mark Levine was charged with presenting the committee’s final recommendations to the legislature, said the ACLU, insisting Levine presented an altered version of the Advisory Committee’s recommendations to the legislature—eliminating the recommendation to fund OPCs and reallocating the $2.6 million.
The ACLU states Dr. Levine shared a copy of the report he planned to submit to the legislature, but did not respond to many questions posed by committee members via email about the changes omitting OPCs from its recommendations.
Dr. Levine, added the ACLU, implied to the legislature that the committee had not prioritized OPCs for spending “because H.72 contains a provision for an alternate financing mechanism.”
And, that statement, noted the ACLU, was misleading because H.72 had not yet been passed or signed into law, and the legislation was later vetoed by Governor Scott.
The ACLU’s lawsuit seeks public records to challenge the Scott administration’s private alteration of the committee’s recommendations to the legislature. These records include emails within the administration before Dr. Levine removed OPCs from the Committee’s recommendations.
The ACLU statement states Dr. Levine denied the ACLU access to the correspondence, citing “executive privilege.” However, executive privilege, maintains the ACLU, only applies to direct communications with the governor about genuine executive decision-making.
The DOH’s alterations to the recommendations, informing the committee of his changes over email alone, and the failure to publish accurate minutes reflecting the committee’s consensus
Are cited in the ACLU’s lawsuit as violations of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law and the Vermont Public Records Act.
Lia Ernst, legal director of the ACLU of Vermont, said in the ACLU statement, “Claiming ‘executive privilege’ as a means of avoiding accountability is out of step with Vermont values, and it denies Vermonters their right to transparent and responsive government.”
Vermont
Vermont sweeps Twin State Soccer All-Star Games
HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) – Vermont swept the Lions Cup Soccer All-Star Games against New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Hanover High school. South Burlington star Omar Daoudi tallied a hat trick for the boys in their 5-2 victory, while fellow SBHS Wolf Rachel Kelley tallied the only goal in a 1-0 Vermont girls win.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Vermont
Vermont’s first ever National Tattoo Convention kicks off
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s first ever National Tattoo Convention has made its appearance.
Organizers from the Green State Tattoo Convention say this event took several years in the making.
Hosted by Burlington’s Double Tree Hotel, the event has over 50 tattoo artists, doing tattoos on sight for people who are interested.
The event also features live music from local and national artists.
Over the past two days, the convention has attracted over 800 people.
“I think it is relevant to the Vermont culture. It’s a place for artists to just be, and exchange you know, their knowledge with each other. For people to actually see what tattooing is about,” Alma Sears from the Green State Tattoo Convention said.
The event goes until Sunday, starting at 11, and our Hailey Morgan will give us that story at 6 o’clock.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Vermont
9-year-old drowns in Vermont lake
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Green FC is headed to the USL2 Sweet 16 after a 3-1 win over the Long Island Rough Riders in Ocean City, New Jersey, and fans in Burlington got to watch it in a group.
Vivid Coffee serves as one of the club’s sponsors and hosted Friday afternoon’s event where supporters watched the livestream of Jacob Labovitz’s hat trick in the Green’s win.
It was a great chance for fans to share in the atmosphere even though they were 400 miles away.
“It’s the best place to be if you can’t make it down to the match,” said Mike Popovitch, a member of the Green Mountain Bhoys supporters group. “I think that fact that Ian (Bailey, owner of Vivid) does this and Vivd Coffee does this for us is pretty amazing. It brings the community together. Being able to watch an event from a team that really has brought the entire Burlington community together.”
The Green will play again Sunday evening, taking on Northeast Division rival Seacoast United.
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