Good evening all,
Thanks so much for your notes of encouragement and sharing the challenges you are facing complying with the emergency orders. Little by little things will return to normal, and until then we’ll just keep figuring out where the solvable problems are and work through them.
I want to invite you all again to the Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning coffee at 7 am. It has been wonderful to see old friends, newcomers to the region, business owners and my oldest daughter even dropped in last week. We are talking about whatever is top of mind for the morning, or even just listening as others are gathering.
Topic: Coffee and Discussion w/ Laura
Time: M, W, F 07:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Bookmark for updates:
Vermont Department of Health 2019 Novel Coronavirus Current Status in Vermont Webpage for updates.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus Disease page
World Health Organization Coronavirus Disease 2019
There clearly should be more coordination at the national level. I believe in state rights, but having all of these different states putting in different orders at different times is adding difficulty to this situation.
Gov. Scott March 30, 2020 press conference
New Order from Governor Scott on mandatory quarantine
- To preserve the public health and safety, to ensure the healthcare delivery system is capable of serving all, and to help protect those at the highest risk and vulnerability, any person, resident or non-resident, traveling into Vermont for anything other than an essential purpose, must immediately self-quarantine for 14 days or the balance of 14 days dating from the day of arrival.
- “Essential purpose” for purposes of this quarantine restriction shall mean travel required for personal safety; food, beverage or medicine; medical care; care of others; and to perform work, services or functions deemed critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security, as set forth in Stay Home/Stay Safe.
- The Agency of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles are hereby directed to post this guidance at all major points of entry into Vermont, on highway message boards and at the Burlington International Airport and all other Vermont airports.
- Guidance for self-quarantine shall be made available by the Vermont Department of Health.
- Visitors are instructed not to travel to Vermont if they are displaying symptoms or if they are travelling from cities and regions identified as COVID-19 “hot spots,” including, among others, the states of Florida and Louisiana and the cities of Detroit, Chicago and New York City. In addition, residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut should stay in their home states in strict compliance with CDC travel guidance issued Saturday, March 28, 2020. This is essential if you will be in close contact with people who are older adults or have a severe chronic health condition.
- For the purpose of clarifying Stay Home/Stay Safe as it relates to the suspension of lodging operations, “lodging” shall include, but not be limited to, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, short term rentals, such as those made available through VRBO, Homeaway, AirBnb and other services, parks for recreational vehicles and campgrounds, all public and private camping facilities including those managed by the Vermont Department of Parks and Recreation. Lodging may be provided for the following purposes:
- Housing vulnerable populations (emergency shelter for homeless individuals) as arranged through the state.
- Providing accommodations for health care workers, or other workers deemed necessary to support public health, public safety or critical infrastructure.
- Use of lodging properties being as quarantine facilities as arranged by the state.
- Limited verifiable extenuating circumstances for the care and safety of Vermonters.
On-line reservations shall be suspended and lodging providers shall post a prominent notice on their web platforms which advises potential guests that reservations for lodging in Vermont, as allowed above, shall be accepted by phone only.
Lodging providers may permit existing guests to remain through the end of their scheduled stay, however, may not allow extended stay or new reservations, except for the purposes set forth above.
- All state agencies and departments, including the offices of elected officials in the Executive Branch, which register, regulate or otherwise have contact information regarding lodging facilities, shall provide an electronic advisory regarding the suspension of lodging operations, consistent with this Executive Order.
- The Vermont State Police and all county and municipal law enforcement agencies shall monitor the compliance with this Executive Order by lodging providers and notify the Office of the Attorney General regarding potential non-compliance using a reporting method prescribed by the Department of Public Safety.
- The Attorney General shall take such steps as he deems necessary and reasonable to ensure the compliance of lodging providers with this Executive Order
Tool for Businesses from BDCC: Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
The programs and initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed by Congress are intended to assist business owners with whatever needs they have right now.
- Capital to cover the cost of retaining employees? Then the Paycheck Protection Program might be right for you.
- A quick infusion of a smaller amount of cash to cover you right now? You might want to look into an Emergency Economic Injury Grant. To ease your fears about keeping up with payments on your current or potential SBA loan? The Small Business Debt Relief Program could help.
- Just some quality, free counseling to help you navigate this uncertain economic time? The resource partners might be your best bet.
- Join us for this week’s Resiliency Webinar! on Friday at 2:15. Please send questions in advance by emailing
bdcc-covid-questions@brattleborodevelopment.com Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/781064798
A note from the Windham County Delegation
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.
Rep. Laura Sibilia and Sen.Jeanette White, Sen. Becca Balint, Rep Sara Coffey, Rep Emilie Kornheiser, Rep. Mollie Burke, Rep Tristan Toleno, Rep. Carolyn Partridge, Rep. Nader Hashim, Rep. Mike Mrowicki, Rep. Emily Long, Rep. John Gannon, Rep. Kelly Pajala
Sanders: What you need to know about the federal stimulus package
From the Vermont Secretary of States Office: Municipal Assistance COVID-19 Response
Due to temporary changes made to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law passed by the Legislature (H.681), and signed into law by the Governor on March 30th, we have issued a memo to Town Clerks and municipal officials providing guidance as it relates to the changes made to the law.
Changes include the waiving of the Open Meeting Law’s physical location requirement during the COVID-19 health emergency, alongside other provisions aimed towards ensuring public accessibility, to enable critical government functions to occur without increasing exposure for officials, staff, and the public.
Prior to these changes, we had issued a memo on compliance with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, elections laws, and the public records act, which still contains some relevant guidance.
For a list of current Municipal Clerk office closures or hours changes click here.
For local government assistance or questions related to municipal law please email Jenny Prosser at jenny.prosser@vermont.gov.
Health Center Utilizing Tele medicine
Drive thru COVID-19 testing site opens in Putney, VT
Bartleby’s SURPRISE BOX
Looking for a fully vetted book that isn’t already on your radar? We’re launching the Bartleby’s Books Surprise Box! You’ll get a book selected by one of our booksellers and a small trinket from the store (pin, greeting card, magnet, etc). check it out
100 Activities for Coronavirus Quarantine
Vermont Governor Phil Scott Executive Orders
Number 01-20 declaring a State of Emergency in Vermont & National Guard Call Out
ADDENDUM 1 to 01-20 prohibits all non-essential mass gatherings to the lesser of fifty (50) people or fifty percent (50%) of the occupancy of a facility
ADDENDUM 2 to 01-20 Prohibits on-premises consumption of food or drink
ADDENDUM 3 to 01-20 Suspension of all Non-Essential Adult Elective Surgery and Medical and Surgical Procedures
ADDENDUM 4 to 01-20 Closure of Close-Contact Businesses and Further Restrictions of the Size of Mass Gatherings
ADDENDUM 5 to 01-20 Work from Home Order
ADDENDUM 6 to 01-20 Stay Home to Stay Safe Order
ADDENDUM 7 to 01-20 Requirement to quarantine
Directives
Directive 1 – Continuity of Education Planning.pdf
Directive 2 – Childcare For Essential Service Providers.pdf
Directive 3 – Department of Motor Vehicles Suspension of In-Person Transactions.pdf
Directive 4 – Department of Liquor and Lottery – Delivery and Take-Out of Beverage Alcohol – Amended
March 20, 2020.pdfDirective 5 – Continuity of Learning Planning .pdf
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, or if you need assistance navigating government services at (802) 384-0233 or lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us
Kind regards,
Rep. Laura Sibilia
Dover, Readsboro, Searsburg, Somerset, Stamford, Wardsboro, Whitingham
Vermont State Representative Laura Sibilia 