The $7.15 billion budget approved by the Senate yesterday adds money for essential workers and funding for schools to cover pandemic expenses.

Racial justice and small farm concerns are being left out of the picture as the Vermont Legislature pushes for commercial cannabis. Their advocates want Gov. Scott to veto the bill.

The House and Senate have agreed on how to advertise, tax and enforce a commercial cannabis law. But will Gov. Scott veto it for the lack of roadside testing?

Leveraging as much one-time federal Covid-19 funding as possible, the Vermont House gave preliminary approval to a $7.15 billion state budget Thursday. It doesn’t raise taxes or use the reserve fund, which legislators say must be used for the highly challenging 2022 budget.

In the interests of passing a commercial cannabis bill, the Senate is okay with the House demand that towns “opt in” before commercial operations can begin. And the House is releasing its demand that police be allowed to pull over drivers not wearing seat belts. Differences over taxation and revenue remain.

Just like Vermont schools, the Legislature is looking at hybrid and/or a new in-person arrangement if Covid-19 social distancing is still required when it reconvenes in January.

Both the Vermont House and the Vermont Senate had the opportunity to help small businesses survive and even thrive in Vermont’s challenging business climate. Regrettably, they didn’t, Shawn Shouldice of the National Federation of Independent Businesses says. And she’s got the scorecard to prove it.

The money Gov. Scott has budgeted for the state colleges just isn’t enough, lawmakers say. But can they turn over enough budgetary couch cushions to find $24 million?

House Speaker Mitzi Johnson told her fellow House members, on the first day of the final session of the 2019-2020 Vermont Legislature, that a budget deficit once feared to be upwards of $400 million is now about $55 million.

In 2019, Vermont teen vaping of tobacco products rose 14%. Some youth drug prevention leaders want the Legislature to follow through on a proposed ban of flavored vaping products they saw target youth.