My work in this last month of the legislative session will focus on two Senate bills that proactively address Vermont’s affordable housing crisis. I will report details as they are finalized in my next column. However, this week I wanted to share with you the work my committee did on establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that is now in the Senate.
In May 2021, the Legislature passed J.R.H.2 apologizing and expressing sorrow and regret to all Vermonters and their families and descendants who were harmed because of state-sanctioned eugenics policies and practices. The original eugenics bill was signed in 1931 and impacted generations of Vermonters. The General Assembly recognized an apology was insufficient and further legislative action should be taken.
As a follow-up to the apology, H.96 establishes a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to research and investigate systemic discrimination caused or permitted by state laws and policies and to propose legislative or administrative action to the Legislature or governor as appropriate to remedy the effects on affected communities.
Over the past year my committee took extensive testimony from myriad advocates and those affected and broadened the framework beyond eugenics. The committee’s work was further informed by ongoing consultation from the International Center for Transitional Justice that works worldwide with countries and communities developing truth, justice, reconciliation and reparation programs.
We learned there have been approximately 40 over the years, each different from the next. From South Africa to Tunisia, from Canada to Maine, North Carolina and Maryland, each focused on distinct communities and organized differently. We heard from participants in processes from Maine, Canada and Maryland. Working with legislative counsel, we adapted elements from these preexisting commissions.
The charge is to listen, research, learn, acknowledge and propose remedies. Three commissioners will be appointed through an iterative process and then hire administrative staff. Commissioners, in consultation with impacted populations, will establish committees to examine institutional, structural and systemic discrimination and work with commissioners to identify potential programs and activities to create and improve opportunities to eliminate existing disparities.
Commissioners should be appointed by March 2023. The work is expected to take three years, with annual reports to the Legislature and a final report due by June 2026 detailing findings and recommendations for actions to eliminate and to address the harm caused or permitted by state laws.
Public input is integral to the entire process. Committees will invite extensive testimony as they examine long-standing discrimination in Vermont. Recommendations will also be further vetted by the affected communities.
To not address ongoing institutional, structural and systemic discrimination only perpetuates harm and disparities. The goal of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is to truly bring all Vermonters together.
I will have more details on the commission as well as an update on affordable housing legislation at the upcoming legislative forum on Monday, April 25, 6:30 p.m., in the community room on the second floor of the South Burlington Public Library. To attend the meeting on Zoom, find the link at the library’s event page.