Suzi Wizowaty

The GE (genetically engineered) labeling bill that the House passed last week does two things. First, it requires GE foods to be labeled, and, second, it prohibits the use of the word "natural" on those foods. There are three legal issues to consider, having to do with commercial speech, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, (more…)

Why is it that whenever certain policymakers talk about education or jobs in Vermont, the wail goes up about "keeping our young people at home"? Why in the world would we want to discourage young people from stepping out into the broader world? In case anyone hasn't noticed, Vermont is a very small place!

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I was asked to second the Speaker's nomination at the Democratic Caucus gathering on Dec. 8 , which I did happily:

It is my privilege to second the nomination of Shap Smith for Speaker.

I came into the legislature the same time Shap began his tenure as Speaker. For four years I have been observing how things get done around here. Who has (more…)

Every November, thousands of people--human rights activists, torture survivors, anti-war veterans, students, families, union workers, nuns, artists and others--gather at the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia, to call for the school’s closing. This infamous “school,” run by the U.S. Army until 2000, continues to train military personnel, primarily from Latin and Central America, in a military curriculum that, according to training manuals released by the Pentagon in 1996, advocates targeting civilians, extrajudicial executions, (more…)

This is the time of year when it’s important to remember what really matters, so that we’re voting our deepest values. So what are the most important issues? For me, after climate change, the most pressing issue is the increasing income gap between rich and poor—or more accurately (more…)

Aside from the fact that you can't leave, the worst thing about a women's prison is the noise. The drama. You can't get away from it. Women talk--a lot. They bitch, they complain, they argue, they seek connection with each other constantly, whether through confrontation or support. Any prison is its own world, made up (more…)

So, what about taxes?
There were no broad-based tax increases, but rather tax changes to put money in Vermonters' pockets at a time they need it most. They are designed to promote fairness and economic competitiveness and help sustain our schools and state infrastructure. Vermonters will now be able to, among other things:
• be exempt from the doubling of interest and dividend income in the property tax adjustment, if they're over 65 (more…)

With thanks to the many reps who contributed to the following:

What is the Working Lands bill? What does it do?
Recognizing that Vermont’s most reliable assets are our people, our natural resources and our brand, the Working Lands bill will stimulate economic development by encouraging entrepreneurism and job creation in agriculture and in Vermont's forest products industry. The Agriculture Development Board (more…)

Why are we Americans not more concerned with this? Some of us in the Vermont House sponsored a joint resolution trying to bring our attention back to the issue--an effort at best symbolic, at worse futile. At least the House passed it.

"JOINT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING DEEP CONCERN OVER THE GROWING INEQUALITY IN WEALTH AND INCOME IN VERMONT"

Offered by: Representatives Davis of Washington, Pearson of Burlington, Burke of
Brattleboro, Edwards of Brattleboro, Fisher of Lincoln, Haas of Rochester, Lippert of Hinesburg, Masland of Thetford, McCullough of Williston, Moran of Wardsboro, Mrowicki of Putney, Poirier of Barre City, Sharpe of Bristol, Wizowaty of Burlington (more…)

A hundred years ago, the U.S. created the first juvenile court. It was a radical idea at the time, born of the same impulse that created compulsory education and child labor laws, according to Rachel Aviv in a recent New Yorker article, and it recognized that adolescents were not adults, though they might look and sound like adults some of the time. The goal was to treat criminal behavior in young people (more…)