In the past few years, the emergency rooms of the hospital and beyond have seen a rapidly disturbing condition: the nurse and chair of the Emergency Department of the Government Affairs Committee of the Vermont Emergency Nurses Association, as a “violence”, “torture” Put Wednesday.
Throughout the United States, health care staff was shot, shot, knife -wielding and verbal abuse. In 2021 and 2022, according to US Bureau of Labor StatisticsVermont has the highest rate of health care workers who are deprived of work in the US states due to violence.
Between July 2023 and December 2024, Vermont Association of Hospital and Health Systems Recorded Examples of violence and intimidation in 89 hospitals. More than half of these cases included an attack on a health care worker. But such incidents have been significantly less reported, Koto said.
“Violence has become a daily event in our hospitals,” he told lawmakers in the House Committee on Health Care on Wednesday morning. “
In 2023, legislators tried to resolve this epidemic Act 24Which increases the penalties for intimidation of health care workers, and make law enforcement easier to arrest people who attacked health care workers.
But now, members of the House Healthcare Committee are returning to the matter. The committee is currently working H. 259A bill, which, in its current form, will need to draft security plans to “prevent violence in the workplace and to handle aggressive behavior” and collect data about the incidents at the hospital. As part of these projects, some hospital employees will be trained in ways such as “defensive tactics,” de -scolutions and crisis interference.
Koto said the bill has tried to set a standard guideline for Vermont hospitals, which have different safety policies and procedures.
On Wednesday, rap. Alan Demar, R. Anosburg asked, “Will this even increase?”
“Will it be enough?” He asked Coto. “If this is an epidemic, what else should you be for safety and for everyone?”
Bill, he replied, “There is a good start.”
On the move
The legislators gave their last stamps approved A Central Budget tone -up On Wednesday afternoon, but a few hours ago, Government Phil Scott told reporters that he had planned to veto the bill after arriving at his desk, which rejected the 2025 legislative meeting.
An important point for the controversy over the annual budget adjustment bill is the fate of the Vermont’s motel voucher program for unmanaged residents.
Lawmakers have signed the program extension of the program’s fast winter rules during the spring by June 30. The move, which was promoted by the Democrats, has tried to remove the wave of ousting from the program, which began on April 1. The policy shift is worth about $ 1.8 million.
Read more about the ongoing debate here.
– Carly Berlin
The Senate on Wednesday approved S.69, a bill that tries to protect minors from addiction and harmful features of social media platforms.
This bill is known as “Children’s Code” by supporters, which will install guard rails for platforms like Tech and Facebook, which will require tech companies to adjust their algorithm and default privacy settings for users under 18, among other things.
If this bill is built by the House and the Government Phil Scott, it is unclear whether the governor will sign it in the law. Last year, Scott vetoed a clean data privacy bill that contained the previous version of the children’s code, though he cited other provisions in the bill to explain his veto.
The bill approved a preliminary destination vote to amend the legislation by a vote of 25 to 5 on Wednesday, which states that if the Scott veto the bill, the supporters of the children’s code may have this time to eliminate the number.
– Habib Sibet
The house initially approved H.2 On Wednesday, a bill that will delay the full implementation of Vermont’s Rise of the Edge Initiative for another two years.
Months ago, the Democrats seemed to move forward with the delay of the year after years of delay. But after calling on the final phase of the Government Phil Scott and their public protection officials about the final stage of fully expanding the age, lawmakers are seen in search of medium land.
“This is a delay compromise,” said De South Berlington on the floor of the house.
The Republican -backed amendment has tried to end the final phase of the age, which will extend the jurisdiction of the younger, which will accuse children of 19 -year -olds of mismanagement and lower levels. This attempt was rejected.
H.2 also suggested an increase in this age, in which children can be charged with teenage crimes from 10 to 12.
– Ethan Wine Stein
Cross Cross
The House Environment Committee voted in favor of progress on Tuesday H.238A bill that will further advance the sale and production of additional PFA products, which is a class of thousands of highly capable chemicals associated with cancer and health problems in humans.
This bill will expand the existing limits of the state on consumer products containing PFAS so that the ban on the manufacture and sale of cleaning products, dental floss and containers on the manufacture and sale of polyflower and poly fluorolly material.
Read more about the bill here.
Also, the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee pushed its Road Salt Bill this morning, but with all the members, San Terry Williams, R Rotland, are voting in favor of amended bills. Bill, S.29The commercial salt applicants will create a certification program to help ensure the safety of the road and sidewalks, while hoping to prevent salt costs and improve the health of aquatic lanes damaged by salt flow.
– Olivia Galer
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