Senate advances bill to support Vermont Language Justice Project; appropriations committee withholds immediate funding

The Senate moved S243 forward after committee reports in favor of providing support to the Vermont Language Justice Project, an organization formed during the pandemic to produce multilingual public‑health and safety videos.

Senator Gulick, reporting for the Health and Welfare Committee, described the project's work and history: the project produced public‑health videos in what the bill text characterizes as "10 to 21 different languages," helped vulnerable and isolated Vermonters access critical health information during the pandemic, and lost CDC grant funding in January 2025. Gulick said the committee heard testimony from the project's founder and director and from partners including hospitals and community organizations, and the Health and Welfare Committee voted 5‑0‑0 to report the bill.

Senator Lyons, reporting for Appropriations, said his committee supported the policy but recommended leaving the appropriation in the larger budget process; Appropriations voted 7‑0‑0 to pass the bill forward without immediate funding. The chair explained that the language in the bill was expanded to include findings so the public can see what the Vermont Language Justice Project does.

Senators asked for clarifications: a senator from Rutland asked whether the reporter could list the specific languages referenced by the "10 to 21" phrasing; the reporter agreed to provide that information before third reading. Another senator asked whether the bill's phrase "disease outbreak or other public health emergency" had been considered for narrower language; the reporter said the committee intentionally kept the language broad to encompass outbreaks, emergencies and general public‑health and personal‑health information. The reporter also indicated the appropriation is assumed to be used to create public‑health videos in the coming months rather than held solely in reserve.

The Senate voted to amend the bill as recommended by Health and Welfare and Appropriations, and ordered it read a third time. The transcript does not include a roll‑call vote; actions were recorded as voice votes.