Rep. Elizabeth Burrows introduces bill to give Human Rights Commission jurisdiction over discrimination complaints involving legislators and statewide officers

Representative Elizabeth Burrows introduced H.429 on April 2, proposing that the Vermont Human Rights Commission (HRC) have jurisdiction over unlawful-discrimination complaints made against members of the General Assembly and elected statewide officials.

The bill, presented in short form by legislative counsel Sophie, "proposes to provide the Human Rights Commission with jurisdiction over complaints of unlawful discrimination made against members of the General Assembly or an elected statewide official," Sophie told the committee. Burrows said the proposal is intended to remove a problematic power dynamic when a complaint involves a legislator and a statewide officeholder, so an impartial agency can investigate and return findings to the legislature for any next steps.

Burrows describ…