Committee reviews S.44 to keep governor approval for ICE MOUs, ACLU urges broader privacy and First Amendment protections

The Judiciary Committee reviewed S.44, a bill that would keep the governor as the sole state official who may authorize formal memoranda of understanding between state or local public agencies and federal immigration or customs authorities, but would remove a current emergency exception that can let local agencies enter such agreements during a declared state or national emergency.

"It's a 2 page bill," said Rick Segal, Office of Legislative Council, as he summarized the measure and its effect on the existing statute in Title 20. Segal said the bill "strikes out" the language that currently lets public agencies act without the governor's approval during a state or national emergency and clarifies that no public agency, officer, employee, agent or contractor may enter one of the covered agreements unless the governor has authorized it.

The nut graf: Supporters and committee members framed S.44 as a limited change meant to restore and clarify the 2017 law (Act 5) requiring executive review before a local law enforcement agency is deputized to carry out immigration or customs enforcement under federal statutes and programs. The ACLU of Vermont told the committee it supports the Senate's change and urged…