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Bill would establish Molly Beatty Distinguished Service Award for Vermont conservation
Summary
Legislators introduced a bill to create an annual Molly Beatty Distinguished Service Award to be presented by the commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation; the agency supports the proposal and will testify before the committee. The bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2025.
A bill to create the Molly Beatty Distinguished Service Award was introduced to the committee, with Representative Logan saying Representative Peter Anthony asked her to sponsor the measure in honor of Molly Beatty’s conservation work.
The proposed statute would direct the commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation to present an annual award to “a state employee, retiree, or partner whose contribution ... honor[s] the legacy of Molly Beatty in advancing the conservation, accessibility, quality of recreational experience, or sustainability of Vermont’s public lands,” according to text read into the record by Michael Chernick of the Legislative Counsel.
The bill drafts a new statutory section to establish the award and names July 1, 2025, as the effective date. Michael Chernick said the language was crafted to place the award under the Department’s authority rather than a broader agency-level authority and that the draft does not create any ongoing appropriation: “there isn’t any money involved here,” he said, adding the award would likely take the form of a certificate or plaque.
Representative Logan and other committee members said the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is enthusiastic about creating the award; the committee scheduled the department to testify at a forthcoming meeting and discussed allowing the House Committee on Environment to also review the bill. Representative Logan said Representative Peter Anthony would likely join the department’s testimony.
Committee members discussed background items such as existing uses of Molly Beatty’s name across the state, including references by speakers to a Molly Beatty Wilderness and an internship named for her. Members noted Beatty’s career included service in Vermont government and later national service, and that she died young from brain cancer, as described by committee speakers.
Next steps: the department’s testimony is scheduled for Thursday morning, after which the committee may act on the bill or forward it to the House Committee on Environment for further consideration.
