Ignorantia juris non excusat.
2024-01-06
Dear friend,
Warm and cozy Saturday greetings to you, dear Vermonter or friend to Vermonters. After a snowless and rainy December, we have snow coming in. I'm excited!
I'm looking forward to seeing some of you this Monday, January 8th at The Village Roost in Wilmington for a legislative coffee chat. I am planning to be there, and Rep. Laura Sibilia and Sen. Nader Hashim are planning to attend.
Thank you Village Roost, and thank you to the Deerfield Valley Chamber of Commerce for hosting!
All are welcome -- please join us...
Time: 8-9:30 am
Location: The Village Roost (20 West Main Street, Wilmington)
Vibe: Cozy -- I'm sure we'll get to say hello and talk about any issues on your mind
We are planning for an 8:30 a.m. facilitated Q&A with Sarah Shippee as moderator.
We are planning to go forward with the event even with heavy snow in the forecast. If it becomes an "extreme" storm we may cancel. And please only come if you can get there safely.
Legislative Coffee Chat
Ignorantia juris non excusat.
I remember feeling disquieted when I heard this as a kid. I associate it with standing in our bathroom. The wood floor was rotting, before my dad tiled it.
"You mean you could be held liable for a law that you might not even know about?" I thought. "I don't know how I feel about that."
Ignorantia juris non excusat.
As they said in Roman times, "Ignorance of the law excuses not." By being within Vermont's borders, you're subject to Vermont's laws, whether or not you know it. It's non-negotiable, and not entirely logical.
No one can know the ins and outs of every single law, down to zoning and wastewater and minor parking violations. People do things all the time that are illegal without knowing it, or feeling that it matters, or some combination.
And when it comes to sentencing, exceptions have been given. Trappers who broke laws that changed when they were out in the wilderness for a couple years have been given no sentence.
But fundamentally, we've decided that it's so important to law-and-order that ignorance can't be used as an excuse to avoid a conviction. Teach your kids -- Ignorantia juris non excusat.
Ignorantia juris non excusat.
I urge you to say it out loud, and then do it again as your favorite Harry Potter character, holding a wand.
Besides the fun of that, this principle is under-appreciated for the opportunity it provides us citizens to find our own way to step up and participate in the law.
People can complain about the "government" all they want, but our government is us. Our government is how we agreed to govern ourselves, with laws agreed-upon by all the history of the inhabitants of this land up to this moment in time.
If you don't like the laws here, or the people executing them, it's on you as a citizen to do something about it. Otherwise, you do have the right to emigrate to greener pastures guaranteed by Article 19 of the Vermont Constitution. The disenfranchisement of various people over time by laws is a constant issue, of course, but the Constitution doesn't give you the moral right to walk away. It says that if you live in this land, you "ought to" do certain things.
Thank you to Putney resident Meg Mott for a recent conversation over tea in Halifax in which we discovered our mutual joy in Article 18 of the Vermont Constitution, as I wrote about last week -- see frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.
Reps. Casey and Williams led off a touching and important press conference this week that gave voice to issues in towns since the July 10th floods
I see Article 18 as one of the parts of our Constitution that gives us freedom and space to show up -- it's it's the yang to the yin of Ignorantia juris non excusat.
It says that if you're in our state, that you ought to 1) have principles, 2) pay attention to them, and 3) consider especially adhering "to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality." (Those terms are not defined so again -- figure it out, children.)
How do we go forth and do that? The Constitution leaves that to your imagination, under the constraints of the entire document and the U.S. Constitution we fly under, and to the legal imagination of everyone who came before you and gave us the Vermont Statutes.
Article 18 also says this about the relationship between you and me, your elected Representative:
the people ought, therefore to pay particular attention to these points, in the choice of officers and representatives, and have a right, in a legal way, to exact a due and constant regard to them, from their legislators and magistrates, in making and executing such laws as are necessary for the good government of the State.
Maybe I should call this newsletter "Article 18," because it's a nexus for regarding each other.
***
All of the above is to say that new laws don't come with an advertising campaign. The Legislature legislates, statute changes, and everyone is expected to know. Sometimes there's a public interest in getting the word out on an issue in a certain way, like distributing aid (see Resources for Vermonters on everything from healthcare to housing), but often not.
Last year we passed a law that could hold a gun owner liable for negligent storage. Here's my writeup on that -- Yes on H.230 - suicide prevention. This is a law that encourages gun owners to do the safe thing and use safe storage, leaving how you do that up to you.
H.230 is a case where the statutes get updated and word gets out, but the bill didn't call for a public-awareness campaign. Here's some useful information from the State -- Firearms Storage Program, and Firearm Safety -- but I'm not aware that anything's being done, on top of individual retailer initiative, to encourage gun owners who haven't already done so to purchase a safe storage system for their home.
This is where I had a policy idea. To help families make this important purchase, and to publicize the law change, should we have a one-month sales tax holiday for gun safes in 2024?
An event like this, which has precedent (see Fiscal Facts, from our Joint Fiscal Office) would:
generate publicity organically, by participating stores
incentivize Vermonters to come up-to-date with the law and make that purchase they've been putting off
stimulate Vermont retail activity.
How much? Would it be worth the cost? Would it actually affect anyone's behavior in a meaningful way, or save lives?
Does anyone manufacture gun safes in Vermont? Or would anyone, if we gave Vermont-made goods preferential treatment in this tax holiday?
I don't know -- I'd love your perspective.
This is one idea I had this week as the 2024 session kicked off. Is it a good idea? I have no idea until I say it out loud to at least one other person. Today that's you.
In my single legislator's mind, I see only the good of this policy idea. Upon sharing it, I expect it to be likely mocked, poked at, rejected, or probably just ignored.
I thought it was worth putting out there today because -- you never know.
***
Speaking of advertising, the one change the Legislature and the Governor made together last session that everyone already is hearing about and will continue to hear about ad nauseum, is online sports wagering.
Here's how Vermont Public recently summed it up:
In the new year, Vermonters will be able to make online bets on their favorite sports teams and players. Online sports betting is set to officially launch in the state on January 11th. Vermont is the last state in New England to legalize the practice.
Earlier this month, Governor Phil Scottâs administration selected three companies to operate online sports wagering platforms. Those companies are DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbooks.
I voted "No" on H.127 last year, but the bill passed with overwhelming support and the inclusion of a few safeguards against problem gambling. Along with all the ads coming our way, Vermonters will be seeing information on how to get help for "problem gambling": https://problemgambling.vermont.gov/â
I'm concerned about the increase we are likely to see with gambling more accessible from the most addictive devices ever know to humankind. Here's a snippet of why I voted against online wagering last year:
Iâm especially cautious because of another type of addiction â our phones.
â47% of Americans say they are phone-addicted.
â71% of people spend more time on their phone than with their romantic partner.
âThe average American checks their smartphone 352 times per day
âOver 60% of children spend 4+ hours per day on phones.
Why arenât we spending more time talking about this?
Perhaps because phone addiction is perceived as not being harmful. The website I found those statistics on stated, âsmartphone addiction may not have the capability to destroy lives like drugs or gambling.â
Thatâs about to change. Combining legal online gambling with our already-addictive phones will compound both problems. The state of Vermont is about to create a legal market and tax revenue (estimated at ~$4 million/year) by monetizing our inattention.
I could be wrong, but I think the social and economic costs of this bill are underestimated, relative to modest benefits and tax revenue. I will vote âNo.â
This reasoning still holds true to me, but my vote didn't affect the outcome. Sports wagering is here, and I'm glad we live in a free republic.
However, I will continue as a legislator to monitor all facets of the sports wagering world we are entering. I'd love to hear from you. If you wager online, or don't -- tell me about your experience. I've never done it, so -- I'm curious. Good, bad, weird, fun, making money, losing money -- let me know.
***
Finally for today, this leads us to the idea that I really bombed with, with one legislator at least, although another was intrigued.
How about a "day of rest" for Vermont's online wagering industry?
Not Sunday -- that would take away too many key games. How about Tuesday? Could we as a state take "Taco Tuesday" off as a family and put down our devices?
The principle of liberty is served by legalizing online wagering. Some safety guardrails signal that we care about temperance. But online wagering now offers 24/7/365 addiction potential.
A close friend broke off an engagement last year fater discovering their partner was hiding debt from problem gambling. Even with forgiveness for an addiction, losing trust in a life partner or a business partner has ripple consequences. Those individuals are now rebuilding lives, starting over, now seeking a new partner with whom to raise the family they want. With problem-gambling growing for 20- and 30-something, this strikes another vulnerability in a critical group of younger Vermonters.
One way that addictions comes to light is that patterns are disrupted. If sports betting went dark in Vermont on Tuesdays, and your spouse is now driving to the New Hampshire border those same days to make bets, that could raise an important family conversation.
All of us are going to want a break from the ads. Give us one day a week, okay?
I would wager that a "blue law" for online wagering would have no net economic impact, because the same money would flow into bets on other days.
Maybe we'd even have more fun. That's what happened at the Saratoga Racetrack, near where I grew up. Saratoga Springs was "The August Place to Be" for its four-week August horse racing season. But even as excited as people were about horse-racing for that four weeks, later expanded to six, the track is "dark" for two days. The local economy was equally strong on those days (Monday-Tuesday), if a little quieter as tourists and locals found other things to pay attention to around the county.
That's my idea on sports wagering. What do you think?
***
Go ahead -- tell me they're "bad" and in the wrong direction. Creativity isn't all about nurturing good ideas. It's also about ditching or morphing bad ideas as quickly as possible, learning every time.
Ignorantia juris non excusat.
What will you do with Article 18?
See some of you Monday morning in Wilmington -- and stay safe!
Warm regards,
Rep. Tristan Roberts
Vermont House of Representatives
P.S. Happy birthday yesterday to Speaker Jill Krowinski! We're up to 651 bills introduced in the House, with two dozen added the other day and more to come. With everything Speaker Krowinski does to keep ideas flowing for Vermonters, I hope she had time to celebrate.
I've heard that Sunday I can toast to the Representative from Barnet, Bobby Farlice-Rubio!
I've told Bobby that I feel he is a lion.
Rep. Bobby Farlice-Rubio of Barnet, Jan. 3, 2023 - Photo: Kelly Fletcher
Rep. Farlice-Rubio carries himself with dignity and pride. He speaks clearly, and also with a present humility. He picks his moments, choosing caring and thoughtful points to add to a policy conversation. Bobby loves the natural world and Vermont -- you might know his voice from the radio or at a museum trip because he taught science, nature, and culture at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury for 18 years.
I feel that the voters of Barnet, Ryegate, and Waterford were wise in sending Bobby to Montpelier, where he serves on House Healthcare.
The media tells us that "party politics" is toxic, and it is. But there's more.
The group of 150 Reps is a team, but in a different way. We're a team because we were dropped there together by voters. To caucus, or meet up and work with, other Reps within the Legislature -- is a choice. Currently, three Reps are Independent and do not make that choice.
The House Democrats are my team within the team of the House, and I'm proud of the work of teammates like Rep. Farlice-Rubio. On House Healthcare, Bobby looks out for fair and equitable access to healthcare services in rural parts of the state like is, and like mine.
Happy birthday, Rep. Farlice-Rubio!