MONTPELIER – State police and protesters were involved in an event on March 11, where federal agents served a warrant, raiding a property and disrupting South Burlington traffic in search of a person who wasn’t at the property involved.
A day later, the Vermont House took up H.849, an act relating to a civil action for damages for interference with state or federal constitutional rights by any government official.
The bill had been introduced in early February, where it was referred to the Judiciary Committee. The bill passed to a final reading that day on a tri-partisan vote of 97-39 and on a voice vote the next day, it became Vermont law.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski said in a statement, “This legislation is a critical piece of our work to ensure that Vermonters’ civil rights are protected . . . H.849 enables Vermonters to defend their constitutional rights and make a legal claim if a local, state or federal official violates the United States Constitution.”
“Yesterday, we saw the most invasive action taken on Vermont soil by federal law enforcement agents in the City of South Burlington,” said Speaker Krowinski. “The events that occurred have left many unanswered questions, including whether constitutional rights were violated, and this legislation is crucial to providing an avenue to Vermonters to seek justice if their rights are violated in the future.”
Rep. Marc Mihaly (D – Washington 6: Calais, Marshfield, Plainfield) voted for the legislation and said, “H.849 . . . corrects an important imbalance that favors federal employees over state employees: Under current law, Vermont state employees are held to a higher standard than Federal. Vermont citizens may sue state employees who violate constitutional rights, but nothing authorizes Vermont citizens to sue Federal employees who violate those same rights.”
“It’s worth noting that this bill was already on the House action calendar before the ICE operation that occurred in South Burlington this week,” said Rep. Leanne Harple (D – Orleans-4: Albany, Craftsbury, Glover and Greensboro), who voted yes on the bill. “However, the timing of that incident proves to many of us just how important these protections are, as some serious questions are being raised for many Vermonters, including upper-level government officials, as to how such actions are being carried out and whether constitutional boundaries are always being respected.
Rep. Mihaly further explained the historic origins of the discrepancy. “This imbalance has its origin in the post-Civil War era when the Southern states failed to apply rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution to their African American citizens. So, we enacted the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution to allow citizens to sue state employees of those states who violated those constitutional rights.”
He said, “Now, as we see a president and federal administration violating those same rights, Vermont, joined by several states, has moved to correct the imbalance, to allow their citizens to sue Federal employees who violate their citizens’ constitutional rights.”
And concluded, saying, “I strongly support the effort.”
Rep. Michael Southworth (R – Caledonia-2: Hardwick, Stannard, Walden) voted against the bill and expressed concern that the legislative process was rushed, commenting, “The bill was not in committee long enough to receive adequate testimony. There were only seven witnesses who offered testimony on the far reaching implications of this bill.”
Rep. Southworth said some of the testimony did not fully support passage of the act. “…The co-director of the Civil Rights Unit in the Office of the Attorney General, had reservations with the bill.”
“I do not oppose accountability for government officials. Had there been a deeper dive into the issues surrounding the constitutionality of this bill, my vote may have been different,” explained Rep. Southworth.
Rep. Harple, said, “I supported this bill because, like many patriotic Americans, I am increasingly alarmed (appalled, really) by the growing disregard for our constitutional rights that is being carried out right now by some federal officials. H.849 creates a legal mechanism that allows Vermonters to seek accountability if their state or federal constitutional rights are violated by government employees. This is important because if our constitutional rights are to have any meaning at all, we need to have the ability to defend them.”
“Regardless of anyone’s views on immigration policy, the fundamental issue at stake here is about protecting our constitutional rights and accountability for those in positions of power who, given the opportunity, would violate them unchecked,” she said. “This legislation is not about protecting any one group of people in one particular moment, it is about protecting all Americans all the time, and preserving the very rule of law that is the bedrock of our American democracy.”
“H.849 closes the gap in available constitutional remedies available to Vermonters or any other person within the jurisdiction of Vermont,” said Representative Martin LaLonde, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “If a right does not have a remedy, it is not much of a right at all.”
Exemplifying the priorities of a citizen legislator when the state’s most well-known crop is ready to harvest, Rep. Greg Burtt (R – Caledonia-Washington: Cabot, Danville, Peacham) said, “I had to boil syrup the day of the vote, unfortunately.”
Learn more about H.849 at legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.849.
