The 4-day-long Tunbridge World’s Fair’s first day on Thursday, September 11, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Nine million dollars: That’s how much Vermont’s county fairs bring in, Vermont Farm Bureau lobbyist Jackie Folsom told the Senate Institutions Committee Wednesday afternoon. That’s a whole lot of creemees.  It’s such an influx of cash that, in Bondville, fairgoers completely wipe out the two local ATMs and organizers have had to import two additional machines just for the fair, explained Scott Bushee, the president of the volunteer organization that runs the Bondville Fair. With $300,000 of state funds invested through capital grants and another $110,000 in stipends for fairs and field days, it’s quite a “bang for your buck,” Folsom said.  But recently some fairs have become mired in Vermont’s recent stormwater runoff rule, which requires areas with more than three acres of impervious surface (think asphalt, sidewalks) to have a permitted runoff system to protect against nutrients and chemicals polluting the state’s watersheds. (Imagine how many cows could be at a county fair.) Addison County Fair Field Days, for instance, was able to coordinate with the state’s Agency of Agriculture to permit and engineer a relatively easy solution that complies with the three acre rule. The Vermont State Fair, in Rutland, however, has become the “poster child” for the challenges that can come with this rule, Folsom said. Of the fairground’s 60 acres, 17 are impervious, Rick McKirryher, a trustee of the fair, explained. The grounds are hemmed in by railroad tracks on one side and Route 7 running across the other; a brook runs right through the middle.  It’s a tough position to be in, literally. The brook means that the fair would have to capture and treat its runoff. The cost of an engineer to assess the feasibility of where the fairgrounds could put a capturing facility and how it could get water to it comes out to $170,000, according to McKirryher. That would only be the beginning of the new expenses. The costs of building out various treatment solutions could be more than 15 times the cost of the feasibility assessment, McKirryher said. And putting business on pause for construction would deliver an even bigger blow.  “What are they supposed to do for the year or two of construction? They lose access. They can’t  have a fair. They can’t have any extra activities. I mean, it will put them out of business,” Folsom said. While so many of us are used to county fairs delivering a cotton-candied dose of levity, McKirryher told lawmakers he hoped he could convey the gravity of the situation.  “We’re very happy and pleased with the support from the state. The big thing is, we gotta find a way around this three acre rule,” McKirryher said. — Olivia Gieger  In the know A British pharmaceutical company made waves in the biotech world Tuesday when it announced that clinical trials of its synthetic psilocybin showed the drug could really help patients with stubborn depression. In case you’ve never been to a Phish concert or set foot on the UVM campus, psilocybin is the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms.  On Wednesday, a lobbyist from that company sat in Vermont’s Senate Health and Welfare Committee, urging the legislators to act preemptively so that Vermonters can access the drug if, or when, the FDA approves it.  It’s something the state has done before, explained Tess Bettler, the Compass Pathways representative, describing the 2018 law that enabled the prescription of medical marijuana once it was FDA-approved. She suggested language to the committee for them to do the same with the synthetic psilocybin. The promising trial results released Tuesday could put Compass Pathway’s compound well on its way to becoming the first psilocybin product on the market approved for treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder therapies. “We’re in the midst of this mental health crisis, and it feels like we’re doing a lot of the same things,” Sen. Martine Gulick, D-Chittenden Central, said to committee members, “and I felt like it’s time to take some bold action to try something new.”  In 2024, she championed a bill that created a state working group to explore therapeutic psilocybin use.  The interest in better understanding the drug’s therapeutic potential remains high, Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden Southeast, said following Bettler’s testimony. She mentioned that S.154, a bill relating to different types of health testing that remains on the committee room wall, could be one vehicle to further explore it.  Some might find that pretty groovy.  — Olivia Gieger  Lawmakers in the House Corrections and Institutions Committee discussed a new version of a bill, H.529, to expand and change the state’s pretrial supervision program (even though the bill is currently assigned to the House Judiciary Committee). The supervision program is a justice system experiment that places defendants under close supervision if they’re at risk of committing more crimes ahead of trial or skipping out on their court dates.  Under a new version of the bill, any defendant could be referred into the pretrial program. It’s an effort to funnel more defendants into the program (which has so far seen scant use), according to Hillary Chutter-Ames, legislative counsel.  Some officials in the justice system have said that the pretrial program might be unnecessary if lawmakers instead, or also, opt to expand Burlington’s pilot accountability court.  But Gary Marvel, who directs field services for the Vermont Department of Corrections, sees it differently. People only end up in the accountability court if they’re facing five or more legal cases.  Under the new version of the bill, the pretrial program could prevent people from racking up five cases, he said. Then, the supervision program could work in tandem with the court — and offer a way for the state to intervene sooner, Marvel said.  — Charlotte Oliver On the move Both the House and Senate have now given final approval to a bill that would require, with some exceptions, that people who create political media using artificial intelligence in the leadup to an election also publish a disclosure saying the image, video or audio is fake. Vermont lawmakers first took up the bill last year in response to concerns over an AI-generated robocall of former President Joe Biden that went out to thousands of New Hampshire voters in 2024.  The chambers had some differences over what the bill, S.23, defines as “deceptive,” which they’ve since worked out in a conference committee. The House approved the committee’s report last week, and the Senate approved it on Wednesday. The legislation is now set to head to Gov. Phil Scott for his consideration. — Shaun Robinson Lawmakers unanimously voted S.206, a bill seeking to establish licensure systems for early childhood educators, out of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday.  The new certifications would be available through a rigorous system that requires increased levels of training or experiential learning for each ascending tier of licensure. The third and highest tier for an individual educator would, for example, require a bachelor’s degree with demonstrated focus on child care.  The bill would also create a Vermont Board of Early Childhood Educators to oversee hearings, complaints and outreach surrounding the new licensing system. “Thank you, committee — your work has been good on this,” said Sen. Lyons, who sponsored the bill and chairs the committee.  —Theo Wells-Spackman Why did senators say the words “tickle” and “naked” on the floor on Wednesday? The chamber was reviewing data handed out by Sen. Anne Watson, D/P-Washington, during the third reading of a bill proposing new measures to reduce road salt contamination in state waters. The handout referenced bodies of water across the state — including Ticklenaked Pond.  “I did have one question on the second-to-last slide,” Sen. David Weeks, R-Rutland, said during the floor debate. “I’m really quite curious where Ticklenaked is. It’s got my curiosity.” Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, then stood up. “I’m proud to say that Ticklenaked Pond, Mr. President, is in my district. It’s in Ryegate.” The minority leader later told VTDigger that he’s very familiar with Ticklenaked — he even features a photo of it in his campaign materials. More importantly, senators then passed the legislation, S.218, so it will now head to the House for further consideration over the second half of the session. — Shaun Robinson Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont’s county fairs are thriving. Now they worry updated water rules could threaten that.. ...read more read less