A portrait of Louvenia Bright unveiled at the Statehouse in Montpelier in May 2026. Photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDigger Bright spot  There’s a new portrait hanging in the Vermont Statehouse, and it’s one that supporters say brings some long-overdue representation to the building’s histori c art collection. Last week, workers installed a newly completed painting of Louvenia Dorsey Bright, who was the first Black woman, and first woman of color, to be elected to the Legislature. A longtime teacher at Colchester and Burlington high schools, Bright represented South Burlington in the House from 1989 to 1994. She died in 2023. That’s around when Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast, first raised the idea of commemorating Bright’s legacy with a portrait, State Curator David Schutz said. In the years since, Schutz and Ram Hinsdale — the latter of whom is just the second woman of color elected to the Legislature — worked with Bright’s family to raise support and funding for the idea.  Bright’s husband and two children unveiled the portrait, alongside Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, at a ceremony in the House chamber last week. It’s now hanging in the West Corridor of the Statehouse’s first floor, just outside Rodgers’ office. “People will pass it every day. Some will stop,” Ram Hinsdale said during the event. “And for those who do, for those who see themselves in Rep. Bright’s strength and grace, it will mean something real — something tangible — that cannot be forgotten or erased.” Ram Hinsdale noted that Bright’s election came about 150 years after the first Black man, Alexander Twilight, was elected to Vermont’s Legislature. Twilight was honored with a Statehouse portrait in 2022, which hangs just around the corner from Bright’s, next to the Senate Judiciary Committee room. Bright’s portrait is the first painting of a woman of color out of the 88 now hung in the Statehouse, and just the fourth to feature a woman, Ram Hinsdale said. It was created by Ayana Ross, an artist from the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Ross included a number of symbols tied to Bright’s life. They include an apple, for Bright’s teaching; a vase with flowers from different states in which she lived; and a copy of a bill she advocated for, in her left hand, that became the state’s first parental and family leave law. “I wanted this to be an act of honor,” Ross said. “One that celebrates her work, affirms her rightful place here on these walls and ensures that her story is held preserved.” Just one member of the House who served alongside Bright is still in the chamber today: Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield. At last week’s unveiling, Emmons recalled eating regular dinners with Bright and a group of other representatives. Seeing the painting “brought back to me so many memories,” she said. “The portrait does capture her perfectly,” Emmons added. “What I remember the most — and, the portrait does pick this up — is not only her grace and her elegance, but her beautiful smile that lit up her face.” In the know The Senate abandoned a bill that would have barred a list of chemical additives from the food and drinks served in schools after two of the state’s largest school districts told lawmakers they were opposed to the proposal. Senators’ decision to scrap the bill, S.26, is notable because it came after the legislation won unanimous approval in the chamber’s Health and Welfare Committee. Typically, when bills get such strong initial support, they are almost certain to move forward. The legislation also had backing from the Vermont Agency of Education, meaning it was unlikely to face opposition from Gov. Phil Scott’s allies in the Republican minority.  But the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden Southeast, said she ultimately did not want to override the wishes of school nutrition leaders who argued the legislation would create more administrative work while leading to little change in what students actually ate, since few items served in Vermont schools today contain the additives that would be banned. Two months after that 5-0 committee vote, including weeks in limbo on the Senate floor, the school food bill is back in the health and welfare committee, which Lyons chairs. And it will not advance, in any form, before the end of the session, she said.  That’s disappointing advocacy groups who say the ban would improve student health. The legislation would have prevented public and private schools, during the school day, from serving food or drinks containing any of six listed colorful dyes. It would also have banned four other additives commonly used to improve foods’ color, texture or shelf life. Read the full story here.  — Shaun Robinson On the move The Senate on Tuesday passed this year’s transportation funding and policy bill, H.944. The legislation includes a revised version of a new state program to charge electric vehicle drivers a fee based on how many miles they drive — meant to make up for the gasoline taxes those people don’t pay — compared with what the House approved when it passed H.944 in March. The mileage-based user fee would take effect starting in January, though because of how it’s likely to be structured, many people wouldn’t pay it until sometime in 2028. Senators added in more options for how people could pay the fee, as well as dates — 2029 and 2031, respectively — by which the state should plan to start charging it to drivers of hybrids and fully gas-powered cars. Separate from the mileage-based fee change, Senate Finance removed a new tax on jet fuel sales that the chamber’s Transportation Committee first proposed. H.944 will head back to the House to review the full Senate’s changes.  — Shaun Robinson Read the story on VTDigger here: Statehouse’s portrait collection now features Vermont’s first Black female lawmaker. ...read more read less