Vermont lawmakers passed 89 new statutes this year, and dozens of them take effect with the start of the new fiscal year.
Beginning today, criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana or 5 grams of hashish disappear in Vermont and will be replaced by civil fines similar to traffic tickets.
But if you celebrate and get the munchies, don't share your food with bears.
That's because another of the dozens of new Vermont laws bans people from intentionally feeding bears.
Another law requires public officials convicted of certain crimes, including embezzlement, to forfeit part or the entirety of their retirement pension.
Yet another gives local and state officials new authority to inspect home-based breeders of dogs, cats and wolf-hybrids.
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