Vermont Legislative Update

April 12, 2024

We know you might be over talking about the eclipse, however, there’s a policy angle we’d like to get at here. The most recent estimates put the visitors this weekend at 160,000 coming to our little state of only 645,000, mainly concentrated in the northern half of the state and 50,000 people around Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace. 

• This is significant because the Vermont Futures Project is setting a goal to increase our population to 802,000 people and the non-seasonal housing stock to 350,000 units, which some have scoffed at.  
• We accepted all these visitors, and nothing went wrong. Even with their 60,000 cars, parking wasn’t a significant issue. Sure, traffic backed up, however, that’s more of a factor of everyone leaving at the exact same time from wherever they were watching, a phenomenon we wouldn’t expect to happen usually. 

So, as legislators discuss housing legislation, they need to remember that we don’t need to compromise our state’s environment to reach these necessary targets. So, when you think back on the eclipse, remember the natural wonder and community you experienced, however, also remember it as the trial run of the Vermont we need to become. 

In this week’s update:

• Yield bill would raise property taxes, with bigger increase for businesses and renters
• Long awaited merge of land-use and housing bill in Senate 
• PFAS bill passes with a helpful floor amendment 
• Tourism day in the Vermont State House 
• Public safety bills considered in the House and Senate 
• The Laundry List