Vermont Builders & Remodelers Association Legislative Committee Blog

Institutions – TBA.

Judiciary – TBA.

Natural Resources and Energy – will possibly vote on H.877, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects on Tuesday. The remaining week’s schedule is TBA.

Transportation – TBA.

VBRA Legislative Update - May 3, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 06 May 2024 20:49:44 GMT

Vermont Legislative Update

May 3, 2024

We’re getting close to adjournment, however, consensus is not close on many of the major issues, like housing, public safety, and affordability, that the Legislature spent the last 17 weeks working on. We’ll keep this update pretty short as many items are dynamic, however, if you read nothing else, look at our quick overview of the road to adjournment.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Lobbyist Report: S.253 RBES - May 1, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Wed, 01 May 2024 21:46:19 GMT

Today, the House Environment and Energy Committee took up and passed S.253, the RBES bill.

[To look at the language you’ll need to review the version as Passed the Senate, and then compare with the Committee Amendment, Draft 1.1. Or, see the summary below for highlights. S.253: as Passed by The Senate S.253: Committee Amendment, Draft 1.1. The amendment will be combined with the underlying bill before it goes to the House floor.}

Here’s where they ended up:

Changes statutory requirement for DPS to update RBES from “shall” to “may.” A significant win that gives the department discretion on when and how to update.
Establishes a 2-year working to recommend strategies for increasing compliance with RBES, and develop plans and recommendations for a potential transition to a comprehensive program for the RBES and CBES at the Divisions of Fire Safety, and to consider whether or not the State should adopt a statewide building code.
Require the Office of Professional Regulation to make some updates to the contractor registry website, including asking registrants for more information, and requiring registrants to acknowledge that compliance RBES is required.

Stretching back to a year and a half ago VBRA, working alongside the American Institute of Architects Vermont (AIAVT), engaged the LCAR committee to delay adoption of the required 2021 IECC energy code. Then, the associations worked all session on S.253. The working group is intended to make sure builders and designers are at the table for future energy code updates and as the state considers the adoption of residential code. [It is the intention of this House committee to secure funding to extend the working group beyond the two years.]

VBRA members devoted countless hours in study committees, testifying and strategy sessions.

In no particular order, many thanks to:

Jim Bradley, Hayward Design-Build
Denis Bourbeau, Bourbeau Custom Homes
Collin Frisbee, Sterling Homes
Jason Webster, Huntington Homes
Sandra Vitzhum, Architect

Now, our work is not done. As a separate issue – but of course related – we do still intend to engage LCAR on a further delay of the 2024 RBES, scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2024. Our basic argument will be: the conditions that existed a year ago that convinced LCAR to delay still exist today. Nothing has changed. I spoke with Rep. Bongartz, House Environment and Energy member and LCAR member, and he’s aware that we intend to pursue a further delay and is at least agreeable to the conversation. He just voted to change “shall” to “may” for future RBES on the argument that it makes no sense without an agency, residential code, enforcement, etc.

Regards,

Andrew

VBRA Legislative Weekly Preview - April 29 - May 3, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 19:11:36 GMT

Vermont Legislative Committee Weekly Preview

April 29–May 3, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will hold a budget discussion on Tuesday regarding the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts and NOFA Vermont. The committee will receive an update regarding the equine industry on Thursday.

Appropriations – will possibly vote on S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development, and dam safety on Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon they will do the same for S.98, an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs. The remainder of the week is TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will discuss the BEGAP program within the budget with the remainder of their time TBA.

Corrections and Institutions – TBA.

Education – will continue work on the following bills: S.204, an act relating to young readers; S.167, an act relating to miscellaneous amendments to education law; S.304, an act relating to Vermont’s Career and Technical Education programs; and S.284, an act relating to student use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices in schools.

Environment and Energy – TBA.

General and Housing – will possibly vote on S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights, on Tuesday. They will review Senate action on sections of H.55 related to Paid Leave, and receive a review of the housing sections of H.687 on Wednesday.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on an number of bills: Committee Bill – Pay Act; S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law; S.9, an act relating to the authority of the State Auditor to examine the books and records of state contractors; S.96, an act relating to privatization contracts; S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries; H.649, an act relating to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; H.844, an act relating to appeal rights for extraterritorial users of municipal water and sewer systems; and S.159, an act relating to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee.

Health Care – will review the Senate proposal of amendment for H.766, an act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, on Tuesday. They will receive an update on drug importation and hear updates from designated and specialized service agencies throughout the week.

Human Services – will receive a bill introduction to S.114, an act relating to the establishment of the psychedelic therapy advisory working group, and continue work on S.302, an act relating to public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk. On Thursday morning the committee will go on a field trip to St. Albans to visit Spectrum Youth and Family Services.

Judiciary – will work on the following bills: S220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries; Prop 4 – declaration of rights; S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes; and S.285, an act relating to law enforcement interrogation policies.

Transportation – TBA.

Ways & Means – will potentially vote on the following bills: H.546, an act relating to administrative and policy changes to tax laws; S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to DMV laws; S.301, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects; and S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery and resiliency. The rest of the week is TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will potentially vote on H.877, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects, and continue work on H.81, an act relating to fair repair of agricultural equipment.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – will vote on H.704, an act relating to disclosure of compensation in job advertisements; H.55, an act relating to unemployment insurance amendments; and H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments.

Education – will vote on H.630, an act relating to cooperative educations services. The remainder of the week is TBA.

Finance – TBA.

Government Operations – will take up H.626, an act relating to animal welfare, and take testimony on H.702, an act relating to legislative operations and government accountability. On Wednesday they will work on H.875, an act relating to the State Ethics Commission and the State Code of Ethics.

Health and Welfare – will continue work on the following bills: H.72, an act relating to harm reduction criminal justice response to drug use; H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy; S.25, an act relating to PFAS; and H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments.

Institutions – TBA.

Judiciary – will consider the following bills: H.876, an act relating to miscellaneous amendments to the corrections laws; H.645, an act relating to the expansion of approaches to restorative justice; H.780, an act relating to judicial nominations and appointments; S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms; H.745, an act relating to the Vermont Parentage Act; and H.878, an act relating to miscellaneous judiciary procedures.

Natural Resources and Energy – will work on H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use. The remainder of the week is TBA.

Transportation – TBA.

Sincerely,

The Vermont Builders and Remodelers Association

VBRA Legislative Update - April 26 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 19:10:41 GMT

Vermont Legislative Update

April 26, 2024

We’re headed into the final stretch of the session despite it feeling as if there is no way we could be. There is a tentative date for adjournment of May 10th, and a quick survey of those around the building, and especially of those who have made their way to the House Clerk’s Office to participate in the betting pool, indicates that adjournment will be on schedule or very close to on schedule.

However, the fall of the gavel for adjournment will certainly not be the final this year, as everyone knows they will be back for a veto session in the third week of June.
In the meantime, the Senate has passed their version of the budget, which is the must-pass legislation that, when completed, signals the end of the session.
As we close the session, much of the work of the legislature is done by Committees of Conference, consisting of three members of each body appointed to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of bills.

In this week’s update:

Sincerely,

The Vermont Builders and Remodelers Association

VBRA Legislative Preview - April 22 - 26, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:58:59 GMT

Vermont Legislative Committee Weekly Preview

April 22–26, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue work on S.301, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects, and S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights. On Friday they will receive a Jumping Worms Update.

Appropriations – TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on S.289, an act relating to age-appropriate design code, and on Friday they will take testimony on recent updates on data privacy developments in other states.

Corrections and Institutions – will review House Judiciary’s work on S.195, an act relating to how a defendant’s criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release.

Education – TBA.

Environment and Energy – will work on a number of bills: S.253, an act relating to building energy codes; S.254, an act relating to including rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products under the State battery stewardship program, and S.258, an act relating to the management of fish and wildlife.

General and Housing – will devote the week to S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on an number of bills: S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law; S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery, and resiliency; H.885, an act relating to approval of an amendment to the charter of the Town of Berlin; Committee Bill- Pay Act; S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries; S.183, an act relating to re-envisioning the Agency of Human Services; H.886, an act relating to the approval of amendments to the charter of the City of South Burlington.

Health Care – will continue testimony on S.98, an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs, and S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes.

Human Services – will receive a bill introduction to S.302, an act relating to public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk, and S.186, an act relating to the systemic evaluation of recovery residences and recovery communities.

Judiciary – will continue work on S.195, an act relating to how a defendant’s criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release, S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery, and S.58, an act relating to public safety.

Transportation – will work on S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to the Department of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicles, and vessels.

Ways & Means – will consider the following bills: S.184, an act relating to the temporary use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE) systems; H.861, an act relating to reimbursement parity for health care services delivered in person, by telemedicine, and by audio-only telephone; PVR Update on Act 68 of 2023 Reappraisal Study; S.305, an act relating to miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission; S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development, and dam safety; H.629, an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will work on H.614, an act relating to land improvement fraud and timber trespass, and H.877, an act relating to misc. agricultural subjects.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will receive a walk-through of H.887, an act relating to property tax rates, H.874, an act relating to miscellaneous changes in education laws, and possibly vote on H.871, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program. They will hold the Secretary of Education confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Finance – TBA.

Health and Welfare – will continue work on the following bills: H.661, an act relating to child abuse and neglect investigation and substantiation standards; S.25, an act relating to PFAS; H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments; and H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy.

Institutions – TBA.

Judiciary – will consider the following bills: House changes to S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms; H.745, an act relating to the Vermont Parentage Act; H.780, an act relating to judicial nominations and appointments; H.173, an act relating to prohibiting manipulating a child for the purpose of sexual contact; H.655, an act relating to qualifying offenses for sealing criminal history records and access to sealed criminal history records; H.645, an act relating to the expansion of approaches to restorative justice; H.878, an act relating to miscellaneous judiciary procedures; and H.876, an act relating to miscellaneous amendments to the corrections laws.

Natural Resources and Energy – will possibly vote on H.289, an act relating to the Renewable Energy Standard on Monday with the rest of the week TBA.

Transportation – TBA.

VBRA Legislative Update - April 19, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:58:02 GMT

Vermont Legislative Update

April 19, 2024

For many, this legislative session is about three things, which we’ve been covering consistently: housing, public safety, and the education cost crisis. As we approach the final legislative phase, the common thread peaks through each topic; many people in Montpelier have not had to operate in a fiscally constrained environment for some time now, and some never have.

As such, many debates become about change in policy vs. finding more funding, and it is not always along party lines as you might think.

Recent major headlines outline these differences in public safety, housing, and education.
While there is nuance to all of these issues, the truth is that the Legislature has tried to throw money at the problems for years, which has often hidden the problems from voters and prevented systemic solutions.
Now, there is limited money, and from many legislators’ perspectives, there is not enough time left to do the structural work this session.

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:

VBRA Lobbyist Weekly Preview - Apirl 15 - 19, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 18:10:02 GMT

Vermont Legislative Committee Weekly Preview

April 15–19, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will discuss agricultural property transfers, and receive more testimony on H.567, an act relating to the sale of dogs, cats and wolf-hybrids by pet shops, and on S.301, the Senate’s act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects.

Appropriations – will possibly vote on H.626, an act relating to animal welfare on Tuesday, with the rest of the week TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on S.289, an act relating to age-appropriate design code on Tuesday, and S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance.

Corrections and Institutions – will consider an act relating to how a defendant’s criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release. They will receive an update on the Corrections Investigative Unit.

Education – TBA.

Environment and Energy – will work on a number of bills including: S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety; S.305, an act relating to miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission; S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery; and S.258, an act relating to the management of fish and wildlife.

General and Housing – will continue work on Prop 3 – Declaration of Rights; right to collectively bargain, and S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on an number of bills including: S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law; S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery, and resiliency; and S.42, an act relating to divestment of State pension funds of investments in the fossil fuel industry.

Health Care – will take testimony on S.98, an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs. On Thursday they will receive an overview of the All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model.

Human Services – will devote a few days to S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes. They will take testimony on Conflict-Free Case Management on Thursday, and Friday will be spent on S.186, an act relating to the systemic evaluation of recovery residences and recovery communities.

Judiciary – will take up S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms, frames and receivers, for a vote on Tuesday and will devote much of their remaining week on S.58, an act relating to public safety.

Transportation – will continue work on S.184, an act relating to the temporary use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE), and review a fiscal note on H.868, the transportation bill as recommended by the Senate Committee on Transportation. They will also have a discussion regarding railroad leases.

Ways & Means – On Monday the committee will continue their work on their committee property tax bill (an expanded Yield bill) and try to complete work on that bill by Tuesday. The remaining schedule is TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will spend the week on H.706, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, and H.614, an act relating to land improvement and timber trespass. Thursday morning the committee will consider H.81, an act relating to the fair repair of agricultural equipment.

Appropriations – will hold general discussions regarding the FY 2025 budget bill, without details noted.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – will take testimony on the following bills: H.639, an act relating to flood risk disclosure; H.10, an act relating to VEGI (with a possible vote on Tuesday); H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy; H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use; H.707, an act relating to revising the delivery and governance of the VT workforce system; H.867, an act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws governing alcoholic beverages and the Board of Liquor and Lottery; and H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments.

Education – will continue work on H.871, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program. They will take testimony on H.873, an act relating to PCBs in schools, and H.630, an act relating to boards of cooperative education services. Throughout the week, the committee will consider questions related to the process of confirming a new Secretary of Education and hear from the State Board of Education about the hiring process.

Finance – will continue work on H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees, and H.659, an act relating to captive insurance. The remainder of the week is TBA.

Health and Welfare – will consider the following bills: H.721, an act relating to expanding access to Medicaid and Dr. Dynasaur; H.233, an act relating to licensure and regulation of pharmacy benefit managers; H.72, an act relating to a harm-reduction criminal justice response to drug use; H.879, an act relating to the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program; H.766, an act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, health insurance claims, and provider contracts; and H.661, an act relating to child abuse and neglect investigation and substantiation standards.

Institutions – will review H.822, an act relating to a report on the postgraduation career and settlement behaviors of students attending Vermont colleges and universities, and continue work on H.882, an act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment.

Judiciary – will receive a walkthrough of H.350, an act relating to the Uniform Directed Trust Act, and H.279, an act relating to the Uniform Trust Decanting Act. They will also continue work on H.27, an act relating to coercive controlling behavior and abuse prevention orders.

Natural Resources and Energy – TBA.

Transportation – will continue work on H.868, the FY 2025 Transportation Budget.

Sincerely,

The Vermont Builders and Remodelers Association

VBRA Legislative Update - April, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:08:44 GMT

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.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Lobbyist Legislative Committee Weekly Preview | April 8-12, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 21:15:29 GMT

Vermont Legislative Committee Weekly Preview

April 8–12, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will discuss farmworker housing, and receive more testimony on H.567, an act relating to the sale of dogs, cats and wolf-hybrids by pet shops, and on S.301, the Senate’s act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects.

Appropriations – will get a walk-though of H.626, an act relating to animal welfare on Tuesday, with the rest of the week TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on H.659, an act relating to captive insurance (which includes pet insurance language), and S.289, an act relating to age-appropriate design code on Tuesday. They will also receive testimony on S.30, an act relating to creating a Sister State Program and S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance.

Corrections and Institutions – will consider an act relating to how a defendant’s criminal records is considered in imposing conditions of release. They will receive an update on the Corrections Investigative Unit.

Education – TBA.

Environment and Energy – will spend the week on on S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety, and, S.305, an act relating to miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission. On Thursday there will be a joint hearing with House Judiciary on S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery.

General and Housing – will begin work on Prop 3 – Declaration of Rights; right to collectively bargain. They will continue work on S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights. Thursday morning will focus on hearing from people related to workforce housing and housing construction.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, and S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery, and resiliency. They will take time for S.42, an act relating to divestment of State pension funds of investments in the fossil fuel industry, and receive an introduction to S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries.

Health Care – will take testimony on S.189, an act relating to mental health response service guidelines and continue their updates with Designated Agencies and Specialized Service Agencies and from the Northwestern Counseling & Support Service Agencies. They will receive a walk-through of S.98, an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs, and review the Senate’s amendment to H.543.

Human Services – TBA.

Judiciary – will continue with testimony on S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms, frames and receivers, and S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery.

Transportation – will continue work on S.184, an act relating to the temporary use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE), and receive a report regarding railroad leases on Thursday.

Ways & Means – TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will possibly vote on H.664, an act relating to designating a state mushroom. After this they will move on to devote the rest of the week to H.706, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Appropriations – will hold general discussions regarding the budget without details noted.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Finance – will receive a walk-through of H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees, with the remaining schedule TBA.

Government Operations – will receive a walk-through of H.875, an act relating to the State Ethics Commission and State Code of Ethics, and review a new draft of H.629, an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales.

Health and Welfare – will vote on H.847, an act relating to peer support provider and recovery support specialist certification. They will discuss H.766, an act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, health insurance claims, and provider contracts. They will listen to an introduction to H.879, an act relating to the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program, and discuss H.721, an act relating to expanding access to Medicaid and Dr. Dynasaur, and H.233, an act relating to licensure and regulation of pharmacy benefit managers.

Institutions – will continue work on H.882, an act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment.

Judiciary – will continue work on H.27, an act relating to coercive controlling behavior and abuse prevention orders and H.173, an act relating to prohibiting manipulating a child for purpose of sexual contact.

Natural Resources and Energy – will devote the week to H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use (the Act 250 bill).

Transportation – will possibly vote out H.868, the Transportation Budget.

VBRA Weekly Legislative Update - April 5, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:37:28 GMT

Vermont Legislative Update

April 5, 2024

Everywhere you look in Vermont, there are structural problems that could best be defined as “unforced errors.”

We’ve made it nearly impossible to build housing in a state with the second-oldest housing stock in the country.
We forwent our obligation to pension programs, which resulted in costly catch-ups and massive unfunded liabilities.
We have clung to a 19th-century view of education, which has meant local control with statewide dollars and small schools that aren’t serving students well.
In trying to mitigate the effect of these mistakes, we’ve implemented market manipulations that have made things worse and imposed new taxes that have made the state less affordable.

Casual observers of the state’s policy could name more, however, this is emblematic of our current problems. The current state of our housing market and the issues we are having in our education system are inextricably linked and we need to get our housing market to a healthy place.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Lobbyist Report - March 29, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:11:19 GMT

Vermont Legislative Update

March 29, 2024

The Fiscal Year 2025 Budget passed the House earlier today. It is frequently said that, “a budget is a reflection of our values.” However, this year’s $8.8 billion budget does not include in its accounting significant spending initiatives that the House has passed in other bills.

Instead, bills to reduce the Judiciary system court backlog – H.880, to expand Medicaid – H.721, and to fund housing programs – H.829 each have their own named revenue sources, and are not included in the budget bottom line spending number.

A late amendment on the House Floor by Rep. Anne Donahue (R- Northfield) called into question whether “our values” as reflected in the budget may come at the cost of our values of fiscal transparency.

Donahue’s amendment proposed that the entirety of intended spending, based on bills the House has already passed, be included in the budget so that the public can understand what the legislature intends to do. This would have raised the FY 2025 budget bottom line by an additional $25.75 million.

Some of the taxes raised in the aforementioned bills will not begin raising revenues until the following fiscal year, so while adding $25.75 million to the FY 2025 bottom line gives Vermonters more information about FY 2025, it does not give the full picture of taxing and spending being proposed because some of the tax changes will not go into effect until FY 2026.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - April 1 - 5, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:01:06 GMT

Vermont Legislative Committee Weekly Preview

April 1–5, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will take up H.596, an act relating to eligibility of reserve forestland for use value appraisal and receive more testimony on H.567, an act relating to the sale of dogs, cats and wolf-hybrids by pet shops, as well as S.301, the Senate’s act relating to miscellaneous agriculture subjects on Wednesday.

Appropriations – TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on H.659, an act relating to captive insurance (which includes new regulation of pet insurance language), and receive a walk-through of S.289, an act relating to age-appropriate design code on Tuesday. Work will continue on S.289 throughout the week. They will review a new draft of S.30, an act relating to creating a Sister State Program on Wednesday. Friday the committee will review S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance.

Corrections and Institutions – will consider an act relating to how a defendant’s criminal records are considered in imposing conditions of release. They will receive an overview of the Three-Acre Stormwater Permitting Rule on Thursday.

Education – TBA.

Environment and Energy – will spend the week working on S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety and S.205, an act relating to miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission.

General and Housing – will receive an overview of Collective Bargaining and Labor Law on Tuesday. It is noted that this is in preparation for related labor subjects coming to the Committee. They will receive walk-throughs of the following bills: S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights; H.858, an act relating to permitting Assistant Attorneys General to collectively bargain; and H.491, an act relating to requiring mileage reimbursements.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will consider S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law; S.206, an act relating to designating Juneteenth as a legal holiday; S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery, and resiliency; and, S.96, an act relating to privatization contracts. They will hear from the Vermont Pension Investment Commission on Friday.

Health Care – will receive a walk-through of S.189, an act relating to mental health response service guidelines and continue their updates with Designated and Specialized Service Agencies and from the Vermont Health Information Exchange.

Human Services – will spend the week on S.25, the PFAS bill.

Judiciary – TBA.

Transportation – will hold discussions regarding non-driver IDs and on S.184, an act relating to the temporary use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE).

Ways & Means – TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will possibly vote on H.603, act relating to the poultry slaughter exception to inspection. They will receive introductions to H.614, an act relating to the land improvement fraud and timber trespass and H.706, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will begin work on H.871, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program. They will take testimony on H.873, an act relating to PCBs in schools, and H.630, an act relating to boards of cooperative education services.

Finance – TBA.

Institutions – will consider H.883, an act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment.

Judiciary – will take up H.27, an act relating to coercive controlling behavior and abuse prevention orders; H.173, an act relating to prohibiting manipulating a child for purpose of sexual contact; H.534, an act relating to retail theft; H.270, an act relating to the Uniform Trust Decanting Act; H.350, an act relating to the Uniform Directed Trust Act; and, H.694, an act relating to sexual exploitation.

Natural Resources and Energy – will take testimony on S.311, the BE HOME housing bill. They will also work on H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use (the Act 250 bill).

Transportation – TBA.

VBRA Legislative Preview for Week 12 March 18– March 22, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:29:06 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview

for Week 12

March 18– March 22, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will spend Wednesday morning considering a report on the Best Management Practices for the Use of Insecticide Treated Article Seeds. The rest of the week will be dedicated to the House Floor.

Appropriations – On Monday they will review the following bills: H.706, an act banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides; H.622, an act relating to EMS; H.657, an act relating to modernizing Vermont’s taxes and fees; H.702, an act relating to legislative operations and government accountability; and, H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments. Tuesday they will review the House Human Services Memo with the remaining schedule TBA.

Commerce and Economic Development – will hear from the Vermont Economic Progress Council, consider H.659, an act relating to captive insurance, receive report and program overviews on Property Records Modernization, Community Development Financial Institutions, Career Tech Ed Construction and Rehabilitation Revolving Loan Fund, and the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

Corrections and Institutions – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s Capital Budget Adjustment.

Education – will devote the week to discussion of school budgets and the Education Fund.

Environment and Energy – will discuss a Right of Way proposed amendment to H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees. They will consider S.199, an act relating to mergers and governance of communications union districts, with a possible vote on Wednesday. The remaining week is TBA.

General and Housing – is anticipating much of their week will be on the House Floor with their schedule TBA.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will consider H.862, Town of Barre Charter, and H.869, Brandon Fire District 1 and 2 merger. The rest of the week is TBA.

Health Care – will hear an update on Act 119, Free Care, Bad Debt, and Uncompensated Care. On Wednesday the committee will take up S.109, an act relating to Medicaid coverage for doula services. They will hear about Healthcare Cybersecurity, the Age Strong Vermont Plan, discuss the psychiatric residential treatment facility, VITL and the Vermont Health Information Exchange.

Human Services – will get a walkthrough and spend the week on S.25, an act relating to regulating cosmetic and menstrual products containing PFAS substances.

Judiciary – will work on S.190, an act relating to statements made by a child victim of an offense involving serious bodily injury, and S.278, an act relating to prohibiting a comparative negligence defense in an action for a negligence claim relating to a sexual act or sexual conduct.

Transportation – will continue work on S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to DMV, motor vehicles, and vessels. They will also discuss automobile inspections and review the 2021 Vermont Speed Safety Cameras at Work Zones Report.

Ways & Means – Among the bills up for consideration this week: H.829, an act relating to creating permanent upstream eviction protections; H.687 (Act 250), an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use; H.871, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program; H.873, PCB testing in schools; and H.769, an act relating to establishing a baby bond trust program.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will consider H.81, an act relating to fair repair of agricultural equipment.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will continue work on S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries, and S.203, an act relating to the appointment of State Board of Education members.

Finance – TBA.

Institutions – TBA.

Judiciary – will hold a possible vote on Prop 4 – declaration of rights; government for the people; equality of rights. They will also hear testimony on H.694, an act relating to sexual exploitation. They will spend much of the week reviewing the budget lines under their jurisdiction.

Natural Resources and Energy – will take testimony on S.311, a housing bill, and S.308, an act relating to updates to land use planning.

Transportation – will take testimony on a Right of Way Usage Fee, and continue work on the FY 2025 Transportation Program.

VBRA Legislative Update - March 15, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:26:04 GMT

It’s crossover today, a crucial deadline for all pieces of legislation that must pass out of their committee(s) of jurisdiction, or else they are dropped for the session.

Next Friday is crossover for the money committees and bills involving the expenditure or collection of funds.

This, of course, isn’t an inelastic rule and is stretched or broken all of the time; to the well-acquainted, everything can still move if given the right opportunity.

That said, it is an important milestone, and you’ll see committees start working on legislation sent to them by the other chamber now that they’ve dedicated 11 weeks to their own priorities to make the deadline.

And a clock is set on adjournment, from here, folks have until the budget is done to complete their work.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - Week 11 March 11 - 15, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:06:21 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview for Week 11

March 11– March 15, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue work designating the State Mushroom.

Appropriations – will hold committee discussions on the FY 2025 State Budget.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on H.121, an act related to data-privacy, with plans to vote it out of committee by the end of the week. They will also hear more on H.707, an act relating to revising the delivery and governance of the Vermont workforce system.

Corrections and Institutions – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s Recommended Capital Budget Adjustment and discussions pertaining to many services related to corrections.

Education – On Tuesday and throughout the week, the committee will discuss their bill, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program, and continue taking testimony regarding education cost drivers.

Environment and Energy – will spend much of the week on the Act 250 bill, H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use. They will take up H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees, receiving an introduction from Rep. Sims from the Ways and Means Committee.

General and Housing – will spend the week on H.704, an act relating to disclosure of compensation in job advertisements, H.695, an act relating to survivor benefits for law enforcement officers, and on H.639, an act relating to disclosure of flood history of real property subject to sale.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on their committee bill relating to creating a uniform municipal code of ethics. They will hold a committee discussion on H.140, an act relating to requirements for State-funded grants, on Tuesday with a possible vote on Wednesday. They will take testimony on H.626, an act relating to animal welfare, with a possible vote on Thursday.

Health Care – TBA.

Human Services – will hold a joint hearing with House Health Care regarding the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility on Tuesday. They will spend much of the week on their committee bill regarding General Assistance Housing Modernization. There will be a potential vote on H.829, an act relating to creating permanent upstream eviction protections and enhancing housing stability, on Thursday.

Judiciary – will continue work on H.655, an act relating to qualifying offenses for sealing criminal history records and access to sealed criminal history records. They will take testimony on H.173, an act relating to prohibiting manipulating a child for the purpose of sexual contact, on Thursday.

Transportation – will review Section 13 of H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s Communications taxes and fees. They will devote most of the week to S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to DMV, motor vehicles, and vessels.

Ways & Means – Wednesday will be a busy lineup: the committee may vote on H.10, an act relating to amending VEGI; discuss their Miscellaneous Tax Bill; hear from Access Management Organizations; take up H.827, an act relating to applying personal income tax to unrealized gains; and discuss Meals and Rooms tax and Short-term rentals. On Thursday they will review H.612, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments and education spending. They may also vote out H.350, an act relating to the Uniform Directed Trust Act, and H.279, an act relating to the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, with further discussions on Meals and Rooms tax and Short-term Rentals. On Friday they will review H.233, an act relating to pharmacy benefit management and Medicaid wholesale drug distribution.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will take a field trip to United Ag and Turf regarding H.81, an act relating to fair repair of agricultural equipment. They will continue work on this bill on Thursday.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – TBA.

Finance – TBA.

Government Operations – will work on S.96, an act relating to privatization contracts. They will vote out S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery and resiliency, S.159, an act relating to the county governance study, and S.183, an act relating to planning for the Agency of Health Care Administration.

Institutions – will review the Governor’s Recommended Capital Budget Adjustment.

Judiciary – will vote on S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance, and S.58, an act relating to increasing the penalties for dispensing a regulated drug. They will continue work on Friday regarding Prop 4 – declaration of rights; government for the people; equality of rights. They will hear more testimony on S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery, also known as the Climate Change Superfund bill.

Natural Resources and Energy – will possibly vote on S.258, an act relating to the management of fish and wildlife, on Tuesday. They will also take testimony on S.306, an act relating to changes to the Clean Heat Standard. The rest of the week is TBA.

Transportation – TBA.

VBRA Legislative Update - March 1, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 20:11:52 GMT

Tuesday is Town Meeting Day, so be sure to plan to engage in our state and local democracy. There are important local questions that have a statewide impact and this is your opportunity to meet with and advocate on issues such as public safety and housing as your legislators are back for the Town Meeting Day recess.

When legislators return, they’ll face a crossover deadline that Friday by which policy bills will need to pass their committee of jurisdiction and the following Friday for bills involving the raising or expenditure of state funds.

In this week’s update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - Week 9 - February 26, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:43:09 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview for Week 9

February 26– March 1, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue work on H.706, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, and H.128, an act relating to removing regulatory barriers for working lands businesses. They will spend two mornings on a bill to designate the State Mushroom.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget and negotiating in a committee of conference with Senate Appropriations on the FY 2024 Budget Adjustment Act.

Commerce and Economic Development – will review a new draft of H.121, an act related to data privacy on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday, the committee will get a walk-through of H.536, an act relating to homeowners’ insurance and dog breed discrimination, and spend time on H.707, an act relating to revising the delivery and governance of the Vermont workforce system. The remaining schedule is TBA.

Corrections and Institutions – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s Capital Budget Adjustment and discussions pertaining to many services related to corrections.

Education – On Tuesday the committee will discuss their bill, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program, and continue taking testimony regarding education cost drivers.

Environment and Energy – will spend much of the week on the Act 250 bill, H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use.

General and Housing – TBA.

Judiciary – will discuss H.543, an act relating to retail theft, on Wednesday with a possible vote on Friday. They will spend most of the week on H.655, an act relating to qualifying offenses for sealing criminal history records and access to sealed criminal history records.

Transportation – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s proposed FY 2025 transportation budget. There will be a walk-through of S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to DMV, motor vehicles, and vessels on Thursday.

Ways & Means – will continue work regarding education spending, will vote on H.10, an act relating to amending VEGI, on Wednesday and also discuss H.679, an act relating to establishing a property tax surcharge and allocation of property transfer tax revenue. They will review H.279, an act relating to the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, and H.350, an act relating to the Uniform Directed Trust Act on Wednesday as well.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will continue work on S.301, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects, and hold committee discussions TBA.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – will take testimony on S.289, an act relating to age-appropriate design code. They will possibly vote on PR.3 – Right to Collectively Bargain. They will receive a walk-through of: S.175, an act relating to requiring retail businesses to accept cash; S.271, an act relating to a right to charge electric vehicles at home; S.246, an act relating to amending the Vermont basic needs budget and livable wage; and S.247, an act relating to repealing the VEGI sunset.

Education – TBA.

Finance – will continue discussions on school finance. They will receive a walk-through of a housing bill. The rest of the week is TBA.

Government Operations – will continue work on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, with a possible vote on Tuesday. They will review a new draft of S.310 (draft 2.1 summary), an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery and resiliency, along with a new draft of S.159, an act relating to the county governance study. They will consider S.518, an act relating to the charter of the City of Essex Junction, and S.801, an act relating to approval of the adoption of the charter of Town of Waterbury.

Health and Welfare – will work on: S.189, an act relating to mental health response service protocols; S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes; S.197, an act relating to PFAS and PFOA which proposes a ban on products containing PFAS starting in 2030; S.151, an act relating to pay parity and transparency in health care; and S.98, and act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs. On Thursday they will take up S.114, an act relating to removal of criminal penalties for possessing, dispensing, or selling psilocybin.

Institutions – will review the Governor’s recommended FY 2024-25 Capital Budget Adjustment.

Judiciary – will possibly vote on S.58, an act relating to increasing the penalties for dispensing a regulated drug. They will continue testimony on Friday regarding Prop 4 – declaration of rights; government for the people; equality of rights. They will also hear testimony on S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery.

Natural Resources and Energy – will possibly vote on S.258, an act relating to the management of fish and wildlife, on Tuesday. On Wednesday the committee will take testimony on S.254, an act relating to including rechargeable batteries and battery containing products under the state battery stewardship program. S.254 is on their agenda for the rest of the week.

Transportation – will walk-through a new draft of S.184, an act relating to the use of automated traffic law enforcement systems, on Tuesday and continue this work on Thursday and Friday.

VBRA Legislative Update - February 23, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 21:42:15 GMT

Are Vermont’s education funding and housing crises because the state does not tax at a high enough level, even the top marginal rate? Or does Vermont have these crises because we haven’t allowed for growth? Vermont isn’t good at growth in the economic context, yet it is good at it in the spending context. Every conversation legislators are struggling with is about excessive growth or a lack of growth.

We’ve had extreme growth in education, healthcare, and spending, in general, has been excessive and has led the country.

Vermont’s annual healthcare spending per capita grew faster than any other state between 1991 and 2020,
Education funding per pupil increased by 83.3% since the year 2000.

At the same time, we’ve seen relatively no growth, and at times negative growth, in Vermont’s economy, grand list, and population.

Grand list growth hasn’t happened – only 9% of Vermont’s municipalities have grown their grand list by more than 6% over the last decade,
Growth in Vermont’s population since 2001 has only been 5.41%

Housing stock – between 2000 and 2010, the number of homes in Vermont increased at an average annual pace of around 1% and then slowed after the 2008 recession even to have negative growth some years.

Vermont’s GDP grew on average 1.24% between 2004 and 2021, with years of contraction. This is far below the national average.

Meanwhile, many oversimplified the situation and blamed mostly employers for the growing affordability crisis, citing wage growth. A 2020 article from the Economist perfectly encapsulates this, highlighting, “Yet it’s wrong to blame Vermont’s wage woes on policy alone. The state has raised its minimum wage by 36% since 2009.”

Instead, the article points to the systemic issues we highlighted above, bemoaning our poorly diversified economy and citing a Bank of England study that found development in Burlington is as complicated as development in San Francisco.

The Takeaway: Growth in spending without growth in our economy is not sustainable.

With that in mind, in this week’s update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - Week 8 - February 19, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:14:51 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview for Week 8

February 19– February 23, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue work on H.706, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and take up H.128, an act relating to removing regulatory barriers for working lands businesses.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget. There will be a public hearing on Tuesday at 5:30 pm so the committee can consider public input regarding their work.

Commerce and Economic Development – will take testimony on their areas of budget jurisdiction. They will hear about Serve, Learn, and Earn, the Vermont Training Program, and the Working Lands Initiative. They will get a walk-through of a new draft of H.707, an act relating to revising the delivery and governance of the Vermont workforce system on Thursday, and they will be drafting their letter to Appropriations on Friday regarding their recommended spending. Many are following the committee’s work on H.121, an act related to data-privacy. This has yet to appear on this week’s committee schedule.

Education – On Tuesday the committee will discuss their bill, an act relating to the development of an updated State aid to school construction program. On Thursday morning they will take testimony regarding education cost drivers. Thursday afternoon there will be a joint hearing with Ways and Means regarding education funding.

Environment and Energy – will spend much of the week on the Act 250 bill, H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use. They will take up H.812, an act relating to threatened and endangered species on Wednesday.

General and Housing – will possibly vote on H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes. They will take testimony on: H.617, an act relating to residential rental application fees; H.616, an act relating to providing protections against eviction; H.686, an act relating to measuring progress toward statewide and regional housing targets; H.553, an act relating to the right of entry following a tax sale; H.556, an act relating to requiring mobile home park flood risk disclosure; H.639, an act relating to disclosure of flood history of real property subject to sale; H.704; an act relating to compensation in job advertisements; H.449, an act relating to creating a short-term rental housing registry; H.137, an act relating to expanding the Vermont Housing Improvement Program; and H.829, an act relating to creating permanent upstream eviction protections and enhancing housing stability.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will review S.197 as related to PFAS. They will hear from the Cannabis Control Board regarding cannabis regulations. On Thursday they will consider S.301, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget hearing from the Secretary of State’s office; getting a budget review from the Commissioner of Finance; Judiciary; Department of Corrections; Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs; and Agency of Natural Resources.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will hold committee discussions on the following bills: S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries; S.204, an act relating to reading assessment and intervention; S.303, an act related to literacy and the Vermont Imagination Library; S.167, an act relating to amendments to education law; S.207, an act relating to revising the funding for and governance of career technical education; S.191, an act relating to New American Advancement Grant Applicants; S.203, an act relating to the appointment of State Board of Education members; S.238, an act relating to the Board of Trustees of the VT State Colleges Corporation; S.216, an act related to making governance structural changes to the Vermont State Colleges; Board of Trustees; Office of Chancellor; S.171, an act relating to the legal residency of a student following displacement by a natural disaster; S.304, an act relating to Vermont’s career and technical education programs; and, S.172, an act relating to the Education Bill of Rights for children who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind. They will also spend more time on S.284, an act relating to the use of electronic devices and digital and online products in schools.

Finance – will take up S.199, an act relating to mergers and governance of communications union districts with a possible vote on Tuesday. The remaining schedule is TBA .

Government Operations – On Tuesday the committee will vote on H.554, an act relating to the charter of the Town of South Hero. They will continue work on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically, under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, with a possible vote on Wednesday and spend time on S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery and resiliency. They will work on S.159, an act relating to the county governance study committee and receive introductions to H.516 and H.518, acts relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the City of Essex Junction and the Town of Essex.

Health and Welfare – will work on: S.189, an act relating to mental health response service protocols; S.302, an act relating to public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk; S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes; S.151, an act relating to pay parity and transparency in health care; and S.98, an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs. On Wednesday, the committee will hear testimony on a strike all amendment to S.197, an act relating to PFAS and PFOA which proposes to ban products with PFAS by 2030.

Institutions – will review the Governor’s recommended FY 2024-25 Capital Budget Adjustment.

Judiciary – will possibly vote on Prop 1 – Elections; sheriffs; qualifications and Prop 4 – declaration of rights; government for the people; equality of rights. On Wednesday they will possibly vote on S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms. They will take testimony on S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance and S.259, an act relating to climate change cost recovery.

Natural Resources and Energy – will receive an introduction to S.258, an act relating to the management of fish and wildlife on Tuesday with a possible vote on Thursday or Friday. On Wednesday the committee will vote on S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety.

Transportation – will continue work on the FY 2025 transportation budget.

VBRA Legislative Update - February 16, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 21:13:06 GMT

As week seven comes to a close, it’s worth looking at a roadmap to adjournment.

The Legislature will meet for two more weeks until March 1st, when they take a week-long recess for Town Meeting.
March 5th is Town Meeting Day, when communities vote on school budgets, which will be more contentious than ever, as the state education fund could see double-digit percent increases, with some towns potentially postponing their vote, as we cover later.
When the Legislature returns, they’ll be racing the March 15 crossover deadline for policy bills. This means that there are about three working weeks from today, or about 12 legislative days, to pass bills out of its committee of jurisdiction or they are likely dead for the year.

- March 15th is also the date that new legislation gives school districts to warn votes on their revised school budgets, if they choose.
- The following week, March 22nd, is the crossover deadline for money bills.
The next big date is April 15th, which is the new deadline created for communities to vote on school budgets.

- The cumulative school budget will be needed to finalize the yield bill, which along with the budget bill, are the most important for adjournment.
Typically adjournment can be expected to happen around May 10th, though it’s not unthinkable to go beyond that.

- This is an election year, so legislators are usually incentivized to get out a little earlier than they may otherwise.
Vermont’s fiscal year ends on June 30th, so if the Governor vetoes the budget or any legislation important to state finances, they need to get back to remedy that before then.

With that in mind, let’s jump into this week’s update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - Week 7 - February 12, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 21:52:39 GMT

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue work on H.701, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and take up H.128, an act relating to removing regulatory barriers for working lands businesses.

Appropriations – will consider H.850, an act relating to transitioning education financing to the new system for pupil weighting with a possible vote on Monday. They will review the Senate’s changes to the Budget Adjustment bill on Tuesday and then continue work on the FY 2025 budget. They will possibly vote on H.543, an act relating to Vermont’s adoption of the Social Work Licensure Compact.

Commerce and Economic Development – will hear from the Bankers’ Association on Tuesday regarding H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy. The latest posted draft is 6.1. They will take testimony related to their jurisdictional budget sections on Tuesday, Vermont Arts and Humanities Councils and Wednesday, Better Places and Downtown Credits; Department of Tourism and Marketing; Vermont Housing. They will take up H.143, an act relating to consumer protections related to the towing and storage of vehicles on Thursday. They will review a new draft of H.121 on Friday afternoon.

Environment and Energy – will spend much of the week on the Act 250 bill, H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use. They will receive introductions to H.587, H.588, and H.597 related to wildlife management from sponsor, Rep. Pat Brennan.

General and Housing – will possibly vote on H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes. They will also consider the following bills: H.432, an act relating to establishing the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for the Institution of Chattel Slavery; H.843, an act relating to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Commission; and H.725, an act relating to the Human Rights Commission.

Human Services – will continue discussions around General Assistance Housing Modernization and hear from the Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative on Thursday.

Judiciary – will discuss access to justice on Tuesday. Wednesday, the committee will consider the detention and incarceration of women in Vermont. They will take up H.619, an act relating to creating reciprocal rights to landlord-tenant attorney’s fees and expenses on Friday.

Transportation – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s proposed FY 2025 transportation budget. They will discuss Right-of-Way Permits, Fees on Wednesday.

Ways & Means – TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will spend most of the week on H.81, an act relating to fair repair of agriculture equipment.

Appropriations – TBA.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Finance – will consider the following bills: S.230, an act relating to Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplemental insurance plans; S.164, an act relating to health insurance coverage for obesity care; S.309, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws relative to the Department of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicles and vessels; and, a walk-through from the Chair of House Ways and Means on a “Property Tax Bill” (likely H.850, an act relating to transitioning education financing to the new system for pupil weighting).

Government Operations – will continue work on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically, under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. They will spend time on S.310, an act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery and resiliency. On Thursday they will receive an overview from the Joint Fiscal Office on Financing Public Infrastructure in Vermont Municipalities. They will also continue work on S.159, an act relating to the county governance study committee and H.554, an act relating to approval of the Town of South Hero Charter.

Judiciary – will consider S.150, an act relating to automobile insurance, S.58, an act relating to increasing the penalties for dispensing or sale of a regulated drug with death resulting, and S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms and unserialized firearms frames and receivers, and to juvenile offenses in the Criminal Division.

Natural Resources and Energy – will possibly vote on S.213, an act relating to the regulation for wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety.

Transportation – TBA

VBRA Legislative Update - February 9, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:51:53 GMT

We’re four weeks out from town meeting week, and incredibly five weeks in, after what was a longer-than-normal legislative January due to a strange quirk in Vermont’s constitutional calendar. This means the Town Meeting Day recess is only four weeks away, so committees are in the deliberative phase of legislation, making a week such as this feel as if nothing happened. We’ll keep it very brief with some quicker updates, each taking about a minute to read.

In this week’s Update:

VBRA Lobbyist Preview - Week 6 - February 5, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 22:04:22 GMT

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will review the FY 2025 Budget and spend a lot of time on H.701, an act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget; on Monday they will hear from the Creative Economy sector, and from agency leads on Tuesday and Wednesday. ACCD will be in on Wednesday morning, along with the Department of Liquor and Lottery. They will finish the week with a report from VHCB.

Commerce and Economic Development – will devote the week to H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy. The latest posted draft is 6.1. This is a bill that has many sectors concerned, including non-profit businesses.

General and Housing – will continue work on H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes and H.137, an act relating to expanding the Vermont Housing Improvement Program. They will also consider: H.647, an act relating to creation of the Housing Board of Appeals; H.639, an act relating to disclosure of flood history of real property subject to sale; and H.556, an act relating to requiring mobile home park flood risk disclosure.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will continue work on H.549, an act relating to the siting of outdoor cannabis cultivation, and hear an introduction to H.426, an act relating to the creation of new types of cannabis establishment licenses and the provision of the cannabis excise tax revenue. There will be an introduction by Rep. Harrison (R-Chittenden) to H.525, an act relating to ordinances governing the possession of firearms in a municipal building. They will consider a committee bill relating to the State Ethics Commission and the State Code of Ethics. Wednesday afternoon they will receive a report regarding courthouse security. The committee will also take up H.801, Town of Waterbury Charter and H.667, an act relating to the creation of the Vermont Ireland Trade Commission. They will hold a discussion on Thursday regarding the laws governing alcoholic beverages.

Health Care – will consider audio-only telehealth services and review new health insurance mandates. They will review prior legislation and an Act 131 report regarding H.233, an act relating to pharmacy benefit management and Medicaid wholesale drug distribution. The rest of the week will be dedicated to review of sections of the FY 2025 Budget.

Human Services – will continue discussions around General Assistance Housing Modernization. There will be a joint hearing on Wednesday morning with the House Committee on Education to discuss Afterschool Funding. For the remainder of the week the committee will hear from various community partner non-profit organizations regarding their budget needs.

Transportation – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s proposed FY 2025 budget. They will continue work on H.693, an act relating to 2024 transportation initiatives to improve infrastructure, increase resiliency, and reduce carbon emissions.

Ways & Means – Tuesday will begin with more conversations around education spending. H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees will be considered on Wednesday. They will begin discussion on H.586, an act relating to flood protection and climate resilience infrastructure and financing, and will review their amendment to S.18, an act relating to banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids. Work on the Miscellaneous Tax Bill begins on Thursday along with H.629, an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales. They will also consider H.608, an act relating to a nonresidential property tax surcharge.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will discuss various state food programs and on Friday they will discuss animal control related to loose livestock. The committee will discuss viticulture and grape growing in Vermont with the Vermont Grape and Wine Council. They will hold a brief hearing on PFAS on Friday.

Appropriations – will spend the week working on the Budget Adjustment Act.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – will spend the entire week on the BE Home Bill.

Health and Welfare – will hear from Vermont Afterschool on Tuesday. The week will include discussions on: S.197, an act relating to the procurement and distribution of products containing PFAS and monitoring adverse health conditions attributed to PFAS; S.173, an act relating to the collection, sharing, and selling of consumer health data; and S.98, an act relating to GMCB authority over prescription drug costs.

Judiciary – will continue their work on S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms and unserialized firearms frames and receivers and to juvenile offenses in the Criminal Division. They will also take testimony on Prop 1 and S.58, an act relating to increasing the penalties for trafficking and dispensing or sale of a regulated drug with death resulting.

Natural Resources and Energy – will hold hearings on the following bills: S.213, an act relating to the regulation for wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety; and S.294, an act relating to minimum timeframes to act on applications related to the development of housing.

Transportation – will discuss Right of Way for telecom and power and review the DMV miscellaneous bill. They will hold various hearings related to rail and EV transportation.

VBRA Lobbyist Update - February 2, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 22:03:27 GMT

This week saw more agita and acrimony around the now-worsening education funding crisis, which could drive a 20.59% increase in property taxes.

We are going to warn you this is a very tax-heavy update, however;
We have a 10,000-foot overview of the issues of housing, public safety, and affordability, which you can read in less than 3-minutes.

Also in this week’s Update:

VBRA Legislative Preview - January 29, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 20:36:57 GMT

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will get an introduction to H.673, an act relating to Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy on Tuesday. They will hear from the Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee on Lake Champlain’s future and continue work on H.550, an act relating to expanding eligibility under the local foods grant program.

Appropriations – will continue work on the FY 2025 budget, hearing from the Agency of Agriculture, Natural Resources Board, Vermont Veterans’ Home, Agency of Human Services, Department of Vermont Health Access, Department of Corrections, Department of Mental Health, Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living. Department of Health, Department for Children and Families, Agency of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles, Vermont Commission on Women, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Green Mountain Care Board, Department of Libraries, University of Vermont, Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Agency of Natural Resources, and the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Commerce and Economic Development – will continue work on H.666, an act relating to escrow deposit bonds and S.30, an act relating to creating a Sister State Program, possibly voting that bill out of committee on Wednesday. They will hear from the Regional Planning Corporations regarding the Municipal Technical Assistance Program and see a new draft of H.769, an act relating to establishing a baby bond trust program. The committee will devote Thursday and Friday to considering the newest draft of H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy .

Corrections and Institutions – will devote most of the week to the Governor’s Capital Budget Adjustment. On Friday they will consider H.690, an act relating to establishing community restitution as a sentencing alternative.

Education – will participate in a joint Education Funding hearing with House Ways and Means on Tuesday. There will be a committee discussion regarding bonding capacity on Wednesday and they will consider PCB testing in schools and get the School Construction Report on Thursday. On Friday they will learn about the independent school approval and quality assurance process.

Environment and Energy – will continue work on H.289, an act relating to the Renewable Energy Standard, but will spend much of the week on the Act 250 bill, H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use. On Wednesday they will receive updates on broadband build-out as it relates to H.755, an act relating to mergers and governance of communications union districts.

General and Housing – will continue work on H.751, an act relating to expanding equal pay protections and H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes. The committee will also consider H.829, an act relating to creating permanent upstream eviction protections and enhancing housing stability. Wednesday morning will be dedicated to H.137, an act relating to expanding the Vermont Housing Improvement Program.

Ways & Means – TBA.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will discuss various state food programs, and on Friday they will continue work on PFAS, considering Sections 5 and 6 of S.197.

Appropriations – will spend the week on the Budget Adjustment Act.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will hold a committee discussion on S.220, an act relating to Vermont’s public libraries, with a number of literacy related discussions following this hearing. Thursday they will discuss S.207, an act relating to revising the funding for and governance of career technical education. On Friday the committee will receive more testimony on S.284, an act relating to the use of electronic devices and digital and online products in schools.

Finance – On Tuesday the committee will discuss the Wealth Tax and S.180, an act relating to the investment of state funds in credit unions. The rest of the week is reserved for committee discussion.

Government Operations – On Tuesday, the committee has slated two hours to review, mark up, take testimony and possibly vote on a yet unreleased bill on the government response to flood recovery, an unusually short turnaround time for such a significant issue. They will do a walk-through of S.96, an act relating to privatization contracts and S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically, under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. They will continue work on S.159, an act relating to the county governance study committee and S.242, an act relating to the maintenance of properties for the health and safety of the public.

Health and Welfare – will continue work on the following bills: S.192, an act relating to forensic facility admissions criteria and processes; S.98, an act relating to the Green Mountain Care Board authority over prescription drug costs; S.197, an act relating to the procurement and distribution of products containing PFAS and monitoring adverse health conditions attributed to PFAS; S.151, an act relating to pay parity and transparency in health care; and S.173, an act relating to the collection, sharing, and selling of consumer health data. They will also hold a hearing regarding the Blueprint Expansion Pilot Update.

Natural Resources and Energy – will hold hearings on the following bills: S.213, an act relating to the regulation for wetlands, river corridor development and dam safety; H.286, an act relating to the regulation of accessory on-farm businesses; and H.599, an act relating to retroactively reinstating 10, VSA 6081. The rest of the week is TBA.

VBRA Lobbyist Report - January 26, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:32:55 GMT

This week is a pivotal week in the legislative session, as the House concludes its work on amending the previous year’s budget and the Governor proposes his budget for the coming year.

Legislators now have a framework for the budget, even if they do not agree with all of it. The typical session is 17 or 18 weeks, and when the budget is done, the session is too, so the stopwatch on all legislation starts now.
We’re not quite a quarter of the way in, and the next pivotal time comes at crossover, typically six weeks from now, when legislators need to have bills out of the committee of jurisdiction, or they’re done for the year.
So, lines are drawn, the course is set – on your mark, get set, go.

This week, we have a 10,000-foot view of the session’s top three issues, public safety, housing, and affordability, that you’ll want to read (4 to 5 minutes), if nothing else. Click here to read more.

In this week’s Update:

VBRA Lobbyist Preview - January 22, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:40:15 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview for Week 4

January 22 – January 26, 2024

There will be a Joint Assembly to hear the Governor’s Budget Message, Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 1:00 P.M. The assembly will be livestreamed.

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue their work on H.603, an act relating to poultry slaughter inspection and H.550, an act expanding eligibility under the local foods grant program.

Appropriations – may vote the Budget Adjustment Act out of their committee on Monday. They will receive a walk-through of the Governor’s budget on Wednesday with the rest of the week’s work yet to be announced.

Commerce and Economic Development – On Tuesday the committee will hear from the Vermont Production Collective and receive a Better Places Report. They will also receive a new draft of S.30, an act relating to creating a Sister State Program. On Wednesday they will take up H.707, an act relating to revising the delivery and governance of the Vermont workforce system, and hear from nonprofits on Nonprofit Advocacy Day. On Thursday the committee will once again take up H.121, an act relating to enhancing consumer privacy, receiving a walk-through of a new draft. The committee will possibly vote on H.666, an act relating to escrow deposit bonds.

Education – will receive walk-throughs of the following: H.739, an act relating to raising awareness of military-related postsecondary opportunities; H.763, an act relating to the creation of the Youth Participatory Action Research Project; H.682, an act relating to the education equity team pilot project; H.717, an act relating to supports to help students experiencing homelessness and students exiting the foster care system; H.630, an act relating to boards of cooperative education services; H.807, an act relating to a school library material selection; H.716, an act relating to career and technical education. In between these discussions there will be a hearing on School Construction on Wednesday afternoon.

Environment and Energy – will receive introductions to the following bills: H.652, an act relating to updates to the HOME act; H.673, an act relating to Vermont’s outdoor recreation economy; H.715, an act relating climate change resilience under Act 250; H.719, an act relating to housing development and unit rehabilitation; H.760; an act relating to Act 250 transparency; and H.289, an act relating to the Renewable Energy Standard. They will continue work on H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use—i.e. the committee’s Act 250 bill.

General and Housing – will receive a walk-through of H.751, an act relating to expanding equal pay protections and possibly vote on H.363, an act relating to prohibiting discrimination based on certain hair types and styles. They will continue work on H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes. The committee will also consider S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights.

Transportation – will devote the week to the Governor’s proposed FY2025 budget.

Ways & Means – will hold a revenue discussion on Tuesday following the Governor’s budget address. There will be a hearing on H.629, an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and sales tax on Wednesday. On Thursday there will be a potential vote on S.160, an act relating to state education property taxes and flood-related damage that passed the Senate last week. They will also receive an overview of long-term funding options for the Vermont universal services fund and discuss H.657, an act relating to the modernization of Vermont’s communications taxes and fees. Thursday afternoon the committee will hold a joint hearing with Senate Finance, House and Senate Education to discuss Education Finance as it relates to the current 5% spending cap issue. They will close out the week with a discussion on corporate taxes.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will discuss various state food programs and on Friday they will hold a joint hearing with Senate Health and Welfare regarding S.197, an act relating to PFAS.

Appropriations – will spend the week on the Budget Adjustment Act.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – TBA.

Education – will receive a walk-through of S.202, an act relating to the approval of independent schools and S.207, an act relating to revising the funding for and governance of career technical education. On Friday the committee will receive a walk-through of S.284, an act relating to the use of electronic devices and digital and online products in schools.

Finance – On Wednesday the committee will receive testimony on S.181, an act relating to the community media public benefit fund; S.236, an act relating to amending the criteria for Act 248; and S.164, an act relating to the health insurance coverage for obesity care.

Government Operations – will take testimony on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s open meeting law. They will receive introductions to the following: S.255, an act relating to equity and public access at the PUC; S.96, an act relating to privatization contracts; S.161, an act relating to the meeting of presidential electors; and, S.159, an act relating to the county governance study committee.

Natural Resources – will hold a joint meeting with Senate Economic Development on Wednesday and will hear from ISO New England on Thursday.

VBRA Lobbyist Report - January 19, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 21:38:32 GMT

It’s week three, and things are hitting their stride. This week’s update is primarily focused on the three buckets that were identified in the Governor’s State of the State address: housing, public safety, and affordability (state budgeting). Despite a wealth of content this week, we think we’ve maintained brevity without compromising clarity, just as we’ve done in our recent updates, but we’ll let you be the judge of that.

In this week’s Update:

VBRA Lobbyist Report Preview Week 3 - January 15, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 16:58:52 GMT

Vermont's Legislative Preview for Week 3

January 15 – January 19, 2024

House Committee Work

Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry – will continue their work on H.603, an act relating to poultry slaughter inspection, and H.614, an act relating to land improvement fraud and timber trespass. They will also discuss H.550, an act expanding eligibility under the local foods grant program..

Appropriations – will spend the week working on the Budget Adjustment Act. On Thursday the committee will attend a joint hearing regarding the Emergency Board Consensus Revenue Forecast.

Commerce and Economic Development – On Tuesday the committee will receive a walk-through of H.527, an act relating to requiring retail businesses to accept cash. They will take testimony on S.30, an act relating to creating a Sister State Program. They will hear updates from Advance Vermont, Workforce Investment System, Serve, Learn and Earn, Regional Development Corporations, and the Regional Planning Commissions.

Corrections and Institutions – will hold discussions of bills in their committee and receive a walk-through of H.645, an act relating to the expansion of approaches to restorative justice. On Wednesday they will hear about White River Junction Court House renovations.

Education – will receive a status update regarding the PCB testing program and hold a committee discussion on H.716, an act relating to career and technical education. They will hold hearings on mental health conditions in schools as well.

Environment and Energy – will receive walk-throughs on the following bills: H.687, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use; H.549, an act relating to the siting of outdoor cannabis cultivation; H.568, an act relating to the municipal planning and resilience grant program; H.586, an act relating to the flood protection and climate resilience infrastructure financing; and H.812, an act relating to threatened and endangered species. They will spend time on the Renewable Energy Standard and look at a new reform bill draft, review off-session land use reports from Regional Planning Commissions, and review a report on the state’s Designation Programs from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

General and Housing – will walk-through the following bills: H.686, an act relating to measuring progress toward statewide and regional housing targets; H.647, an act relating to creating the Housing Board of Appeals; H.713, an act relating to establishing a 32-hour workweek; H.704, an act relating to disclosure of compensation in job advertisements; H.684, an act relating to creating a rental housing registry; H.675, an act relating to issuing grants for permanent supportive housing; H.756, an act relating to short-term rental occupancy requirements; H.449, an act relating to creating a short-term housing registry; H.132, an act relating to establishing a homeless bill of rights; H.764, an act relating to a study on employer-provided housing; and, H.751, an act relating to expanding equal pay protections.

Government Operations and Military Affairs – will consider an act relating to the State Ethics Commission and the State Code of Ethics and an act relating to creating a uniform Municipal Code of Ethics. They will continue testimony on H.140, an act relating to requirements for state-funded grants and contracts on Wednesday. They will close the week with a review of the Emergency Medical Services Task Force Report.

Health Care – will hold a hearing on H.721, an act relating to expanding access to Medicaid and Dr. Dynasaur followed by a walk-through and continued hearings on H.766, an act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, health insurance claims, provider contracts and collection of cost sharing amounts.

Human Services – will devote the week to S.18, an act relating to banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids.

Judiciary – will continue discussion of H.534, an act relating to retail theft. They will also receive testimony pertaining to H.645, an act relating to the expansion of approaches to restorative justice.

Transportation – will review H.479, an act relating to the Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to acts related to transportation, and S.99, an act relating to miscellaneous changes to laws related to vehicles. They will hear various reports pertaining to public transit on Wednesday.

Ways & Means – will continue taking testimony on H.629, an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales. They will get an update on H.543, an act relating to Vermont’s adoption of the Social Work Licensure Compact. The committee will receive introductions to H.530, an act relating to increasing the property tax credit house site value exclusion, and H.593, an act relating to a tax credit for emergency responders. They will hold a Joint hearing with House Appropriations, Senate Appropriations and Senate Finance to discuss the Emergency Board Consensus Revenue Forecast, and they will hold a discussion Friday afternoon on the Corporate Tax.

Senate Committee Work

Agriculture – will receive an update on the Cannabis Control Board Report on Wednesday. They will hear an overview of H.81, an act relating to the fair repair of agricultural equipment on Wednesday. Compost, a Foodbank update and Land Conservation hearings will round out their week.

Appropriations – will spend the week working on the Budget Adjustment Act.

Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs – will devote most of the week to housing discussions, and continue to take testimony on flood recovery and public safety.

Government Operations – will continue their work on Proposition 1 – Elections; sheriffs; qualifications. They will hold a hearing on the government’s response to flood recovery on Tuesday. On Wednesday they will continue work on S.55, an act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law.

Judiciary – will hold a joint hearing on Wednesday pertaining to public safety. On Thursday the committee will receive a walk-through of S.209, an act relating to prohibiting unserialized firearms and unserialized firearm frames and receivers – also known as ghost guns.

Natural Resources – will receive walk-throughs of the following bills: S.218, an act relating to the staffing of the Dam Safety Division; S.219, an act relating to municipal regulation of private airstrips; S.227, an act relating to the siting of transit; S.232, an act relating to revoking Vermont’s use of California’s Clean Air Act waiver; and, S.213, an act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development, and dam safety.

VBRA Lobbyist Report - January 12, 2024

Denis Bourbeau — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:56:38 GMT

The Legislature’s second week was marked by some action on two of the three key issues we highlighted in last week’s update: housing and public safety.

We got our first look at tri-partisan legislation on housing with good momentum and
The House and Senate Committee on Judiciary tackled philosophical elements of penalties, deterrence, timeliness, and the integration of orthodox versus novel justice systems, all while the House passed the legal framework for Safe Injections Sites.

Jump into what is in this week's update: