Amy Spear

• H.483 CTE Funding: This bill requires the Agency of Education to develop an implementation plan to change the funding and governance models that hamper CTE schools’ ability to attract students to their programs. The final report will be issued in July 2023, essentially delaying any action for two years on this critical proposal. The Vermont Chamber is working to expedite the report so this can be addressed in the next legislative action.
• H.492 Natural Resources Board: House Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Committee passed the bill to change the structure of the Natural Resources Board creating a 5-member Environmental Review Board to hear appeals rather than the Environmental Division of the Superior Court. The bill will be voted on by the full House before consideration by the Senate.
• S.284 Changes to Act 250: Senate Natural Recourses Fish & Wildlife passed S.284 with housing and permit updates to the Neighborhood Development Areas and Priority Housing Projects. This will impact the similar proposals in the current version of S.226 as Priority Housing Projects fall under Act 250, not housing jurisdiction. S.284 also contains language that would create a new Act 250 Road Rule, a provision the Administration has made clear they would not support.
• Clean Heat Standard: The House Energy Committee approved a Clean Heat Standard by a vote of 7-2 on Thursday afternoon. Go to vermontfuel.com/chs for answers to frequently asked questions about the CHS.
• Burlington Charter Change: The House approved a Burlington charter change that would allow Vermont’s largest city to enact a ban on oil and gas heating in new construction and a tax on anyone that refuses switch over to the city owned electric utility. The legislation passed 98-49 and next goes to the Senate. Go to vermontfuel.com/burnerban/ to learn more.

The Committee on General, Housing & Military Affairs reviewed a committee bill which contains a number of provisions to modernize Vermont’s liquor laws, many of which were discussed last year but didn’t pass due to time constraints. If passed, both fortified wines and low alcohol spirit-based beverages (also known as ready-to-drink cocktails) would be permitted to be sold via retail outlets and beverage wholesalers. This omnibus bill also includes several technical corrections put forth by the Administration. Conversations are set continue after crossover.

The House Appropriations Committee took testimony from legislators on various aspects of the FY2023 budget and received recommendations from several committees on programs under their jurisdictions. Rep. Matt Birong (D-Vergennes), a restaurant owner, testified in support of the full FY2022 appropriation for the Economic Recovery Grants to be used for the VEDA forgivable loan program. The House Energy and Technology Committee recommended a $95 million appropriation of federal ARPA funds to the VT Community Broadband Board, but was split on a proposal to expand cell coverage around the state. Most Committee members supported some funding, but not the full $51.5 million of ARPA funds proposed by Governor Scott. The House General, Housing, and Military Affairs Committee recommended appropriating $50 million of ARPA funds to VHCB for housing programs, and $5 million to DHCD for grants to Vermont municipalities in support of development of rental housing. The House Appropriations Committee will use these recommendations to inform their markup of the bill after the Town Meeting Day recess, and the Vermont Chamber will continue working to ensure that critical workforce, housing, and childcare investments are included.

The Vermont Chamber continues to advocate for the full balance of the FY2021 appropriation for the economic recovery grants to remain available to businesses for its original purpose, disbursed from VEDA in a forgivable loan program. The current version of the omnibus economic development bill would repurpose the $26 million left over for the Capital Investment Program and brownfield revitalization, and appropriate $20 million of federal relief funds to the VEDA forgivable loan program, leaving struggling businesses $6 million short. At a time when more Vermont businesses are reporting even more financial difficulties than earlier in the pandemic, this program cannot be shortchanged.

The Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee took a deeper dive into the Omnibus Housing Bill, S.226, this week. The Vermont Chamber offered testimony in support of proposals that would increase housing stock for middle income Vermonters, with a focus on the Missing Middle Homeownership Development Program. This program is intended to address the value gap between the cost to build modest homes and the price that middle income families can afford. The program provides a subsidy to lower the price of a home, which would stay in the home in perpetuity with homeowners gaining any additional equity. To illustrate, a developer would spend $400,000 building a home, and the state would subsidize $50,000 so the home can be sold to a middle-income Vermonter for $350,000. The $50,000 subsidy would stay with the home so when the homeowner sold, the $50,000 would either reduce the price for the next buyer or be used to subsidize another home. Some committee members want the State to get back more than its initial investment and leave the middle-income homeowner with a smaller portion of the equity.  However, unlike the State’s shared equity program, the homeowner in this program will put in significantly more money than the State’s initial subsidy and the loss of the ability to build equity will negate the benefit this will have for families. Given the prevalence of ARPA dollars to fund this program, the Vermont Chamber is advocating for this funding as designed, to increase the middle-income housing in the state.

As committees hurried to tie up loose ends before recessing for Town Meeting Day, two major bills dealing with economic and workforce development continue to progress. The Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee devoted less than an hour to the omnibus economic development bill, S.263, focusing instead this week on housing. However, the bill, which contains several Vermont Chamber priorities such as the new relocating employee incentives, is still expected to be finalized before crossover, the legislative deadline for initial passage of a bill. The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee spent significantly more time working through the omnibus workforce development bill, H.703, which includes several Vermont Chamber priorities, such as investments in the CTE system. The Committee is also working to include funding for a program which would allow CTE schools to purchase formerly blighted properties to train their students in construction trades and convert these properties to affordable housing units. The Vermont Chamber is supportive of innovative solutions like this that will train young adults on in-demand skills while increasing the housing stock in the community.