Will The House Deliver on Speaker’s Commitment to “Housing, Housing, Housing”?

The omnibus housing legislation is entitled the “HOME” bill, which stands for housing opportunities made for everyone. However, S.100 is currently in the House Environment and Energy Committee, where there are some efforts to do the opposite and restrict the ability to develop housing while others fight to keep their promises to constituents. The Vermont Chamber continues to advocate for an amendment put forward by the Rural Caucus, which would expand exemptions, an important compromise with those who are opposed to any change at all. Before the start of the session, the Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski stated that “housing, housing, housing” was at the top of her priority list. It remains to be seen if legislation coming out of the House will rise to meet the overwhelming demand for workforce housing. 

In written testimony submitted to the House Energy and Environment Committee, the Vermont Chamber explained that the amendment would make responsible and reasonable amendments to Act 250 thresholds and address capacity issues as they relate to housing to support the development of housing in every county of Vermont. S.100 does include important steps to address local zoning and regulatory barriers to create a continuum of workforce housing opportunities.