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Every year, we take up the annual Budget Adjustment Act (BAA), which is generally a “true-up” of the current fiscal year’s budget. The bill also directs any additional and available funds to support one-time needs on priorities that cannot wait for the deliberations and passage of the next state fiscal year’s budget. (Vermont’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.)

Budgeting our Values Adjusting the FY23 Budget

Every year, we take up the annual Budget Adjustment Act (BAA), which is generally a “true-up” of the current fiscal year’s budget. The bill also directs any additional and available funds to support one-time needs on priorities that cannot wait for the deliberations and passage of the next state fiscal year’s budget. (Vermont’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.)

The FY 2023 BAA (H.145) passed the House and Senate and has passed into law. While the Governor did not veto it, he only allowed it to pass without his signature. Highlights include additional investments in housing and supportive services, broadband that leverages federal grant funds, technical assistance for rural communities to access federal pandemic recovery and infrastructure funds, and IT improvements for the Vermont courts.

Building a Balanced Budget for FY24

The House just voted affirmatively on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget, which covers state government and its community partner organizations from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. We are seeing substantial revenue growth this year, largely due to the impact of federal pandemic stimulus and recovery dollars. Our challenge is to make strategic use of one-time funds to meet state priorities.

In a strong show of support, the House gave final approval to H.494, the FY24 State of Vermont budget, on a vote of 111-38. The budget totals a record $8.53 billion, and it reflects the values, priorities, and needs of Vermonters across our state.

Highlights include:

$134.5 million in housing investments, including opportunities for greater access to workforce housing, permanent housing for those currently in the hotel/motel program, and funding for the rehabilitation of apartments bringing more rental units online

$70+ million to support the child care and early education bill, which seeks to provide quality, affordable child care to Vermonters across the state

$37 million for start up costs of universal paid and family leave insurance, providing Vermonters with up to 12 weeks of paid leave

$43+ million in workforce development initiatives

$46 million in Medicaid rate increases to support EMS, primary care, home health, mental health and substance use disorder, and foster care providers

Investing $1.15 million into the Department of Mental Health, allowing for a mental health mobile crisis unit to provide rapid responses

Provides $1 million for refugee resettlement assistance, ensuring that new Vermonters are provided with opportunities to find work that best suits them

$1 million for the Vermont Foodbank to support Vermonters facing food insecurity

From here, the “Big Bill” moves to the Senate. It is called the Big Bill for a reason, and there are many many priorities that are funded but might not have made it to the highlight list. It will be approved by the full legislature at the end of our biennium this spring, in time for the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.

Ensuring Vermonters are Served by an Equitable Tax System

We are living in unstable times, I think we're all aware of that: global pandemic, a land war in Europe, resource shortages, catastrophic weather in our own communities and globally. The gap between the rich and poor widened even further during the pandemic. In times like these, the best role government can play is one of stability-- stabilizing the economy through spending, creating social programs to stabilize households (such as family medical leave), and ensuring the programs and services are prepared to meet the needs of citizens (warming stations, vaccine delivery, etc.)

Our Ways and Means committee has built a stable stream of revenue to support government in these times: looking not just to where resources are available now, but also where they might be developed or shifted in the future. Good tax governance requires regularly and predictably raising fees to track with inflation, developing progressive brackets so our system is equitable, and ensuring we have a solid mix of revenue sources so as times change funds can supplement each other.

The massive boost of federal grants created a one time (multiyear) boost in our budget but the overall federal spending and the resulting changes in the economy have meant that we will rebase at a higher base level and growth rate than pre-pandemic revenues. So while opportunities for one time spending will be fewer (another reason we should be strategic and impactful with these choices) overall opportunities for base spending are expected to be higher.

The economy is still just buzzing at a higher frequency. Also (unfortunately) inflation means people pay more and sales tax is a percentage of that more. Incomes and wages are higher, not evenly distributed, but higher.

Essentially the economy is doing very well and people are employed despite dire predictions of a few years ago. Corporations have done very well in the last few years and we restructured our tax structures in such a way that less profits could be hidden (or attributed to other jurisdictions) so those revenues continue to perform better. Massive infusions of federal spending don’t just help once, they continue to flow through the economy.

Setting the Education Tax Rate

H.492, the annual yield bill, fully funds Vermont's PreK–12 education system and reserves $22 million in the Education Fund to offset property tax rates in FY 2025. This bill sets the homestead and non-homestead property tax rate for FY24.

Despite strong statewide growth in education spending, the yield bill projects an average homestead tax rate of $1.388, keeping the rate stable year over year.

Land and Climate: The Future of Our Forests

Did you know that the two largest wood product processors in the state are in Brattleboro? H. 126, Community resilience and biodiversity protection creates a roadmap to meet our 30/30 and 50/50 goals. Vermont’s forests occupy 73% of our land base, so it’s important to use our forest resources wisely and in a sustainable way.

Land conservation of intact, connected ecosystems protects our communities from the worst effects of climate change and helps mitigate biodiversity loss. Vermont’s diverse geography places us at an important crossroads for species conservation as the climate changes. Additionally, old forests play a critical role in both climate mitigation and habitat protection, but occupy less than one percent of Vermont’s forestland.

Producer Responsibility: Targeting Toxins

Hundreds of everyday household products stored under the sink and in our garages contain hazardous toxins that require special handling and disposal. Our local solid waste districts collect these products at events held throughout the state at least twice a year. Despite these efforts, hundreds of tons of this waste end up in the trash, where it presents a danger to waste handlers, before ending up in our state’s one landfill. Once in the landfill, toxins escape into our soil and water. The other bad news is that the costs for processing these wastes are spiking, and there’s growing consensus that the industrial producers of these products should be shouldering disposal costs instead of taxpayers.

H.67 requires the manufacturers of household products that contain hazardous substances to belong to a program that would pay for collection and disposal as well as more public outreach and education. Similar programs already exist for paint, batteries and electronics, successfully reducing the amounts of such wastes from ending up in our landfill. Learn more here.

Producer Responsibility: Bottle Bill 2.0

Updating and expanding Vermont’s bottle bill — first enacted in 1972 — will help reduce landfill waste, litter, and greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the amount and quality of plastic, aluminum and glass recycling. Although Vermont has a high recycling rate thanks to the universal recycling law, returnable bottles and cans dropped off at redemption centers around the state produce more marketable and reusable materials than what gets tossed into our commingled recycling bins. As the number and variety of beverages has exploded over the years, H.158 proposes a needed expansion of the decades-old deposit system to cover most beverages, including plastic water bottles and glass wine bottles. To fund more conveniently located redemption centers, provide fair compensation to redemption center owners, and keep an increasing number of bottles and cans out of the landfill each year, the bill requires that beverage manufacturers and distributors collaborate in a stewardship program overseen by the Agency of Natural Resources that will address the limits of the current system.

Addressing Climate Change in Our Transportation Sector

As a rural state, Vermonters drive a lot, resulting in 40% of Vermont's carbon emissions. Changing this situation has proved difficult. The Climate Action Plan released in December 2021 laid out climate goals and a number of pathways for the transportation sector to reach those goals. The Transportation Committees of the House and Senate are in the process of finalizing the Transportation bill to include a number of these goals and pathways. Some of the proposals include allocating funds to help electrify our transportation system through incentives for electric vehicle and electric bicycle purchases. There is also funding allocated for deploying a network of charging stations in various locations across the state so that people feel confident driving an electric vehicle.

Efforts to electrify transportation also have the added benefit of reducing transportation costs for low and moderate income Vermonters. This is an important consideration given the inherent volatility of gas prices and the current increases.

Other elements in the Transportation bill include the continuation of state-wide fare-free transit service for the rural routes, and funding for Mobility Transportation and Innovation Grants that help communities design flexible uber-like transit systems to increase ridership and better meet the needs of current riders. The bill also includes a pilot program to support the continued development and buildout of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

We have much work to do to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. It is critical that we do so. This bill adds significant funding to continue that process.

Helping Vermonters Switch to Affordable Heat

More than one-third of Vermont’s climate pollution comes from fossil fuels used to heat our buildings and water. Dependence on fossil fuels — especially propane and fuel oil — is expensive, with unpredictable price swings for Vermonters. While the Vermont legislature can’t control price gouging by multinational corporations, or global political instability, we can work to move Vermont off our dependence on fossil fuels. Insulating (weatherizing our homes) and converting our heating systems when possible will save Vermonters money.

The Affordable Heat Act is a performance standard that obligates companies selling heating fuel in Vermont to lower greenhouse gas emissions over time. It’s similar to our Renewable Energy Standard, which directs Vermont’s electric utilities to annually increase the amount of renewable energy in their electricity mix. The CHS requirements could be met by delivering a range of clean heat alternatives — heat pumps, weatherization, advanced wood heating — that reduce fossil fuel consumption or replace some fossil fuel delivery with biofuels. The CHS prioritizes the lowest-cost, highest emissions-reducing options.

These measures would allow Vermonters predictability about and control over heating costs. Reliance on fossil fuels has not only contributed to climate change., they have contributed to volatile fuel costs. We are hoping to create an affordable way for Vermonters to heat their homes.

Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act requires a 40 percent reduction in emissions by the end of the decade. The Affordable Heat Act is the most significant emissions reduction policy recommended by Vermont’s Climate Council in the Climate Action Plan. Pairing the standard with investments in weatherization and resilience planning for our municipalities, homes, and state buildings puts Vermont on a predictable, sustainable pathway to achieve those goals.

Organic Dairy Crisis

Organic dairy farms are facing the compounding effects of unprecedented production costs (including fuel and feed) due to the war in Ukraine, inflation, and a severe drought last summer. These farmers are smart, hard-working and diversifying their farms, yet they still struggle to stay financially viable because the increase in organic milk prices has not kept pace with conventional milk, and costs of production far exceed profits. Federal insurance programs, designed for conventional farmers, have not been able to adequately close this gap for many Vermont organic dairies. As a result, our state has lost over 30 of these farms since 2021. The House approved a one-time $9.2 million appropriation for Vermont organic dairy farmers in the Budget Adjustment Act to keep them solvent until new federal rules and policies provide a more level playing field.

An Economy that Works for All of Us

Vermonters know that the health and resilience of our families and communities are integrally connected. Last year, we put these values into action when we passed the historic child tax credit and expanded EITC. Today, we’re ready to build on this commitment by enacting legislation that strengthens our capacity for care- universal family and medical leave, child care funding, and universal school meals. When caregivers are supported and kids’ basic needs are met, we’re stronger as a state. As lawmakers, we have the responsibility to make this happen. We are delivering on that promise.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance

Universal Family and Medical Leave Insurance, H.66, passed out of the House of Representatives on Friday. H.66 contains three main provisions of equal importance: total job protection, benefits that include 90% pay for those earning the state average wage, and ample leave time. Significantly, this proposed benefit is portable; it follows the employee rather than remaining with the employer.

Paid leave covers varying periods of leave time for an employee or family member’s serious health conditions, or recovery from serious health conditions (including rehabilitation); miscarriage; residential treatment for substance use disorder; childbirth and child bonding; military exigency, which allows a servicemember or their family to prepare for active duty or call to active duty; and bereavement (with a separate amount of time for those administering an estate). The bill also covers “safe leave” for medical care, counseling, or social or legal services, when an employee or family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Importantly, the bill also extends the definition of “family” to be far more robust and contemporary. The definition now includes individuals with whom a person’s everyday life is closely bound: “any other individual with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship under the totality of the circumstances surrounding the relationship.”

Under the bill, employers and employees would share the insurance premium costs, paying a shared cost of .55% of payroll to provide paid leave benefits equally through payroll contributions, ensuring a valuable benefit at a low predictable cost to employers. This cost is approximately $125 per year for a Vermont making average wages and in exchange any working Vermonter is able to access 90% wage replacement for 12 weeks of needed leave. We are all better off when we are in this together! This program will be administered by the Office of the Treasurer and accountable to Vermonters.

Affordable Accessible Childcare

The lack of affordable, high-quality early childhood education profoundly impacts Vermont and its economy. As introduced, H. 208, an act relating to child care and early childhood education, develops a blueprint for a significant investment in our children, families, and communities. The bill would significantly increase state-funded financial assistance for children in child care; expand the current funding for part-time pre-K to a full-time program for all 4-year-olds in Vermont; increase compensation for early childhood educators and financial support for community and home-based child care programs by reimbursing centers for enrollment; and elevate and streamline state-level oversight of early childhood education. The proposed legislation has support from over 90 representatives across party lines and builds on the current system to ensure that all partners, families, schools, child care providers, and early educators, have the resources and support they need to best care for our youngest Vermonters.

In developing this bill, legislators considered recommendations presented in the recently released Child Care and Early Childhood Education Systems Analysis and the RAND Corporation’s Vermont Early Care and Education and Financing Study commissioned by Act 45 of 2021. Work on this topic is well underway in the Senate, and the House Human Services Committee is looking forward to taking up this critical legislation later this month. We will hear testimony from parents, child care providers, schools, employers, early educators, state agencies, and essential stakeholders.

A Home for every Vermonter Vermont is facing a statewide housing crisis.

The pandemic exacerbated the shortage. With federal relief funding, the General Assembly has responded with initiatives to address the needs of houseless Vermonters, renters, landlords, and to speed the production of new or rehabilitated housing.

Part of the problem lies in a significant drop in new housing construction over the past four decades. In 1980, housing stock grew at an annual rate of 1.8%. By 2019, the rate had dropped by 87%, to 0.2% per year. This translates into a reduction in housing units from 3,200 units per year to about 400.

We can all agree Vermont is beautiful, and it is an amazing place to live. Income should not be the deciding factor in whether someone can make a life in Vermont. Vermonters who wish to stay in Vermont deserve support, and those who wish to start a life in Vermont will not be barred from doing so based on socioeconomic status.

Both funding and policy reform for emergency housing, new housing construction, and rehab of existing housing stock is on the docket this session.

Our Schools Addressing School Construction Needs

The House Education committee moved H486 to address the statewide backlog of renovation needs or replacement of school buildings. Prior to the financial downturn of 2007-08, Vermont had a policy of the state contributing 30% of the cost of a school construction project. A moratorium was implemented in 2007, and Vermont is now the only New England state without an active program of state assistance for school construction. A statewide assessment of school facilities is currently underway with a completion deadline of October 2023. The committee looked at school construction models being used in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. The Rhode Island program provides a minimum state match with certain projects being eligible for greater state-level support based on strategic incentives. State Treasurer Mike Pieciak has stepped forward to help lead on this long term work and will be a key partner in figuring out funding options and a new structure to prioritize and fund work in a coherent way across the state.

Public Tuition to Approved Independent Schools

Vermont has a complicated history of using public tuition dollars to send students to approved independent (private) schools or public schools of their choosing if their district does not operate a school or does not operate all grade levels. Recent legal developments have re-focused attention on the current system in Vermont, including which schools receive public tuition dollars, the nature of state oversight of these institutions, and equity around student access and educational quality. H483 ensures that no independent school receiving public dollars is discriminating against students or employees, and to guarantee that there is a strong level of oversight of student progress and educational quality for publicly supported students attending approved independent schools. This legislation strikes a balance between legal precedent, proper oversight of public dollars, long standing relationships with community schools, and a desire to best serve Vermont students and tax payers.

Committing to the Future of Universal School Meals

During the pandemic, the ability of students and families to reliably access free food at school has been critical to preventing food insecurity. Since March 2020, USDA waivers have allowed all schools to provide meals to all students at no charge using federal funding. Our schools report that throughout the pandemic, free meals have resulted in increased participation in school food programs, and problems caused by hunger — like attention and readiness to learn — have decreased.

Universal school meals, already available in Brattleboro schools, offer many benefits, including more predictability for schools in meal planning and purchasing, less stigma surrounding school meals, and increased opportunities for partnerships with local farms, leading to the re-entry of dollars into Vermont’s economy. Several Vermont schools have applauded how the program has positively impacted health and behavioral outcomes and expanded nutrition and food education.

If signed into law, there will be new strategies in 2023 to access federal dollars in paying for the program—both through increased student participation and a new Medicaid eligibility criterion that automatically qualifies schools to receive more federal funds. To learn more, see H.165. And late breaking news, the House just passed H. 165. It now goes on to the Senate.

Access to Care

Potential Health Insurance Savings for Vermonters

Vermonters have an opportunity to see significant savings on their health insurance costs because of extended subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Those directly enrolled in the individual market can roll over to Vermont Health Connect with no change in benefits and gain the advantage of federal subsidies. Between $58–$76 million is available to Vermonters in subsidies for plan year 2023. Check out the Vermont Health Connect page to learn more about potential savings.

If you have concerns about a “surprise“ bill, you should contact the Office of the Health Care Advocate at this link or DFR at this link, or call DFR consumer service representatives at (802) 828-3301.

Medicaid Redetermination

Unfortunately a pandemic era federal provision that maintained consistency in the medicaid eligibility has expired, and states are required to redetermine eligibility of every Vermonter currently enrolled. If you, or someone you love, receives medicaid, please remind them to update their address and respond to any letters promptly. The Office of the Healthcare Advocate is available for anyone experiencing administrative challenges, and the Vermont Workers Center is holding community workshops for anyone who wants to learn more.

Suicide Prevention

On March 23, the House passed H.230, a suicide prevention bill. The bill approaches Vermont’s high rate of suicide as a public health crisis, and it implements several critical, data driven measures to prevent suicide by reducing access to lethal means, specifically firearms.

Vermont’s rate of suicide is 35% higher than the national average and each year nearly 60% of suicides are completed with a firearm. It is extremely rare for someone to survive a suicide attempt in which a firearm is used and so H230 focuses on suicide harm reduction by requiring the following:

Secure storage of firearms - the firearm must be kept separate from ammunition and in a locked container that is equipped with a tamper resistant lock or other safety device when a child or prohibited person is likely to gain access to the firearm. (There are practical exceptions for personal carry or when a firearm is kept within close proximity.)

A 72-hour waiting period for firearms transfers - transfers cannot take place until 72 hours after a licensed dealer is provided with a transfer identification number or 7 business days have passed since a background check was initiated.

This bill also expands access to the process for obtaining extreme risk protection orders to those who are in the best position – family or household members – to know if someone is a danger to themselves or others.

H.230 now moves over to the Senate for additional consideration.

Opioids and Harm Reduction

People are dying in our community and throughout the state, and I want to do everything I can to reduce that pain and loss and devastation. At the intersection of justice and healthcare is the impact of opioids in our community. The House passed a series of bills that expand opportunities for treatment, lowers criminal penalties for use, and sets in motion further harm reduction strategies in the future. We also increased fees paid by pharmaceutical corporations in order to fund these essential services. It is a rare moment that we have the opportunity to help raise the revenue to solve a problem from the very same industry or companies who helped cause the problem. These bills include the sealing of criminal records, the designation of an opioid settlement fund to be spent on harm reduction, adjustments to sentencing guidelines to be sensitive to parenting and trauma, mobile treatment units for rural communities, expanding access to needle exchange, prohibiting prior authorizations for MAT treatment, the creation of a working group led by opioid users, and more. This is some of the most important work I can do for our community of Brattleboro.

Gender Justice Ending Child Marriage

This session the House passed H. 148. This closed the loophole allowing 16 and 17 year old Vermonters to marry with their parent’s permission. The law states that one must be 18 years old to enter into the marriage contract with no exceptions. There are many reasons that members of Boards of Civil Authority and Social Workers, among others, have found major detrimental effects of child marriage. The United Nations and the US State Department have deemed it a human rights abuse. It makes children at risk for trafficking, rape, and coercion. We hope that the Senate will take this up and pass it.

Preventing “Stealthing”

Stealthing or (non-consensual condom removal) is a serious problem that occurs with regular frequency and truly is a kind of sexual assault. This bill would make this act a misdemeanor offense and the ability to bring a civil action, which makes it possible for a victim to take sue the perpetrator (like the law California just passed), A misdemeanor is much harder to prove as it has a higher standard of proof as a criminal offense, but clearly "stealthing" is a type of sexual assault.