Legislative Update 3/27/24
Town Meeting seems like a looooong time ago, and it has been a busy few weeks! Overall our district fared well with both town and school budgets. While our local school budgets all passed handily, across the state almost a third were voted down. Interestingly, data from the Vermont Department of Taxes shows that local homestead equalized property tax rates (before the Common Level of Appraisal is applied) were remarkably stable or have actually dropped between 2019 and 2024.
Town 2019 Rate 2024 Rate
Pawlet 1.34 1.33
Middletown Spr. 1.47 1.34
Tinmouth 1.52 1.36
Rupert 1.34 1.33
Wells 1.33 1.34
However, how we fund education will continue to generate a lot of discussion.
Last week the House approved Senate bill S.19 which will ban the sale of flavored vapes and tobacco. This bill is very popular due to skyrocketing rates of teen vaping and nicotine addiction. Vapes are marketed to children (a fact denied by the manufacturers) with flavors like bubblegum and blueberry. Sweet flavors and high nicotine content make these products appealing and highly addictive. The state of Vermont currently spends over $400 million each year treating tobacco-related illnesses, so this bill is a good long term investment in our financial and physical health. A lot of discussion went into the potential economic impact, particularly for small general stores, but public health won out.
Also last week, the management of the hotel voucher program hit new levels of confusion and chaos. Through the Budget Adjustment Act, the Legislature had ensured that the program was funded for most households through the end of June, at the new reduced room rate. It also stipulated that masses of people would not be turned out onto the street when the cold weather provision expired on March 15th. Many of the people receiving emergency housing are working and their kids are attending school.
Despite the funding and clear legislative intent provided, the administration nevertheless sent eviction notices to about 500 people, giving them a few days notice that they would be evicted on March 15 with no plans, no assessment of need, and almost no warning. The confusion was compounded when, also without advance planning or notice, four communities around the state were told that the state would be locating a temporary homeless shelter there. (Or in one case not told; Bennington officials learned of the plan from a news report, and that shelter was shifted the next day to Brattleboro.) These shelters have no food, no showers, no provision to store belongings, and are open only from 7:00PM to 7:00AM. This haphazard and entirely unnecessary trauma is a terrible and completely avoidable mistake.
The House split largely along party lines when voting on updating the Renewable Energy Standard (RES). This is a bill created from a working group last summer that included the utilities, the regulators, and advocates. It requires utilities to get more of their energy from new, in-state renewables and regional renewables, among other things. It not only helps move the state to cleaner and more renewable energy, but I believe that through “islanding” and micro-grids (generating and using energy locally), it moves us toward a safer, more reliable grid as well.
Additionally this leads to more efficient load management, especially as distributed storage like electric vehicles and home batteries increase which potentially creates huge savings through shaving peak-energy purchases at extremely high cost. Unfortunately the bill virtually eliminates Community Solar, but also seeks a different way to re-implement it.
In the coming days the House will be tackling spending and revenue-heavy bills — which is especially difficult when federal funding has diminished. One critical bill is H.829 which will continue to address our housing crisis. We CANNOT end this crisis without creating more affordable and middle income housing - which is simply not possible for private builders in the current market. State support comes at a price, but doing nothing is just not an option. Revenue sources include a marginal income surcharge on the portions of incomes over $500,000 and an increase in the time-of-sale property transfer tax (PTT). Due to several adjustments the PTT would actually decrease on homesteads under $630,000 and would increase above that price.
The high-end income tax increase was supported in a public letter signed by 23 wealthy Vermonters who wrote in part “…we are willing to pay additional taxes to raise revenue for fundamental government services.”
As always, please contact me with questions, ideas, and concerns.
