Retirements and Candidates Seeking Higher Office Spell State House Shakeup

Retirements and Candidates Seeking Higher Office Spell State House Shakeup

With Senator Leahy announcing his intention to retire at the end of his term, many in the Vermont political landscape saw an opportunity to move up. State Senator Becca Balint is leaving the upper chamber and her position as Senate Pro Tempore to run for Congress against Lt. Governor Molly Gray, prompting State Senator Joe Benning, Representative Charlie Kimbell, former Representative Kitty Toll, and former Lt. Governor David Zuckerman to announce their candidacies for Lt. Governor. In addition, the end of the “COVID biennium” brought a wave of retirements, which will leave more than half of Vermont House committee chairs up for grabs, and bring turnover to more than a third of Vermont Senate seats. But this all means more than just political intrigue. The shakeup in the State House will mean an infusion of new blood, and more junior members taking over leadership roles in key committees, including on the Senate Economic Development Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Vermont Chamber’s advocacy team will be hitting the road this summer, meeting with member businesses and legislators in their districts, as well as candidates of all political stripes to get a jump on forming the critical relationships necessary to fight effectively for the business community’s legislative agenda next session. To read more about the races to watch, check out this write-up by VTDigger, and stay tuned later this summer for more insight from the Vermont Chamber.

With Compromise, State Appropriations Reflect Shared Goals

With Compromise, State Appropriations Reflect Shared Goals

The Governor and Legislature each prioritized investments in the workforce, housing, critical infrastructure, and tax savings this session, and the budget and other major appropriations bills reflected those priorities. The budget included a $95 million investment in broadband connectivity projects, $50 million for the Vermont Housing Conservation Board, and a total of $137.8 million in economic and workforce development programs. The budget also provided over $7 million for childcare, invested in water and wastewater systems, and established the IT Modernization Fund, which will in part fund the Vermont Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance modernization project. The Capital Bill also invested in VHCB, funded municipal pollution control grants and clean water programs, supported renovations in nursing training labs, and funded the Regional Economic Development Grants Program. The Transportation Bill made significant investments in highways, roads, and bridges, as well as bike and pedestrian facilities and transportation alternatives. It funded public transit, electric vehicle and bike incentives, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure along highways. Finally, a revenue surplus in the Education Fund allowed tax savings to be returned to tax payers in the form of property tax exemptions and the manufacturing tax exemption, as well as investments such as a $15 million CTE construction and rehabilitation program turning outdated structures into housing units. Despite compromising on some pieces of the priorities, these major investments in shared goals make clear that Vermont is rowing in the same direction, and we can make progress to build a better future for our state.

2022 Legislative Success

2022 Legislative Success

According to Vermont Department of Labor, “for every three open jobs in Vermont, there is one person categorized as ‘unemployed.’” This critical shortage of workers in the state informed the Vermont Chamber’s legislative priorities this session, as the advocacy team fought to attract new workers to the state, equip those on the margins with the skills and training they need to join the workforce, secure relief funding for businesses recovering from the pandemic to save jobs, promote growth in emerging industries, and address barriers to growth in areas such as housing, land development, and taxes.

Business Loan-to-Grant Program: S.11, the workforce and economic development bill containing a loan-to-grant business relief program, was signed into law by Governor Scott on June 8. The $19 million business relief program, administered by VEDA, will support businesses whose operations were particularly impacted by pandemic-related economic impacts, such as restaurants, lodging properties, and special events vendors, who were forced to close or severely limit their operations. Businesses that took on significant debt or are still dealing with lingering pandemic impacts should apply for forgivable loans when the program opens applications later this summer.

Growing the Workforce: The Legislature allocated significant resources toward upskilling and training in S.11, signed on June 8, to better equip Vermont workers for in-demand, high-paying jobs, particularly in healthcare and the trades. Funding was also passed for programs geared toward supporting BIPOC business owners as well as justice-involved individuals, and additional funding was passed for retention incentives for New Americans, recent college graduates, and healthcare educators. The Legislature also allocated just over $3 million for the relocation incentive program, which will offset the moving costs for new workers relocating to Vermont. However, there is no funding or critical marketing to tell our story, despite the data showing that many people would move to Vermont without being incentivized because of the quality of life and all Vermont has to offer. This represents a missed opportunity to capture the attention of more workers who may be inclined to make Vermont their permanent home.

Housing: Governor Scott signed S.210 and S.226 into law on June 7. S.226 contains a $15 million investment to develop housing units for the “missing middle income” housing stock. S.210 will focus on rehabilitating dilapidated rental units and building more apartment buildings in downtowns, both of which will increase availability of workforce housing options.

Liquor Law Modernization: 730, containing provisions to modernize Vermont’s liquor laws, was signed into law on June 7. Ready-to-drink (RTD) spirit-based beverages that have a 12% or less ABV will now shift from the exclusive purview of the Department of Liquor and Lottery and will be permitted to be sold in the same retail streams as malt and vinous beverages. First-class licensees will also now be able to serve RTDs, which will provide greater access to products for both licensees and consumers. Additional provisions of interest for the hospitality industry include the ability for third-class licensees to purchase tickets for the rare and unusual product raffle which was previously only available for consumers; and allowing the Department to stagger new and renewal dates for permits versus an annual renewal, which will likely expedite processing times and provide a better permitting process for new businesses.

Healthcare Cost Savings: On May 24, Governor Scott signed into law H.489, a bill which will allow $17.7 million in health insurance cost savings to be extended to small businesses and their workers for another year.

Tax Savings: Governor Scott signed H.510, a tax relief package, into law on May 27. The bill includes a partial military pension tax exemption which excludes the first $10,000 of federally taxable U.S. military retirement pay from taxable income, and subject to adjusted gross income thresholds and phase outs. Governor Scott issued a signing statement, stressing his disappointment that more of his tax relief proposals were not included in the bill. Governor Scott signed S.53, a tax reform bill which includes single sales factor and corporate minimum, into law on May 31. Once fully implemented, analysts with the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office said that part of the bill could cut corporate taxes by roughly $11 million a year. Finally, an expanded manufacturing tax exemption in the H.738 Miscellaneous Tax bill was signed into law on June 7. The expansion will exempt machinery and equipment used in integrated production operations and all ancillary processes between raw materials and finished goods, as well as manufacturing for packaging and quality assurance. This change will enhance workforce recruitment and retention, modernize facilities, and make Vermont competitive with the 33 other states that have similar exemptions.

Arts Funding: The $9 million allocated for relief for the creative economy will fund grants to arts nonprofits that suffered from the closures of venues during the COVID pandemic and can be used to bring arts installations into downtowns and other public spaces. This funding was included in S.11, which was signed into law on June 8.

Next session, the advocacy team will continue to build upon these victories, with a renewed focus on securing relocation marketing to grow the workforce and finding solutions to the childcare shortage across the state.