Many legislators in the House appear committed to promises made on the campaign trail to prioritize meaningful action on housing. In particular, a group of legislators in the House General and Housing Committee stood up for their constituents in response to House leadership giving sole jurisdiction on land use, zoning, and Act 250 to the House Energy and Environment Committee. A heated debate on committee jurisdiction ensued, with several committee members concerned that politics is hindering good policy. 

Legislators such as Reps. Caleb Elder (Addison-4), Ashley Bartley (Franklin-1), and Saudia LaMont (Lamoille-Washington), fought for the opportunity to have important discussions about regulations that are deeply impacting Vermont’s Housing crisis. Several of these same regulations were supported by the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee before being altered by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. 

While no action was taken on Act 250, the bill as passed out of the committee does support several programs the Vermont Chamber has advocated for, including the Vermont Housing Improvement Program, the Revolving Loan Fund, and the Missing Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program. The committee ultimately passed the bill out of committee 8-4. The bill will now officially be taken up by the House Energy and Environment Committee to review the bill sections dealing directly with Act 250 and zoning.  

The House took up the Senate’s housing bill this week starting in the House General and Housing Committee. The committee will not be reviewing any provisions related to municipal zoning and Act 250 and will instead focus on housing-specific programs. This would mean a review of changes to state and municipal bylaws will be done in the House Energy and Environment Committee, which historically has been reluctant to address Act 250 barriers. The Vermont Chamber continues to be a leader on the need for bold leadership to reduce barriers to the creation of housing. 

Megan Sullivan, VP of Government Affairs for the Vermont Chamber presented to the Rural Caucus, advocating for solutions that make balanced reforms to state and local regulations and alleviate zoning barriers. Additionally, Kevin Chu, Executive Director of the Vermont Futures Project, presented at a Social Equity Caucus on Vermont’s demographic challenges and the role of housing in ensuring an economically secure, sustainable, and equitable future for Vermont.