Bad Week for Businesses in Legislature
Vermont Chamber Calls for Changes to Economic Relief Package
Lodging and Restaurants Restrictions Updated
Vermont Chamber Joins States in Calling for Childcare Relief
Paycheck Protection Program Changes Coming
Senate Committee Advances Concerning New Lodging Regulations
Senate Committee Reluctant to Provide Emergency Broadband Access
Resource Roundup
In Case You Missed It
Bad Week for Businesses in Legislature
Despite unprecedented economic downturn, the Legislature advanced several proposals over the last week that are harmful to businesses. Recent legislative action included:
- House leadership called for slashing the Administration’s economic relief package by $200 million
- The Senate Committee on Finance advanced a bill that would prohibit lodging operators from providing guests with single-use personal care products. This mandate comes at a time when lodging operations are struggling to survive and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging the use of single-use toiletries for safety reasons related to COVID-19
- The House voted to increase business property tax rates from $1.59 per $100 in 2020 to $1.628 per $100 in 2021
- The Senate Committee on Finance leadership expressed opposition to providing funds to build out broadband in unserved communities struggling with work-from-home, learn-from-home, and telehealth shortfalls
The Vermont Chamber encourages the business community to reach out to their legislators with questions or concerns about these recent actions.
Vermont Chamber Calls for Changes to Economic Relief Package

Vermont Chamber President Betsy Bishop testified in the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development this week on the economic recovery and relief package proposed by the Scott Administration in late May. Vermont Chamber member Lynn Green of the Four Chimney’s Inn in Bennington also testified, largely echoing Betsy’s input, while also providing a detailed analysis of the relief package.
The Vermont Chamber’s testimony called for several changes, including ensuring businesses who have received PPP or EIDL funds are not disqualified from accessing the funds, lifting of the trigger that limits use of portions of the relief package to businesses with a gross annual revenue of $2.5 million or less, removal the fulltime employee (FTE) requirement (many small lodging establishments are under the existing five FTE requirement), and an ask to broaden the permissible use of relief funds to include certain physical upgrades. The Vermont Chamber is also pushing for maintaining the original topline funding amounts and the proposed investment in marketing, with a revision that would make the marketing plan a phased approach that corresponds with the anticipated economic and regulatory realities the state is expected to face over the next several months.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs introduced draft legislation this week that would make changes to the Administration’s proposal. However, the draft legislation does not address several of the previously mentioned issues with the relief package. In an additional development, the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development reviewed a proposal from the Speaker’s office that called for a reduction of $200 million in the relief package. Considering that current need far outweighs any of the relief proposals yet discussed, the Vermont Chamber strongly opposes these changes. Draft legislation also proposed in the House would make significant reductions to the relief package.
Immediate relief in the form of grants is essential to mitigating the economic downturn currently impacting almost every sector, and the Vermont Chamber will continue to work with legislative leaders to advance relief funds with necessary changes.
Lodging and Restaurants Restrictions Updated
During Friday’s press conference, Governor Scott announced new guidance for indoor dining and outlined a plan to welcome out-of-state tourists. In keeping with the Governor’s “turn of the spigot” plan that has incrementally reopened the economy over the last few weeks, indoor dining is now allowed at 25 percent capacity or 10 total customers and staff combined, whichever is greater as of June 8. All current social distancing standards, as well as state and CDC guidelines that are in place now for dining facilities, will remain. Additional guidance is available via the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Also announced were changes to lodging and campgrounds guidelines. Effective June 8, lodging properties and campgrounds may book 50 percent of rooms for non-residential lodging or have a total of 25 guests and staff on the property – whichever is greater. Detailed guidance is also available from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
Important updates to quarantine restrictions were also highlighted. While the continued gradual reopening is not ideal for the hospitality industry, it is a small and desperately needed step forward:
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Effective June 8 people living in New England or Upstate New York will be permitted to travel to Vermont without quarantine restrictions if they are traveling from a county with similar active COVID-19 caseloads as Vermont. The threshold is set at 400 or fewer cases per million. Weekly guidance will be issued identifying locations travelers are permitted to travel freely to Vermont from.
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Effective June 15 travelers from counties that do not meet the requirement above are permitted to travel to Vermont with the following restrictions:
- (i) complete a 14-day quarantine; or (ii) complete a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative test – in their home state and enter Vermont without further quarantine restrictions if they drive directly from their home via their personal vehicle.
- (i) a 14 day quarantine; or (ii) a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative test – in a Vermont lodging establishment regardless of destination origin or manner of travel (travelers must stay in their quarantine location for the duration of quarantine other than to travel to and from a test site).
Please contact Amy Spear with any questions.
Vermont Chamber Joins States in Calling for Childcare Relief
The Vermont Chamber joined State Chambers around the nation in signing onto a letter calling on Congress to provide temporary emergency assistance targeted to licensed childcare providers to help cover increased expenses and forgone revenue directly tied to maintaining public health. A recently issued report by the U.S. Chamber shows that of states examined, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, losses averaged $1 billion annually in economic activity due to breakdowns in childcare.
Bolstering the state’s childcare resources is a vital component of restarting the economy and is essential to the economic future of Vermont. The Vermont Chamber continues to support improving childcare resources in the state. Doing so is essential to maximizing Vermont’s workforce potential and will also help to attract new families to live and work in Vermont.
Paycheck Protection Program Changes Coming
Following passage in the U.S. House last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Wednesday. The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) now heads to the President’s desk where it is expected to be signed into law. PPPFA makes several changes to the existing program, including extending the covered period from eight weeks to 24 weeks, extending the date to restore your fulltime employees from June 30 to December 31, and increasing the term of a loan to a minimum of five years, from two years. PPPFA also provides an additional provision that enables forgiveness to be determined without regard to a proportional reduction in employees. This change would apply in circumstances when an employer is able to document the inability to rehire an employee who was on the payroll on February 15, the inability to rehire a similarly qualified employee, or the inability to return to the same level of business activity they had prior to February 15 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Vermont Chamber has pushed for the changes included in the PPPFA in our advocacy with the congressional delegation.
Senate Committee Advances Concerning New Lodging Regulations
The Senate Committee on Finance advanced S.227, a bill that would prohibit lodging establishments from providing personal use products in single-use bottles. With many establishments closed or operating in a limited manner, the possibility of being forced to invest additional funds in retrofitting rooms with multiple-use dispensers is a daunting prospect for lodging operators. As a result of COVID-19, there also currently exists considerable safety concerns related to the use of community-use appliances. Guidance dictating the use of such appliances will largely depend on rapidly developing regulations and recommendations from state and federal health agencies. Despite the concerns from a variety of lodging operators, and Committee acknowledgment of the crisis facing the lodging sector, the Committee chose to advance the bill. The legislation will now move to the Senate floor for a vote by the full body.
The Vermont Chamber will continue to convey to legislators the reality that businesses require immediate action to advance relief funds and at this time lodging establishments in particular have little or no capacity to absorb additional administrative mandates, added costs, or safety risks.
Senate Committee Reluctant to Provide Emergency Broadband Access
On Thursday, the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance suggested he was not inclined (24:50) to support plans to provide emergency broadband access to Vermonters currently impacted by a lack of access to work-from-home, learn-from-home, and telehealth capabilities. The Vice-Chair specifically expressed reluctance to support the provision of emergency broadband funds to build out broadband at federally defined broadband levels, saying instead he may prefer to withhold funds until a hypothetical plan to provide higher speeds comes to volition at an unspecified date in the future.
Currently, 23 percent of Vermont (69,899 business and residential locations) does not have access to broadband at 25/3 Mbps – the service speed that defines broadband under federal law. This speed is also more than sufficient for most current learn- and work-from-home tasks. The Vermont Chamber recognizes the need to safeguard state funds and invest in lasting infrastructure projects. That said, we are also fully cognizant of the reality that tens of thousands of Vermonters lack access to the internet speeds necessary to perform basic web browsing functions. We will continue to encourage the Legislature to quickly act to provide broadband access to unserved communities.
Resource Roundup
- Economic Recovery and Relief Package Webinar Series: archive of ACCD's sector specific webinars.
- American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) Safe Stay guidelines for industry-wide hotel cleaning standards.
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