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Redistricting prompted a shakeup in the Chittenden County Senate Races this year. In the Chittenden North district, Democrat Irene Wrenner, a former Essex Town Selectboard member, will face off against Republican Leland Morgan, a former House member, for a Senate seat. However, in the Chittenden Southeast and Central districts, primary winners are likely to cruise through the general election to a seat in the Senate. In the Chittenden Southeast district, all three incumbents, Senators Ginny Lyons, Kesha Ram Hinsdale, and Thomas Chittenden, secured primary wins. In the new Chittenden Central district, incumbent Phil Baruth and current Rep. Tanya Vyhovsky easily secured two of three seats, but only two votes separated the next two vote-getters for the third and final seat, with Erhard Mahnke requesting a recount to challenge Martine Larocque Gulick.

In Washington county, incumbents Ann Cummings and Andrew Perchlik secured two of the three Democratic nominations, but it was Anne Watson who secured the most votes, a significant result for the current mayor of Montpelier. In Windham County, former Rep. Nader Hashim and Wendy Harrison won the Democratic nominations for Senate and will face off against Republicans Mark Coester (who is not being backed by the Republican party after he displayed alt-right and fascist imagery at a 4^th of July parade) and Richard Kenyon, in the general election. Mark Coester has since announced his decision to run in this race as an Independent, and the party nominated third-place finisher Richard Morton to replace him on the ballot. In Windsor County, Rep. Rebecca White and incumbents Alison Clarkson and Richard McCormack won the Democratic nominations for Senate. Like Watson, White also secured the most votes in her primary race, another significant result for a first-time Senate candidate.

Notable House races included Chittenden-5, where Democrat Chea Waters Evans challenged incumbent Michael Yantachka over his vote on Prop 5, and won. Two incumbents, Republican Vicki Strong and Democrat Katherine Sims, will face off for the only seat in the new Orleans-4 district. In Washington-4, Kate McCann and Conor Casey, who ran as an informal ticket, secured the two Democratic nominations to represent Montpelier.

This session, some legislators went above and beyond to champion policies that support the business community. If they made a difference for your business, please join us in reaching out to express your gratitude.

Senator Ann Cummings was instrumental in the passage of the manufacturing tax exemption as well as securing $17 million in savings for health insurance costs for small businesses and employees. Senators Alison Clarkson and Kesha Ram-Hinsdale went to bat for small businesses in the design of the VEDA forgivable loan program.

On the House side, Representative Emilie Kornheiser made the passage of the manufacturing tax exemption possible. Representatives Michael Marcotte and Stephanie Jerome ushered in the VEDA forgivable loan program. Representative Matt Birong was a champion for the hospitality industry, working to ensure relief programs served the hardest-hit businesses. Representatives Anne Donahue and Lori Houghton worked tirelessly to secure a compromise that yielded the $17 million in health insurance savings.

Commissioner Joan Goldstein was also an invaluable resource in the Legislature’s economic development work, providing expertise that led to the success of the VEDA forgivable loan program and the Community Recovery and Revitalization Program.

Our work on behalf of the business community to champion the long-term health of the Vermont economy would not be possible without our strong partnerships in the State House.

This commentary is by Betsy Bishop, President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and Megan Sullivan, Vice President of Government Affairs

Each year, the end of the legislative session coincides with warmer weather, signaling peak tourism season just around the corner. For many Vermont businesses, however, this will be the third summer in a row that they are overwhelmed with uncertainty instead of anticipation. While elected officials resumed in-person operations at the State House, the Vermont business community is still working to determine their “new normal.”

The foundation of the Vermont Chamber advocacy this session was the stark reality that Vermont has an estimated 26,000 job openings and an unemployment rate of 2.7%. With 25,500 fewer people participating in the workforce than pre-pandemic, employers are going to unprecedented lengths to retain employees and recruit new workers.

While businesses continued to battle the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, including a constrained labor force, increased payroll expenses, reduced hours, 8.3% inflation, and endless supply chain problems, progress was made on many policy fronts due to the support from legislators who listened to our members and our dedicated five-person Vermont Chamber advocacy team.

The Vermont Chamber succeeded on most of our 2022 legislative session agenda items, including retaining Vermont workers, helping businesses emerge from the pandemic, increasing workforce housing supply, and recruiting new workers to Vermont:

Workforce Recruitment:

• Over $3.5 million was secured for workforce recruitment initiatives , including $3 million for relocation incentives, and $500,000 to the State Refugee Office for grants to support increased in-migration and retention of New Americans.

Workforce Retention:

• $1.5 million was allocated for a two-year pilot program for a regional workforce expansion system, $250,000 for a Special Oversight Committee on Workforce Expansion and Development and $2.5 million in forgivable loans for college graduates who commit to work in Vermont for two years after graduation.
• Included in the final omnibus housing bill was $15 million for the Missing Middle Homeownership Development program to increase the supply of housing for middle-income workers. There are also funds for an expansion of the priority housing project program and funding to increase the supply of rental units through grants to property owners.

Workforce Training:

• $15 million was secured for a Career and Technical Education Construction and Rehabilitation Learning Program and Revolving Loan Fund through Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to rehab decrepit buildings and creative housing units.
• Additional funding includes $3 million secured for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, $1.5 million to the Department of Labor for a Vermont Work-Based Learning and Training Program, $387,000 to Vermont Technical College for a skilled meat cutter training/apprenticeship facility, $250,000 for the Vermont Professionals of Color Network to provide business coaching and training.
• The Department of Corrections was granted $420,000 to address vocational enhancement needs and $300,000 to establish a community reentry pilot program.

Business Recovery:

• $38 million was also secured for business recovery programs, including $19 million for Vermont Economic Development Authority forgivable loans, $40 million for Community Recovery and Revitalization Grant Program, and $9 million for Creative Economy Grants.
• Several provisions in a liquor law modernization bill will be beneficial for the hospitality industry, including moving ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) into the wholesale/retail space, permitting first-class licensees to sell RTDs, staggered vs. annual license renewals, and clarification for licensees to participate in the rare and unusual product raffles.
• $17.7 million of continued savings were secured for health care premiums for small businesses using the Vermont Health Connect.
• The manufacturing tax exemption expansion would exempt machinery and equipment used in integrated production operations and all ancillary processes between raw materials and finished goods, as well as some secondary packaging processes.

While there were many wins for the business community this session, the Legislature failed to deliver on key workforce recruitment efforts by not passing an allocation for relocation marketing or a full tax exemption on military retirement income. Even so, House and Senate leaders will head into the campaign season with a strong record of supporting the Vermont Chamber agenda and the Vermont business community. From our annual Vermont Economic Conference to our State to Main policy podcast series, to supporting the Vermont Declaration of Inclusion initiative, the Vermont Chamber once again set the tone for making Vermont a better, more vibrant place to live, work, and play.

Betsy Bishop, of East Montpelier, is the President of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, whose mission is focused on creating an economic climate conducive to business growth while enhancing Vermont’s quality of life.

Megan Sullivan, of Jericho, is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, whose mission is focused on creating an economic climate conducive to business growth while enhancing Vermont’s quality of life.

The Vermont Chamber testified in the Senate Economic Development Committee urging changes to the $30 million Bridge Grant program to make the application process easier so businesses can access these funds. With only $3.6 million allocated in 2021, the Committee appears willing to make changes to accomplish this goal. The Vermont Chamber aims to protect this funding from being reallocated toward other programs and supports providing the Agency of Commerce greater discretion to determine need beyond just a net loss year over year. Priority should be given to applicants in the restaurant and lodging sectors, which have been impacted most. The Vermont Chamber also urged the Committee to make this change in the first month of the legislative session to expedite the grant relief to businesses who are now faced with further impacts due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Read the Vermont Chamber’s full testimony here.