Legislative sessions reflect what is happening in the villages, towns and cities of Vermont. In the 2021 session the pandemic stresses of every household, business and organization were represented in the legislature, and we worked in good faith to help Vermonters recover. The huge amount of federal money the state received made it possible to stabilize the economy and make much-needed investments in infrastructure and institutions.
This report highlights the work of the legislature this past session. There are active links that connect to more details if you would like to know more. This is not a list of everything the legislature passed, but a pretty good window into what we did. Please let me know if you would like to know more or have some thoughts to share.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve my community in the legislature.
Charlie
The FY22 budget:
The $7.3 billion state budget for FY22 (which starts on July 1st, 2021) used $600 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help the state recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and following the guidelines of the US Treasury. Those funds allowed us to do the following:
$109.2 million for Economic and Workforce Development and Community Investments
$99 million is targeted to expanding and improving housing
$51 million to Rental Assistance for struggling tenants
$150 million for Broadband Investments
$52 million for Technology Modernization in state government
$50 million for Climate Action Initiatives
$115 million for Clean Water Investments
That leaves $400 million or so in ARPA funds for the state to use before 12/31/2024. We will look to determine the most urgent needs in the coming months before making any more appropriations from that fund.
Here is a highlight of the $7.3 billion state budget: https://ljfo.vermont.gov/assets/Uploads/427fd163b7/H.439-Budget-HIghlight-Sheet.pdf
Stabilizing Workers & Employers Impacted by COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the most significant job-loss event ever experienced by Vermont’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. Over 120,000 Vermonters filed unemployment claims in 2020, including a higher-than-average percentage of women, lost jobs or were forced to stay home and care for loved ones or children learning remotely. Many businesses struggled as they were forced to close or scale-back operations due to necessary, state-imposed restrictions.
The Legislature designed S.62 in response to this economic crisis. It is a package of programs and benefits that will both support workers post-pandemic and shore up the UI system for the future. S.62:
Adds a long-term supplemental benefit of $25/week for UI recipients when the federal bump ends in September.
Protects businesses from being unduly burdened with large tax increases caused by COVID-layoffs by removing the year 2020 from the calculation of tax rates charged to employers.
Ensures the state's UI Trust Fund is replenished and ready for Vermonters in the event of another economic emergency.
Business Recovery Grants
The legislature passed H.315 in early April, a $97.5 million pandemic-relief bill that invested federal funds before the end of session to jumpstart the state’s recovery. This bill created $10 million in Economic Recovery Bridge Grants, targeting new and small businesses not eligible for assistance initially. Another $20 million was committed in the budget, bringing this program up to $30 million, with applications being taken beginning June 7, 2021.
H.315 also allocated $500,000 to the EMBRACE Grants for Micro Business program, providing up to $5,000 to low and moderate-income Vermonters with businesses under five employees and less than $25,000 in annual revenue. The budget added another $2 million to this program, helping an important segment of our community.
Promoting Economic Opportunity for Historically Disadvantaged Businesses
Testimony from business and community leaders from around the state revealed that Vermont does not provide the same access or opportunity to businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC). This summer, ACCD and the Director of Racial Equity will award contracts to organizations to convene BIPOC business owners to identify paths forward to advocate for and support those businesses. The state is also committing to collect race and gender data on the owners of businesses to better understand the composition and diversity of Vermont businesses.
The Capital Bill: Building Back Better: Statewide Infrastructure
The Capital Bill, H.438, invests $123 million over two years in a range of projects critical both to pandemic recovery and to the future of Vermont, including courthouse renovations and HVAC, clean water, state park upgrades, state office building maintenance, mental health facilities, and affordable housing.
It also expands the Building Communities Grant Program, which invests in local economies and helps communities preserve historic buildings, improve ADA accessibility, and address fire safety in recreational, educational, cultural and human service facilities. Municipalities, schools, libraries and nonprofits are encouraged to apply.
Reforming VT’s Correctional System
Vermont is committed to building a criminal justice system that is equitable and rehabilitative, where state employees and the incarcerated Vermonters in their care are safe and treated with dignity and respect.
H.435 addresses sexual misconduct and systemic issues within the Department of Corrections (DOC) that came to light at the women's facility in South Burlington. The bill drew heavily from recommendations in the independent report by Downs Rachlin Martin.
New Women’s Correctional & Reentry Facility in Planning Stages
The women's Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility is in dire need of replacement to better serve women and their unique reentry needs. $1.5 million is in the Capital Bill to design a new facility or facilities.
Improving Public School Facilities
H.426 uses federal relief money to update school facilities and improve health and safety conditions for students and staff. The work begins with an update of the school facility standards and a statewide conditions inventory and assessment for all school buildings. The bill also establishes a renewable and efficiency heating systems grant program administered by Efficiency Vermont and implements a requirement that each public and independent school in the state perform radon measurements by June 2023. Additional time for testing is granted to schools in the process of implementing indoor air quality improvement projects. The long-term goal is to make sure that our school buildings are well-maintained, energy-efficient, safe, and healthy places that meet the needs of 21st century education and technology.
Improving Literacy; Addressing Learning Loss Post-Pandemic
S.114 allocates $3 million in federal stimulus funds to improve reading proficiency among all Vermont students, and especially those in grades PreK-3. The Agency of Education will provide professional development learning modules for teachers in key areas of literacy instruction, and help supervisory unions to implement evidence-based literacy strategies that address learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Community Schools Pilot Program
H.106 invests $3.3 million in a demonstration grant program that will allow eligible districts to explore the innovative “community schools” model. Sometimes known as full-service schools, community schools help kids and families access vital services such as health care, mental health counseling, or help with food or housing, often right in the building. They serve as resource hubs that provide a range of accessible, well-coordinated, and culturally inclusive supports and services.
The bill also kick-starts a grant program to help schools buy more food that’s grown or produced in Vermont, and creates a task force with the goal of achieving universal school lunches by the 2026-2027 school year.
Task Force to Implement Pupil Weighting Factors
S.13 establishes a task force to develop a plan to implement the correct weights identified by a comprehensive report in 2019 to determine allowable spending by schools on students with greater learning needs caused by poverty, English as a Second Language, and other factors. The legislature will use the plan in the upcoming legislative session.
Providing Universal Access to Broadband
25 percent of Vermonters still lack access to adequate broadband, an increasingly critical element of how we work, attend school, communicate, socialize, receive health care, purchase goods and services.
H.360 dedicates $150 million of federal stimulus funds to the construction of broadband infrastructure in the most underserved parts of the state. The bill includes funding for pre-construction planning and design costs, grants for building broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas, and a new broadband workforce development program. The bill also creates the Vermont Community Broadband Board to coordinate and support Vermont’s eleven Communication Union Districts and their partners with the technical, legal, and financial assistance to accelerate the deployment of universal broadband service across Vermont. H.360 prioritizes the deployment of fiber infrastructure, giving Vermonters access to at least 100mbps download/100mbps upload service.
Modernizing State IT Systems
The Agency of Digital Services estimates that the state will need to spend $1 billion on information technology (IT) projects in the next 10 years. This year’s budget includes $66 million of investments for a dozen systems upgrades, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Bright Futures Information System, phase I of the Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance program, and making critical cybersecurity upgrades. By dedicating a significant down-payment to long-deferred IT projects this year, we can address an issue that affects all aspects of state government and serves Vermonters.
Preserving Public Pensions System for State Employees & Teachers
H.449 focuses on governance changes that will amend the Vermont Pension Investment Commission (VPIC) to include more independent, financial expertise. It also established the Pension Benefits, Design & Funding Task Force to meet this summer with a “report-back” to the legislature for putting the retirement systems on a sustainable path.
In the budget, the legislature reserved $150 million of General Fund dollars along with the annual ADEC payment of $316 million for a total investment this year of $466 million, a massive commitment for the legislature in a single year.
Making vote-by-mail permanent:
S.15 continues the universal Vote-By-Mail program that was initiated in 2020 to deal with voting during the pandemic, with a 74% participation rate. The bill adds other important election measures:
Ballots with postage-paid return envelopes mailed to all active registered voters.
Voters may cure defective ballots if, for example, they forgot to sign the certificate envelope, or failed to return unvoted primary ballots along with the voted ballot of their party choice.
Access to secure ballot drop boxes that are accessible 24/7 for voters to return their ballots.
A limit on the number of ballots someone can deliver on behalf of others.
Progress on Healthcare Premiums
Vermonters buying on the individual market should now pay no more than 8.5 percent of their income on health insurance as a result of important changes made this year. Both small businesses with less than 100 employees, and individuals purchasing health insurance outside of their workplaces, can save substantial dollars on healthcare premiums as a result of significantly increased federal funding for healthcare premium support, and a change in the health insurance structure in Vermont that’s contained within the larger bill, S.88. Many small businesses, nonprofits and municipalities will see reduced premiums. Individual increases will be offset by new federal funds which provide subsidies and tax credits to help pay for premiums. It’s important that Vermonters who buy health insurance on the individual market review their options. Here’s a link to Vermont Health Connect, which offers an active assistance program, a plan comparison tool, and a customer support center. In addition, the Office of the Health Care Advocate is a valuable and free resource.
Promoting Healthcare Equity
The Department of Health’s 2018 State Health Assessment reveals that not all Vermonters have a fair and just opportunity to be healthy. From access to health care, mental health and morbidity, statistics show significant disparities across the Green Mountain State based on race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability status. H.210 begins the long-term process of breaking down these barriers. The bill creates a “Health Equity Advisory Commission,” made up primarily of Vermonters whose lives have been impacted by historic inequitable treatment in accessing health care, while empowering their voices to develop an Office of Health Equity by no later than January 1, 2023.
Healthcare for Undocumented Women & Children
H.430 provides immediate increased access to health care for income-eligible pregnant women and children, regardless of their immigration status, by establishing a Dr. Dynasaur-like healthcare program. This coverage begins on July 1, 2021. These undocumented women and children often work or live with their families on the farms and dairies that are essential to our Vermont economy. Because of fear regarding immigration status being revealed, confidentiality is critical. We know that prenatal care and medical care in childhood can improve health outcomes over a lifetime, as well as reduce costs for both education and health care systems.
Prohibiting “Forever Chemicals” from Consumer Products
Many Vermonters know that PFAS chemicals were found to contaminate drinking water in Bennington and North Bennington in 2016. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not biodegrade in the environment and accumulate within our bodies over time. This exposure leads to a number of adverse health effects, including an increased risk of cancer. Research is showing that you don’t need to live in a contaminated area to be exposed to PFAS, because these chemicals are used in many consumer products.
S.20 addresses this issue upstream by preventing these toxic substances from entering our state. S.20 prohibits manufacture and sale of PFAS from four products that pose the highest risks to Vermonters’ well-being, including food packaging, fire extinguisher foam and firefighting PPE, rugs and carpets, and ski wax. S.20 takes comprehensive steps to protect Vermonters from toxic chemicals and prevent future harm to the environment and public health.
Childcare: Essential to Economic Recovery
H.171 takes monumental steps towards reforming our childcare system, investing in our future, and supporting the next generation of Vermont’s citizens. Not only does H.171 make childcare more affordable, it removes barriers to access, ensures fair wages for providers, establishes workforce development programs, and creates a study to identify future revenue sources for a more deeply subsidized universal childcare system.
Expanding use of Buprenorphine to combat opioid-related deaths
In 2020 there were 157 opioid-related deaths in Vermont. Most were accidental, and 88% involved fentanyl that is mixed with other drugs, like heroin. Buprenorphine offers a safer alternative for people living with opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine reduces the risk of relapse for people in recovery by blocking opioid cravings and reducing the likelihood of fatal overdose from fentanyl.
But “bupe” has not been widely available in Vermont because of: distance from a clinic, lack of transportation or insurance coverage, inconvenient clinic hours, and cumbersome requirements to maintain a prescription. In response to the urgent need to reduce harm from opioid use, H.225 removes criminal penalties for possession of less than a two-week supply of non-prescribed buprenorphine. This legislation will save lives by supporting Vermonters in the management of their substance use disorders, encourage them to seek safer alternatives, and get into formal treatment.
Addressing the Prevalence of Sexual Assault in Vermont
Consider these alarming statistics:
one in five women have experienced sexual assault
one in three women have experienced sexual coercion
nine percent of high school girls in Vermont report having unwanted sex
students of color and LGBTQ students are statically more likely to be coerced to have sex
only 230 of every 1,000 sexual assaults are ever reported and only five result in convictions.
To address this crisis, the legislature passed H.183. This bill revises and clarifies our laws addressing consent to sexual activity, including the impact of alcohol consumption, to eliminate any confusion as to when consent to sexual activity has not and cannot be given. The bill also creates a Campus Sexual Harm Task Force to tackle the high number of sexual assaults that take place on our college campuses.
Eliminating “Trans Panic Defense”
H.128. This bill prevents minimizing a crime in our court system because the victim is transgender. Throughout the country, there have been court cases where defendants were able to use a “trans panic defense” to have assault charges against them lessened or dismissed altogether.
Updating Vermont’s Bottle Bill
H.175 updates Vermont’s 50 year old bottle bill by expanding the types of containers subject to deposits such as water bottles, wine bottles, hard cider and tea containers, and others. This bill will also increase the handling fees paid to vendors, which will encourage the opening of more redemption centers. Containers recycled via the deposit system are cleaner and more valuable than if they go through the general recycling stream, and a greater percentage of them will be made into new containers. Glass, in particular, is much easier to manage as a recycled material if it goes through redemption centers versus a curbside bin.
Vermont’s Water Quality Standards
H.108 - An act relating to Vermont standards for issuing a Clean Water Act section 401 certification, puts in place evaluation tools that the state needs to assess large projects that require federal licensing or permits, such as proposed oil or gas pipeline projects. The bill also clarifies the long-time interpretation and practice that Vermont’s water quality standards apply to all of our surface waters: rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and wetlands.
Ensuring Safe, Affordable & Accessible Transportation for All Vermonters
This year's Transportation Bill (H.433) and FY22 Budget (H.439) appropriate millions of dollars to maintain safety and improve critical infrastructure like federal, state and town-owned highways, bridges and culverts. Financial support is also set aside to facilitate the forthcoming New York City-Burlington rail service, to ensure the long-term maintenance of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, and to support more than 40 bike and pedestrian projects. And for those who can’t drive, bike or walk their way from “point A to point B,” various public transit initiatives have been set in place, including making “Zero Fare” on buses continue through June 2022.
Steering Vermont Transportation Into the Future
The Transportation Bill and Budget invest millions of dollars in incentives to help Vermonters move from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEV). Support is also set aside for additional public charging stations. Also added are incentives to purchase electric bikes. Funds were also directed to address stormwater and improve water quality, to construct bicycle and pedestrian facilities as well as Park and Rides, and to support the growth of carpools and vanpools.
Getting $ to Working Families
Provided tax relief to working families by pairing with federal initiatives to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child and Dependent Care Credit. For EITC, the age was expanded - from 25 to 19 years and removed the 65-year-old cap to qualify - and increased the credit amount for single-filers
Food Scraps fed to Chickens reclassified as Feed “Agricultural Inputs,” Not Solid Waste
The solution in S. 102 solved a long-standing conflict between two state agencies, allowing farms to avoid costly and lengthy Act 250 proceedings but subjecting them to Required Agricultural Practices as they feed food scraps to chickens. Left still is the rule making process to put more guidelines in place. S.102