As the Legislature makes it through crossover, we remain busy on the floor doing our best to represent your needs. The House has seen great success with the number of bills crossing over to the Senate this session. Here is a list of major bills passed out of the House:
• H.721 expands Vermont Medicaid insurance to some of the most vulnerable low-income Vermonters when they reach 65 years of age during the transition from Medicaid to Medicare by expanding the eligibility of the Medicare Savings Program. This expansion includes an additional 15,000 older Vermonters and is predicted to save over 19,000 low-income Vermonters $2,096 per year in premiums. This is a $22 million investment from the state, which allows for the state to draw down an additional $38 million in federal funding.
• H.687 intends to adapt Act 250 policies to mitigate the Vermont housing crisis, without sacrificing its original intentions to protect Vermont’s scenic integrity. The bill fixes Act 250 governance by creating a professional board to oversee its administration and operation.
The board will also hear appeals of jurisdictional opinions and district commission decisions. This aligns practice with Act 250’s roots as a citizen-friendly process, which is typically faster than the court system. Second, it transitions to a system of jurisdiction determined by location, rather than by size of development projects. It creates a tiered system in which certain locations that meet a given prerequisite trigger Act 250 procedures in varying capacities.
While not a housing bill, it relaxes regulation for housing in more urban centers, increasing the capacity for new development. In summary, this is an environmental justice bill that allows for growth, while ensuring new development does not occur in crucial river corridors and flood plains.
• H.829 would invest $17.5 million this year, and up to $92 million next year, to increase the supply of affordable housing units, and to increase affordability for low- and middle-income earners. The bill proposes this funding be leveraged from a property transfer tax surcharge on the purchase of homes valued over $750,000, and a new personal income tax bracket that would increase taxes by 3 percent on marginal income over $500,000.
The ethos of this bill is to adjust taxes on Vermont’s wealthiest residents to balance and support crucial public infrastructure. This may not be the best or most comprehensive solution; however, it is the plan moving forward to address the current housing crisis.
• H.880 aims to increase the judicial system’s ability to process criminal cases expeditiously. Currently, the Vermont court system is working through a backlog of cases that pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic. To combat this, this bill initiates a two-year plan to provide resources to courts, prosecutors, defenders, the Vermont Department of Corrections and victim advocates to community justice centers to ease the pressure on courts, and to the Vermont Access to Justice Coalition to improve outcomes in the civil justice system.
The bill is supported by an allocation of $7.5 million investment for fiscal year 2025. We have heard communities mention that public safety is a critical issue, and this is the beginning of a response. It’s not the whole answer, but it is a starting foundation as the judiciary committee continues its work.
• H.873 intends to pause further testing for airborne PCBs in school buildings to protect the remediation funding for schools that have already been found to have airborne PCB levels above the state-created action levels, but which have not fulfilled their legal obligation to the PCB program to fully remove them within four years. The premise is to prevent the development of an unfunded mandate on property taxpayers, as schools will have to cover the cost if the remediation fund is no longer available.
Moving out of crossover, the House Committee on General and Housing has been thrown into the world of labor law and collective bargaining. Specifically, we’ve been hearing testimony on S.102, an act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights.
We are also currently working on Proposition 3, a constitutional amendment to codify the right to collectively bargain. This past Thursday, we shifted our attention back to housing and heard from many groups, including the Department of Housing and Community Development, Vermont Housing Finance Agency, ABT Associates, among others. We heard strong testimony from these first two groups on the Homes for All Toolkit, which suggests that this work is most effective on a local level. I applaud any brave community member who is willing to take on this work. To learn more about Toolkit, go to bit.ly/4cWU70c.
The past few weeks I’ve spoken with a few youth groups across the community to demonstrate what a state legislator does, and ways for our youth to get involved if they wish. I spoke to students at the Hazen Union School in Hardwick and Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg. I also witnessed the Youth Speak Out on the steps of the Statehouse in celebration of queer voices. It is always informative to hear from these young members of our community.
Saudia LaMont, a Democrat from Morrisville, also represents Elmore, Woodbury, Worcester and Stowe in the Vermont House.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexual language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be proactive. Use the "Report" link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.