VOTE: Basic Needs Budget - March 20, 2024
S.246, which amends the Vermont basic needs budget, appeared on the Senate Floor on Wednesday afternoon. Senator Clarkson outlined the members that assisted in a Technical Advisory Committee. They reviewed the Basic Needs Budget and Livable Wage metrics which are assessed by the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) biennially and presented to the Senate Committees.
Read moreChanges to VEGI - March 20, 2024
H.10 was presented in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Representative Toleno spoke for the Committee on Appropriations, reporting in favor of its passage.
Read moreCooperative Education Services (H.630) - March 20, 2024
Legislative Counsel began the House Ways & Means Committee meeting on Wednesday with a discussion regarding the inclusion of Career and Technical Education centers (CTEs) in the Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) model that in H.630.
Read moreChanges to Clean Heat Standard (S.305) - March 20, 2024
Senator Bray provided an overview of S.305 to the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon. He described the bill as creating a number of fixes. He reminded Senators that they had passed the Energy Efficiency Modernization Act in 2020, which was a three-year pilot program allowing electrical efficiency utilities to use $2M of efficiency charge money for pilot projects focused on energy reduction. However, the climate crisis is being driven by the thermal sector and transportation so they asked them to see if they could find solutions in these areas.
Read moreFuture of VEGI - March 19, 2024
Chairman Marcotte presented Jessica Hartleben (Executive Director, Vermont Economic Progress Council) to the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday morning. She focused her presentation on the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) and a proposed forgivable loan incentive. She shared that the Council supports S.247 as it sends a message to the business community that “Vermont is encouraging businesses to come… stay… and create better workforce opportunities for Vermonters.”
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Bill (H.874) - March 20, 2024
The House Ways and Means Committee reviewed H.874 on Wednesday.
The bill proposes several amendments to education law in Vermont. The amendments include repealing the High School Completion Program and making changes to the State's adult education and literacy program. The bill also aims to continue funding for the community schools program, require school districts to include military-related options in career development and postsecondary planning resources, and require the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) to include information on military-related options in planning resources.
Read moreVOTE: Workforce Development Governance (H.707) - March 20, 2024
Representative from the House Commerce Committee presented a revised version of H.707 on the House floor on Wednesday. The bill is an overhaul of Vermont’s workforce governance oversight which focused on workforce development, education, and training. The recommendations made in the bill are a direct result of the creative of a task force in 2022 consisting of key players with the State workforce system and a workforce specialist consultant.
Read moreGMCB Oversight of Drug Prices (S.98) - March 15, 2024
Jennifer Carbee (Director, Office of Legislative Counsel) reviewed amendments on S.98 on Friday. It is an act relating to Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) authority over prescription drug costs. It specifies that the GMCB, in consultation with its own technical advisory groups and other state agencies, shall explore and create a framework and methodology for implementing a program to oversee the cost of prescription drugs for Vermont consumers and Vermont’s health care system. The Board shall consider options for and likely impacts of regulating the cost of prescription drugs that includes prescription drug affordability.
Read moreMunicipal Ethics - March 12-15, 2024
The Ethics Bill, Draft 24-0229 was passed out of the House Government Operations Committee after many hours of testimony and work by the Committee. The final bill combined the two draft Ethics Bills that the Committee was working with – one focused on municipal ethics and the other on creating independent oversight authority for the Vermont Ethics Commission. The final bill was passed out of committee on a 10 to 2 vote and will now receive a bill number and will appear on the House floor for a vote of the full body.
Read moreEducation Spending Update - March 14, 2024
Nicole Lee (Director of Education Finance, Agency of Education) began the House Ways & Means hearing on Thursday with a presentation of recent Education Fund projections following school budget defeats. They have received preliminary redrafted budgets from 18 districts (out of 30 that were defeated) that represent a weighted average increase of 12.17%. These 18 budgets represent just over a quarter of all students in the state, but notably don’t include Milton or Washington Central.
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