Senate Government Operations Committee

Dear Madame Chair and Committee Members,

Campaign for Vermont Prosperity (CFV) has been following the Pension Liability issue throughout this legislative session and has weighed in from time to time.   Before we comment further on H.449 we would like to recognize the work that the House and Senate Government Operations Committee, the Treasurer and so many others have done to bring the attention due to this critical issue. The comments below are reflective of the “Draft – As Amended After Second Reading 2021” document.

We are excited to be able to share the second phase of our economic recovery plan from Covid-19. Please consider supporting our efforts in the legislature to move forward these and other ideas. If you missed our introduction or Phase 1 of this plan, you can find them here.

Phase 2 – The Courtship. There is little doubt that Covid-19 has changed our world for good. One of the most meaningful ways is how we work. Many employers have discovered the benefits and limitations of remote work. Major corporations like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify have gone remote. Salesforce even went as far as to declare that the 9-5 workday was dead. Office buildings in downtown San Francisco and Manhattan are now empty. What’s more, the majority of workers prefer to continue working remotely even after restrictions are lifted. Experts are predicting that 25-30% of the US workforce will still be working from home, at least part-time, at the end of 2021.[1]

There is little doubt that Covid-19 has changed our world for good. One of the most meaningful ways is how we work. Many employers have discovered the benefits and limitations of remote work. This presents a massive opportunity for Vermont. We are within the drive market of multiple major metropolitan areas, we have an international airport, and our quality of life was ranked #2 (behind Hawaii) by CNBC in 2019.[2] This allows workers the flexibility to live a rural lifestyle but have relatively easy access to international travel or corporate offices should the need arise.

We are excited to be able to share the first phase of our economic recovery plan from Covid-19. Please consider supporting our efforts in the legislature to move forward these and other ideas. If you missed our introduction to this plan, you can find it here.

Alright folks, here’s the problem; no one knows what the heck to do about economic recovery from Covid-19 and perhaps rightly so. The last time it was done was over 100 years ago and today’s economy looks much different than at the end of the last pandemic in industrial 1918 United States.

PRESS RELEASE - APRIL 7, 2021

Campaign for Vermont has long been an advocate for pension reform. After nearly a decade of stubbornness, to our surprise, the legislature is now poised to take meaningful action. The pension policy recommendations that emerged from the House Government Operations Committee last week is surprisingly comprehensive despite its 11^th hour appearance. Not surprisingly, the teachers and state employee’s unions have summarily condemned the proposal.

The House and Senate have now passed a combined 92 bills. Several key pieces of legislation have now moved from the House to the Senate and we are keeping track of them. Below are some of the highlights.

We have some clarity now. A number of bills came together to meet the crossover threshold this week. A few more are on the way and will likely be given exceptions because of their importance. We will provide a full list in the next couple days, but here are some of the highlights we have been following.

All will become clear shortly. The last few bills to make crossover will be finalized this week. Last week had some ups and downs. First, the legislature is now expecting to have $200M on hand from the latest round of stimulus funds to put towards broadband buildout. This is nearly a 670% increase over what the state had planned to spend in FY2022. Also on the upside, stronger voices have started testifying on the state of our pension funds. The downside? We can't really tell if they are being taken seriously. Also disappointing, the Senate doesn't seem to be interested in passing an ethics bill this year despite the House sending them a pretty cut-and-dry one.