Here are mid-session updates for the bills we have been following this session. Our "chance of passage" ratings take into account that our Legislature has been undertaking the monumental task of responding to the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Here is the legislative schedule for 3/26 - 3/27. 

Please note, this is not a list of every committee meeting; there are many more happening than what is on this list. These are the ones Campaign for Vermont has identified as being most relevant to our Three E's of Prosperity - Education, Ethics, and Economics.

These schedules are all subject to change with little to no warning. 

Committee meetings are being streamed live on YouTube. Clicking the link next to a meeting listing below will take you the schedule page for that committee. This is where you can find the YouTube link.

The State House is closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This does not mean the public input process is also closed. You can, and should, continue to reach out to your Senators and Representatives on important issues. 

Pat McDonald asks: Why isn't Vermont an open book?

Last week, Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) submitted testimony to the Senate Education Committee which included a new analysis on the impacts of the recent Pupil Weighting Study. 

The high-level analysis shows that 77 districts (generally those with the highest poverty rates) would see an average tax rate decrease of $0.18 and 39 districts (generally those with the lowest poverty rates) would see an average increase of $0.16. Under the modeling, the average tax rate would fall slightly from $1.51 to $1.499 while overall revenues would increase $10M.

So, what is pupil weighting? In simplest terms, it is the formula that determines the dollars-per-student contribution from the state to a Vermont public school. It seeks to take into account variables that impact how much it costs to educate a school's students such as population density, poverty rate, and the number of English language learners. The intended outcome is an equitable distribution of state funds that puts money into the communities that need it the most. 

The charts below show the town-by-town tax implications of these changes. Please bear in mind that these numbers are by no means set in stone and are subject to change before any vote takes place. 

If the charts are too small to view, click here to view the complete JFO testimony that contains this data. 

Vermont's Act 250 is a huge and complicated beast. H.926, An Act Related To Making Changes to Act 250 was voted out of the House Natural Resources Committee 6-3-2 this week.

As listed by Representative Sibilia, here is a breakdown of the changes happening to this landmark bill.