The legislative session went into overtime last week with
expectations that we would be able to not only finish a number of must-pass
legislation like the budget and revenue bills, the Transportation bill, and the
Clean Water funding bill, but also two bills that were on the high priority
list for Democrats: paid family leave and increasing the minimum wage. One thing that’s true of every legislative
session I’ve experienced is that when it ends, we can look at a lot of
legislative accomplishments as well as some significant disappointments.
The inability to pass paid family leave and a path to a $15
minimum wage, two separate issues that became linked as they moved between the
House and Senate, came down to a failure to agree between the two
chambers. Both bills stalled in
conference committees as the Senate refused to move on the House-passed family
leave bill unless the House agreed to the faster schedule of minimum wage
increases in the Senate bill. Attempts
to reach a compromise agreement failed on Friday after House Speaker Johnson
offered to the Senate negotiators a menu of six possible solutions that the
House could accept. Even with a decision on Friday, the House would have to
come back the next week because the Republican caucus would not agree to
suspend rules to allow immediate action on those bills. Without a positive response from the Senate,
Johnson asked the Senate to send the budget and revenue bills, which had been
agreed to in conference, back to the House for consideration. The House passed
those bills as amended, and she asked for a motion to adjourn. Both bills will
remain in conference and can be worked on over the summer to be taken up in
January.
To end on a positive note, here’s a recap of some of the
important legislation that did pass this year.
Economy
- Broadband expansion –
H.513 increases funding for the Connectivity Initiative and authorizes
Communication Union Districts and municipalities to form partnerships with
pole-owning utilities to build fiber-optic networks in rural areas.
- Workforce Development –
H.533 promotes training opportunities for small businesses and adult
workforce development, creates weatherization training programs, decreases
barriers for new Americans to enter the workforce, and creates a program
to encourage members of the Armed Forces separating from active duty to
relocate to Vermont.
- Child care – included in
the budget is $7.4M for child care assistance for both families and
providers.
Climate Change
- Weatherization – H.63
creates an all-fuels efficiency program to target low and moderate-income
households for weatherization assistance.
- Transportation efficiency
– Transportation bills H.529 and S.149 create a $1.2M incentive program
for electric vehicle purchases and assistance for Vermonters to fix
vehicles that fail emissions tests, allocates $500,000 for state fleet EV
purchases, and provides money for EV charging stations and Park & Ride
expansion.
Environment
- Clean Water – S.96 funds
$50M for the clean water initiative.
- Plastic Bags – S.113 bans
merchants from providing plastic bags at points of sale and also bans styrofoam
containers, plastic straws and plastic stirrers.
Health
- Tobacco –S.86, H.47 and
H.26 combine to raise the age of buying tobacco products to 21, tax
e-cigarettes and accessories at the same rate as tobacco and prohibit
internet sales of e-cigarettes.
- Toxic chemicals – S.49 sets
limits on PFAS chemicals in drinking water and monitoring standards for public
water supplies. S.55 requires a business responsible for a release of
toxic chemicals to pay for medical monitoring of exposed individuals.
- Lead in Schools - S.40 provides funds to
test and remediate lead in school drinking water fixtures.
These are some of the major pieces of legislation that will stimulate
economic development, help Vermonters reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
contribute to the health of Vermont children and families.
