The last couple of weeks of a legislative session are
marked by a frenzy of movement as bills pass back and forth between the House
and Senate with proposals of amendment and further proposals of amendment. When
agreement can’t be reached through the amendment process, conference committees
are appointed to work out a compromise acceptable to both chambers. This year the processes worked smoothly, and
agreements were able to be reached on most of the key bills. But there were a few disappointments.
The governor used his veto pen liberally. An earlier
veto of a housing bill resulted in going back to the drawing board to remove or
adjust provisions he objected to. Another was the ban on firearms in hospitals
which contained a provision to close the “Charleston loophole,” which allowed a
firearm to be purchased if a federal background check didn’t complete in 3
days. Senate bill S.30 required a
completed background check, regardless of how long it took, for a sale to be
legal, which the governor felt was unacceptable. A compromise was reached to permit a sale
after 7 business days if the background check didn’t complete, and the governor
signed the bill.
After a summer of negotiations involving legislators,
representatives from the teachers’ and state employees’ unions, the State
Treasurer and the Commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, a
pension bill was passed with the agreement of all parties to the negotiations. The bill, S.286, passed with unanimous
support in the House and Senate. Because the bill didn’t include allowing
defined contribution plans (401(k)-type plans) for new employees, a last-minute
demand of the governor, he vetoed it. The consensus is that including that
option would undercut the sustainability of the pension system and bring us
back to square one. For the first time
in Vermont history, the veto was overridden by unanimous roll-call votes in the
House and Senate.
Two more vetoes, one on a Burlington charter change
that required a just cause for evictions and another on the Clean Heat Standard
bill, H.715, which my committee worked on, were upheld by a one vote
margin. With 100 votes required to
override, both override efforts failed on a 99 – 51 vote, very disappointing on
both counts. The governor objected to the Clean Heat Standard bill after it was
passed by the House because the costs are unknown, and there would be no chance
for the legislature to weigh in after the Public Utility Commission designed
the program. With that objection in mind
the Senate amended the bill to require legislative review and approval of the
program before it could start. He vetoed the bill anyway.
Vetoes aside, the session was very productive because of the huge influx of federal ARPA and infrastructure bill money. Bolstered by strong state revenues, many programs were enacted using one-time federal money to help low- and middle-income Vermonters, children, students, and workers who have been struggling in the COVID-impacted economy. These appropriations included $95M for broadband; $70M for housing, including $20M for the “missing middle” and manufactured housing; $26M for mental health, developmental disability services, and home health care; $138M for workforce development including nursing education, skilled trades and worker re-training; $35M for the Vermont state college system; $50M for IT systems modernization; $215M for climate initiatives including weatherization, municipal energy resilience, advanced electrical metering, and EV incentives; $104M for clean water initiatives including municipal water and wastewater systems; and many other services for a total budget of $8.3 billion. In his closing remarks to the House just prior to our adjournment on Thursday evening of May 12, Governor Scott praised the legislature for its work for the people and the economy of Vermont.
As always, I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).
