WAIT JUST A MINUTE
It is common for the debate over the budget to last hours and run late into the night. This year however, any observer who stepped away for a minute might have missed the introduction, debate and vote entirely. Ok, you would have had to step away for a little longer than one minute but regardless it's clear there is tripartisan support for the budget this year.
As we write this week’s newsletter the House has yet to take the budget up for third reading and is embroiled in a debate over gun safety legislation, which we discuss later in the report. All signs indicate the budget will pass with considerable support and without significant amendments.
Governor Scott has not indicated if he supports the budget but he did make clear there are a number of bills he will not support because he believes they violate his no new fees or taxes pledge. The list is interesting for what is included but also for what is not. The governor made it clear that he does not support S.260, which does not contain a new fee or tax but does establish a committee that would consider a per-parcel fee in the future to pay for lake cleanup. His list does not include the paid family leave bill which creates a payroll tax to fund the program.
You can see the whole list here.
In addition to the budget and revenue bills passing the House there is an extended debate on gun safety legislation. The House is still debating the amendments and each individual section of the bill. The House approved universal background checks by a vote of 81-63 and is still scheduled to vote on other provisions of the bill, including a provision dealing with large-capacity magazines. |
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GUN DEBATE CONTINUES
The heated discussion about gun safety continued as the House Judiciary Committee approved, by a 6-5 vote, an amended version of S.55. The House Judiciary version of the bill requires a background check for private sales of firearms, raises the age at which one can purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, bans bump stocks and limits the capacity of ammunition magazines (an idea that Governor Scott claimed credit for at his weekly news conference). At the time of this writing, the bill is being extensively debated on the House floor. Students from high schools across Vermont came to the State House on Wednesday to testify before the House and Senate education committees, urging legislators to pass common sense gun reform. A large crowd is also expected in Montpelier on Saturday for the “March For Our Lives” rally. Citizens clad in orange hunting safety clothing have also been present to observe the progression of the bill throughout most of the week. |
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FY2019 BUDGET
The House is set to give final approval to the FY2019 budget, pending the conclusion of the gun debate. The $5.85 billion spending package reduces reliance on one-time funding, includes an increase to home and community based providers, investments in higher education, and adds $10 million from tobacco settlement funds to the teachers’ retirement fund to help address the longstanding unfunded pension liability. The budget now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which will have their own opportunity to present a vision for how the state invests its dollars in FY2019.
You can read a summary of the FY2019 house-passed budget here. |
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COVERAGE CO
Earlier this week news broke in the form of a letter from the Department of Public Service that Coverage Co’s network of small cell sites is likely to cease operation this Friday. Coverage Co’s network provided 2G roaming service to subscribers of several of the large national cell service providers in rural, otherwise unserved areas of the state. Of particular concern is the cessation of service in Townshend due to the presence of that community's small hospital, Grace Cottage. The state of Vermont, via the now discontinued Vermont Telecommunications Authority, assisted in the establishment of the Coverage Co network earlier this decade by spending $4 million to buy the necessary radio equipment, which it leases to Coverage Co. As it turns out Coveage Co’s expenses in operating its network in Vermont exceed the revenues it derived from the network, so it has decided to abandon the enterprise and leave the state. The House Energy & Technology Committee and the Senate Finance Committee both took testimony on the situation, and the House passed a resolution, H.R. 21, urging the Scott administration to intervene and rectify the situation. |
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EMPLOYMENT & LABOR ISSUES
Sexual Harassment (H.707) - This bill contains numerous provisions to address sexual harassment in the workplace. It passed the House and is pending in the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee.
Minimum Wage (S.40) - This bill passed the Senate and proposes to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024. It is pending in the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee.
Remote and flexible work arrangements (S.94) - This bill proposes to establish a “remote worker” grant program to pay for certain expenses for people who live and work full-time in another state but move to Vermont and work remotely. The bill received preliminary approval from the Senate on Friday, 3/23.
Wage history (H.294) - This bill limits the ability of an employer to obtain information about a prospective employees salary history during the interview process.The bill passed the House and is pending in the Senate Economic Developing, Housing and General Affairs Committee. |
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EDUCATION FINANCE
On Wednesday the House gave approval to H.911, which proposes to make changes to Vermont’s education finance system. The bill would shift $59 million in education funding from the property tax to the income tax. Governor Scott was quick to highlight opposition to the bill, citing the increase to Vermonters’ income tax bill. The governor would prefer that the legislature examine opportunities to reduce the total amount spent on education in the state. H.911 as passed by the House also eliminates the state income tax on Social Security benefits for taxpayers whose income is less than $45,000 and joint filers whose income is less than $60,000 - a proposal that the governor has expressed support for. |
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CHEMICAL BILL
A bill that would create strict liability requirements for both legal and illegal chemical discharges passed the Senate this week. S.197 would impose strict liability on any entity responsible for a chemical release. It would also require these entities to bear the cost of medical monitoring if a claim of harm is brought against them. The bill is very controversial and seen by the manufacturing and business communities as overly and unnecessarily broad. The debate on the floor led to somewhat unusual public infighting among Senators, when Senator Dick Sears, D-Bennington accused Senator Ann Cummings, D-Washington, of bowing to special interest. Cummings vehemently denied this, saying she is concerned with understanding how the legislation would impact insurance rates. Ultimately a study of the impact on insurance was added to the bill. S.197 passed the Senate by a close vote of 17-13. |
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T-BILL PASSES HOUSE
This week the House passed H.917, a bill that funds the state’s transportation projects and makes other changes to Vermont’s transportation laws. Sections 19 and 20 relate to the regulation by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of electric vehicle charging stations and the retail sale of electricity to plug-in electric vehicles. The bill then crossed over to the Senate and was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee. |
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GREENHOUSE GAS STUDY
The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee advanced H.763, a bill that proposes to require the Joint Fiscal Office to study and analyze the costs and benefits for Vermont of adopting regional and Vermont-only approaches to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by Vermont’s consumption of fossil fuels, including a carbon tax. The bill was referred to the House Appropriations Committee because it includes a $100,000 appropriation for the study. Here is a link to the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee’s version of the bill. |
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UNIVERSAL PRIMARY CARE
The Senate approved a bill that would study the implementation and cost of a statewide universal primary care program. S.53 directs the Green Mountain Care Board to convene a stakeholder workgroup to study the mechanics of a universal primary care system including services, benefits, impacts on providers and costs. The bill that passed the Senate was a much paired-down amendment to the version that was approved by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. The Health and Welfare Committee recommended the creation of an operational model for universal primary care and a set timeline for full implementation by 2021. This was reduced to a study on the Senate Appropriations Committee because of concerns about funding. The bill will be referred to the House Health Care Committee. |
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