Dear Neighbors,

Vermont’s legislative session has moved past the halfway point, with the House and the Senate each finalizing bills to send down the Statehouse hallway to the other chamber.  Here is a brief update:

Budget:  This week the House approved the annual budget bill to fund state government from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.  The bipartisan Appropriations Committee had recommended the balanced budget on a unanimous vote of 11-0.  The $9.4 billion budget represents a conservative 1.6% increase over the current year budget, reflecting slower expected growth in state revenues and reduced federal funding. 

The House also approved H. 949, the annual “yield” bill, the mechanism that formally sets tax rates to pay for the school budgets that voters have approved.  With many taxpayers feeling the pinch of rising costs on housing, fuel, groceries and other basic necessities, this year’s yield bill uses $52 million in surplus general fund revenue to offset some of the property tax increases included in many school budgets.  If the bill is passed and signed into law, Sunderland’s homestead tax rate would increase by about 3 percent compared with last year.  The rates for most Shaftsbury residents won’t be fully known until a Union Elementary District budget is approved by voters, though the town-wide reappraisal will likely lead to higher tax bills in general.  (The SVUESD school board is working on a revised budget with a vote expected sometime in April.) 

[Homestead Declaration Reminder:  Before you file your income taxes (or if you’ve already filed them), double check to be sure you or your preparer has included the Vermont Homestead Declaration HS-122 and Household Income forms.  All Vermont resident homeowners are required to file HS 122 annually, and failing to do so will result in your paying more in property taxes than you should.]

Savings on Prescriptions:  H. 577 would allow Vermont to join ArrayRx, a prescription drug discount program operated by a collaborative of states.  Supported by the office of Treasurer Mike Pieciak and recommended by the Green Mountain Care Board, the program would provide discounts up to 80 percent on generic and 20 percent on brand-name drugs.  Any Vermonter would be eligible to participate, free of charge, and even families with good insurance coverage could see savings.  (Average household savings in states that currently participate are over $2000 per year.)  The state Treasurer would administer the program by pooling resources with other states.  Given the increasing unaffordability of healthcare, I was particularly pleased to support this bill.

Public safety:  H. 606 allows a court to restrict access to firearms for individuals who have been found by a court to be in need of treatment for a mental illness.  The bill, which aligns Vermont statute with federal law, would apply to defendants found incompetent to stand trial, or not guilty by reason of insanity, as well as to individuals who have been committed or ordered by a court to receive mental health treatment.  The restriction would be lifted when the order expired.  The bill also increases the penalty for theft of a firearm, making it an automatic felony, and outlaws the sale of devices used to turn ordinary guns into virtual machine guns.

Food Safety and Security:  the House has approved and sent to the Senate three bills recommended unanimously by the Agriculture Committee. 

• H. 536 would require manufacturers of baby food and infant formula to share with consumers the results of regular product testing for lead, mercury and other heavy metals, using a code on the packaging.  These toxic elements are often found in trace amounts in baby food, and the amount can vary from brand to brand and batch to batch.  Several other states have adopted similar legislation for baby food.

• With food prices expected to continue rising this summer, H. 537 establishes the right to grow vegetables for Vermonters who rent their home or live in a common interest community or condominium.

• H. 739 phases out the use of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide that has been linked in epidemiological studies to Parkinson’s disease.  New evidence suggests that paraquat can drift farther than previously understood (up to two miles), and a leading chemical manufacturer has recently announced that it will cease production and sales of paraquat by the end of the year after settling multiple lawsuits.  The bill also directs the administration to recommend alternatives for growers once the pesticide is no longer available.

Our committee also approved and sent to the full House legislation tightening up unit pricing regulations in grocery stores and prohibiting retailers who use digital (electronic) shelf tags from changing the price during the middle of the day.  With national chains beginning to adopt this technology, stores would be prevented from charging different prices to different customers based on time of day or personal data.  These bills all now move to the Senate for their consideration.

Posted Land:  H. 723 clarifies the requirements of landowners who choose to post their property annually against hunting, trapping or fishing.  The Fish & Wildlife department had recently reinterpreted statute to mean that signs needed to be replaced and updated on January 1 in order to remain in force.  Recognizing that New Years Day may not be the most convenient day of the year to handle that task, this bill would make it clear that the landowner can post their property any time during year and have it be valid for a full 12 months. 

 

 

Protecting Constitutional Rights:  H. 849 gives Vermonters a way to bring a civil case against a government official who, while acting in their official capacity, violates someone’s constitutional rights.  Modeled after a federal law that provides similar rights when state or local officials are found to have violated the U.S. constitution, the bill would allow a person whose rights are deprived to bring suit with the possibility of a court awarding monetary damages.  Examples could include unlawful searches, suppression of free speech or the right to assemble, or violations of due process protections. 

Lobbying:  H. 686 closes a lobbying disclosure loophole, requiring lobbyists and other outside influence groups to take responsibility for and report spending on pollical advertising (including mailers and social media), regardless of whether it occurs during the legislative session.  This bill comes in response to an increase in mass mailings sent to voters over the last two summers by large political action committees.    

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Since my last update, the House and Senate met in a Joint Assembly to choose two legislators to the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges.  The State College System includes the Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Vermont State University, which has campuses in Castleton, Johnson, Randolph, Lyndon, and Williston.  I was honored to be elected again to serve another term on the board, which is relatively hands-on.  Over the past eight months I have been chairing the search committee for the next leader of VTSU, culminating in the appointment two weeks ago of Sherry Kollmann as VTSU’s new president.  Dr. Kollmann has extensive experience leading both traditional residential campuses and online programs directed at non-traditional students, and will begin her duties in July with the retirement of President David Bergh.

During the same Joint Assembly, we also elected a new Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Hank Harder, to lead the Vermont National Guard.  (Vermont is the only state that delegates this decision to the legislature.)  I met with the two declared candidates before we voted to learn more about them.  The Guard—which can be activated either by the president or the governor—faces major recruitment challenges in Vermont, and I shared my concerns about deploying Guard members to support overseas combat operations that aren’t supported by the American public.  Both candidates offered that they would resign before asking the troops under their command to do anything that violated the constitution. 

PFAS in well water.  Earlier this year the state adopted new, stricter standards for PFAS chemicals in ground water.  The Department of Environmental Conservation is asking Shaftsbury residents to let them know as soon as possible if they would like their wells tested this spring, particularly those who live near or along East Road.  If your well has not been sampled, you can email malayika.vincent@vermont.gov to request a test.  According to the DEC, sampling is expected to begin by late April.  Residents whose wells had previously tested below 20 ppt should be receiving bottled water within the next week or two.  There is a community forum scheduled for April 29 at Bennington College on this topic.

Construction Detour:  The Agency of Transportation has unexpectedly reversed course and decided to move ahead this year with the replacement of two culverts on “new” Route 7.  These projects will close the highway between Exits 2 and 3 for two weeks and divert traffic onto Route 7A.  While the administration has made some concessions to the town, including scheduling the two projects for the same time, I remain concerned about the impact of an additional 10,000 vehicles per day traveling through Shaftsbury.  The AoT hasn’t finalized the dates, but expects the project to take place towards the end of the summer.