Closing out Week 17 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
All eyes are on the calendar as adjournment looms. The hopeful have pegged the date at May 12, though with large disparities in the budget between the Senate and...more
Closing out Week 15 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The front door of the state house was opened wide at the end of this past week, signaling the advent of warm weather and the quickly approaching end of the legislative...more
Closing out Week 14 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
As we head into week 15 of the legislative session, the House Ways and Means committee is continuing work on determining alternative funding mechanisms for the Senate...more
Closing our Week 13 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The Senate voted out S.100, the Omnibus Housing Bill. A widely anticipated floor fight over an amendment that would have increased the threshold that triggers an Act...more
Closing out Week 12 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
This past week the House passed H.230, an act relating to implementing mechanisms to reduce suicide. The bill requires a 72-hour waiting period to purchase a gun,...more
Closing out Week 11 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
There are a significant number of bills on this week’s schedule for brief introductions. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will receive further attention this...more
Closing out Week 10 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
Legislators spent the past week in their home districts for Town Meetings, taking a break from the State House, connecting with constituents and preparing for this...more
Closing out Week 8 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
With only two weeks left until crossover and town meeting break sandwiched in between, many committees spent last week working on bills that they are hoping to get...more
Closing out Week 7 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The House Committee on General and Housing passed out H.66 Thursday, which would create the most generous paid family and medical leave program in the United States....more
Closing out Week 6 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The legislature’s budget covers 18 weeks and lawmakers work very hard to keep to that schedule. Last week marked one-third of the way through the session and we can...more
Closing out Week 5 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The House passed the FY’23 Budget Adjustment Act on a vote of 107-33. Republicans objected to allocating an additional $50 million to the Vermont Housing and...more
Closing out Week 3 of the 2023 Legislative Session -
The theme of Week 3 was “money.” The Emergency Board shared the state’s Revenue Forecast Update with legislators. Due to the influx of unpreceded federal economic...more
General Government -
Governor proposes $7.7 billion budget – Governor Phil Scott unveiled his proposed $7.7 billion budget for FY2023 in a virtual budget address to the legislature last week. Scott’s proposal reflects the...more
Business -
The unemployment bill formerly known as S.10 – Business owners had their most challenging year in memory. Many hoped that the legislature, knowing this, would have sought to offset their challenges....more
6/3/2021
/ Broadband ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Energy Storage ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Public Schools ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Vermont
ARPA spending complicates budget conference -
Negotiations over the FY 2022 state budget moved to conference committee on Monday, which hopes to reach agreement in time for the legislature to meet its appointed May 22...more
Senate committee budget vote delayed until next week As the end of the week approached, the Senate Appropriations Committee was still finalizing FY 2022 budget details, and a planned Friday vote was pushed until Monday. On...more
Senate passes budget -
On Friday, the Senate gave final approval to the $7.17 billion FY 2022 budget, H.439. Senate Appropriations Chair Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, called it “as complicated a budget as I’ve ever had to put...more
Governor proposes $90 million for state capital investment -
Department of Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein presented Governor Scott's Capital Investment Grant Proposal to the Senate Economic Development...more
Childcare bill becoming a heavy lift -
The House Committee on Human Services is working through H.171, a bill that would create a comprehensive child care system governed and subsidized by the state. The system would take...more
3/8/2021
/ Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Development ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Right to Bear Arms ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes ,
Vermont
Vermont's legislature adjusts to a new normal -
The legislature convened remotely last week and seamlessly began its virtual session. While things are running smoothly technologically, lawmakers are operating under the...more
1/20/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Governor Scott ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Public Schools ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State of Emergency ,
Town Hall Meetings ,
Vaccinations
Lawmaking in the COVID Era -
The legislature adjourned on June 26 at 8:41 p.m. Sort of. After holding what was nearly the longest and certainly the strangest session in history, the legislature has really only recessed,...more
7/7/2020
/ Broadband ,
CARES Act ,
Cloud Storage ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Global Warming ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Internet Taxation ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Paid Leave ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Funding ,
State Grants ,
State Legislatures ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Universities
When the legislature moved from the State House to the cloud eight weeks ago, it was anyone’s guess as to how that would work. The answer, it turns out, was about as well as one could expect. Small committees have functioned...more
5/8/2020
/ Child Care ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Governor Scott ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes
Global Warming Solutions Act: asking for too much or not enough?
The House Committee on Energy and Technology took testimony this week on the The Global Warming Solutions Act. University of Vermont Professor Jon Erickson...more
1/27/2020
/ ACOs ,
Board of Education ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Cloud Computing ,
Community Development ,
Competency Requirements ,
Educational Institutions ,
Elder Issues ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Global Warming ,
Health Care Providers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Records ,
Research and Development ,
Small Business Loans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
Tax Returns ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Ways and Means Committee