After an impassioned debate over the impending eviction of homeless people from motels, Vermont lawmakers wrapped up their work in Montpelier late Friday night. But they plan to return in June to override the salvo of vetoes expected from Gov. Phil Scott.
Following Thursday’s breakthrough on how to fund a $130 million boost to the state’s childcare system, lawmakers rushed to pass several outstanding bills, including the $8.5 billion state budget.
They passed it knowing full well that Scott will likely veto the budget and other bills in coming days, forcing them to return to attempt to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override.
With Democratic supermajorities in both chambers, that would seem simple. Just this week, the legislature overrode Scott’s veto of the controversial clean heat standard bill meant to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuel heating sources.
But the budget passed the House by a 90-53 vote late Friday, well short of the 100 needed to override — a sign of potential trouble for Democratic leadership. Several Democratic and Progressive lawmakers said they could not support the budget unless more is done to help homeless people facing eviction from motels, suggesting the budget fight is far from over.
“The budget before us abandons our most vulnerable Vermonters,” Rep. Brian Cina (P/D-Burlington) said.
Cina said the budget will not prevent a looming crisis when 1,800 households are evicted from motels as the pandemic-era housing program winds down. The number of people being kicked out of the motels in coming weeks was equal to 70 encampments the size of the one that the city of Burlington dismantled on Sears Lane in 2021, Cina said. “The mass eviction from hotels is going to create a new public health emergency,” he said.
The worst part is that the administration knew the emergency program was ending and had plenty of time to plan to transition people to long-term housing but didn’t, Rep. Mari Cordes (D-Lincoln) said.
“It is not a money problem but a problem of political will and a disaster in the making,” Cordes said.
Rep. Troy Headrick (P/D-Burlington) called the budget “a profound disappointment” that was contributing to his disillusionment with the legislative process. He said he was stunned to realize that instead of addressing people’s desperate housing needs, the budget “parked” $14 million until 2025 on the premise that it would be needed to match future federal infrastructure dollars.
He said the motel program has been a “very small Band-Aid” on the wound of homelessness in Vermont.
“This budget is simply ripping off that Band-Aid while that wound is still trying to heal,” Hedrick said.
Many lawmakers who expressed disappointment over the motel program nevertheless said they would support the budget because of the spending on housing and number of other initiatives that it does include.
“This budget, while not perfect … still makes over $200 million of investments in helping the most vulnerable Vermonters,” said Rep. Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury) .
The uproar over the ending of the motel program was due in no small part to the relentless lobbying of Brenda Siegel, a homeless advocate and the 2022 Democratic candidate for governor. She posted numerous videos of homeless people in the motel program afraid of what will happen to them if they lose their motel vouchers.
She predicted that by the time lawmakers return in June, hundreds of homeless people will have been forced out of their shelter and into the streets, and then it will hit home for lawmakers.
“It’s going to be pretty brutal to watch,” she predicted.
Despite the differences over that program, Democratic lawmakers nevertheless clearly flexed their newfound power in Montpelier this session, where, for the first time, they enjoy theoretically veto-proof majorities in both chambers. That emboldened them to push forward bills on climate change, childcare and guns that in past years might have enjoyed little chance of success.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) thanked lawmakers for their hard work and urged them to take pride in the progress they made this session. “Together we have governed with purpose and built a stronger foundation for Vermont, one that moves all 14 Vermont counties forward,” she said shortly before adjourning around 11:30 p.m.
The high-profile bills passed this session include:
Housing
Under tremendous pressure to fix the state’s housing crisis, lawmakers tried to both make big new investments in affordable housing and relax development restrictions in downtowns.
The result was the sprawling S. 100, known as the “HOME” bill, which spends $116 million on a wide variety of housing programs. It dedicates $50 million to mixed-income affordable housing, $20 million in grants to fix up rental properties, $20 million to speed the construction of homes for middle-income people, $2 million for first-time home buyers and $500,000 to update mobile home parks.
The changes to municipal zoning and Act 250 in the bill often received more debate than the financing, however. The bill would loosen restrictive zoning that some say blocks the construction of affordable housing. One change is to require communities to allow duplexes wherever single-family homes are allowed.
Related changes to Act 250, the state’s land-use and development law, include raising the cap on the number of homes a person can build within five miles within five years without facing review under the law. Instead of 10, the new limit would be 25 units in downtowns and areas designated for growth.
Childcare Funding
Most lawmakers agreed the state’s childcare system faces an affordability and staffing crisis and needs a massive infusion of cash to stabilize it. But they disagreed sharply on how to pay for it.
House leaders wanted a combination of higher corporate and personal income taxes to fund much of the $130 million infusion, while senators thought payroll taxes made more sense because employers and workers would benefit most from the system’s expansion and improvement.
A deal struck on Thursday and approved on Friday afternoon by the House on the bill, H.217, was hailed as a compromise that would lead to a historic investment. Scott, who had proposed a $50 million investment with no tax increase, has vowed to veto the bill.
Clean Heat
Weaning a northern state like Vermont off fossil fuel heating sources is widely viewed as a huge challenge, but lawmakers committed to figuring it out this year. They passed S.5, the clean heat standard, and then overrode Scott’s veto, something they failed to do last year by just one vote. Lawmakers hailed the vote as a crucial step toward cleaning up emissions from burning oil, propane, kerosene and natural gas.
“This is probably one of the most important things I’ve done here and as a parent,” Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover) said after the vote.
The bill requires energy regulators to start crafting a program mandating that the state’s fossil fuel dealers lower the greenhouse gas emissions from their products, either by reducing demand through insulation projects or switching customers to lower-carbon fuels.
Republicans blasted the bill as likely to hurt low-income Vermonters who can’t afford to switch, but supporters said reducing the cost of heating for low-income people is the program’s priority.
Bottle Bill
Wine bottles and plastic water bottles will soon be returnable for a deposit under a long-sought expansion of the state’s beverage redemption program. Currently, only certain glass and aluminum beverage containers can be returned for a five-cent deposit.
The bill, H.158, will add a 15-cent deposit on wine bottles and a five-cent deposit on hard cider, water and sports drink containers. Advocates originally wanted to increase the deposit for most bottles from five cents to 10 cents, but that will only happen later if the state misses its recycling goals.
Retailers worry they won’t have the room to handle all the additional containers. Gov. Scott has said he prefers improving the blue-bin recycling system, but it’s not clear whether this bill will be on his veto list.
Lawmaker Pay and Perks
To make it easier for working-class Vermonters to serve in the General Assembly, lawmakers will boost members’ pay beginning in 2025 and grant themselves access to the same health benefits state workers receive.
The bill, S.39, will boost salaries during the 18-week session and pay lawmakers one-fifth of that salary when they’re out of session. Rank-and-file lawmakers currently receive $14,616 plus allowances for food and lodging. By 2027, their salary would more than double, to at least $29,766 annually, and they could get health insurance coverage. PCB Testing
Lawmakers agreed to continue funding PCB testing in schools, rejecting an effort to pause the program. They approved $32 million in grants to help communities pay for testing and remediation, including $16 million for the demolition and remediation of Burlington High School.
That money can be clawed back by the state, however, in the event that Burlington recovers some of the costs of its new high school through litigation against PCB maker Monsanto. Additional funds will be added if needed during the 2024 budget adjustment process.
The House had called for a pause on testing for PCBs, toxic chemicals linked to health problems, until a task force could take a closer look at the issue. Senators felt that it was important to continue testing for the chemicals in roughly 300 Vermont school buildings built or renovated before 1980, when PCBs were used in construction materials. Gun Waiting Period
A sweeping new gun bill that aims to reduce suicide risk will create a 72-hour waiting period before someone could purchase a firearm. The bill, H.230, was sponsored by Rep. Alyssa Black (D-Essex), whose son, Andrew, committed suicide in 2018 on the same day that he purchased a handgun. The bill also expands red flag laws by allowing family members to petition a court for an order to prevent someone from buying or possessing a firearm. It also requires people in households with children to store firearms safely.
Shield Law
Vermont health workers who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care to patients will be shielded from legal threats in other states under a bill lawmakers passed earlier in the session.
The bill, H.89, protects providers and recipients of reproductive and gender-affirming care from a wide range of potential civil or criminal legal challenges that individuals or prosecutors in other states might try to bring.
That risk is seen as significant since several states, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, passed laws that restrict abortions and also put health care workers who provide them elsewhere in legal jeopardy.
The bill would block Vermont courts from honoring out-of-state subpoenas, prohibit state employees from cooperating in such investigations, and allow medical providers to countersue to recover damages and fees.
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This article appears in May 10-16, 2023.
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