Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the latest iteration of the Vermont state budget on Thursday, sending legislators back to the drawing board as a July 1 government shutdown looms.
The governor’s veto came as no surprise. He had warned legislators that he would oppose any tax increase. The bill, H.13, would have resulted in an automatic 5.5 cent property tax increase on nonresidential landowners. Earlier Thursday, both Scott and legislative leaders appeared to dig in at separate press conferences about the spending bill stalemate, which has lasted more than a month.
Scott had until midnight Thursday to sign or veto the legislation. He announced his decision around 8 p.m.
“One easy solution to resolve the budget debate would be to send me a new bill that prevents the automatic increase in the nonresidential rate,” Scott said in a publicly released letter addressed to Vermont House Clerk William MaGill. “This would ensure we have a budget in place long before July 1 and require us to work together, on a level playing field, to resolve our remaining differences in the tax bill.”
In the letter, the governor made clear that he considers it the legislature’s job to rectify what he called “the one remaining area of disagreement.” Scott pointed to the state’s estimated surplus of $55 million as a source for funding school budgets and paying down debt in the state teachers’ retirement fund — an effort legislators have made a point of emphasis in budget negotiations.
Less than 30 minutes after the veto announcement, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) released a statement of their own calling the governor’s decision “disappointing.”
The legislative leaders pointed to four aspects of the vetoed budget that the governor supported, including a level residential education tax rate and approximately $30 million in income tax reductions intended to offset the effects of President Donald Trump’s federal tax cut.
“The bill reflects movement by the legislature toward the governor, while the governor has not made a single concession,” the statement read.
Ashe indicated earlier Thursday that the legislature could try to override the governor’s veto — a tall task, especially in the House.
Read the full veto letter and the response from legislative leaders below:
Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
If people want to put the breaks on rising property taxes they need to stop voting for ever expanding and absurd school budgets. This is so typical, people cant vote fast enough for any expenditure that is linked to school or “the children” but then they don’t like it when they have to pay the price for those votes.
I totally agree with the legislature on this one, but they are fighting a losing battle. Stupid people believe that their should be no consequences for their votes and Scott is more than willing to shut the government down to give that to them and the legislature will be blamed for the shut down. Phil Scott is a vile human being but he has the upper hand in this battle.
Come on, Roy. I’m no supporter of Scott, but that’s a rotten thing to say about him.
As of this week, all agree there is additional 11 million in revenue bringing the surplus to over 55 million dollars.
With this large surplus, a compromise solution should not be that hard. Simply put all the legislative mandated costs in the Ed. Fund that are part of K-12 spending controlled by school boards back in the General Fund where they belong, use the surplus to balance the budget without raising property taxes and let the legislature decide where to allocate the remaining 20-30 million dollars. The Governor meets the core pledge on which he was elected of not raising taxes or fees and the legislature gets to fund their priorities. Pass a budget, stop playing chicken with the integrity of state finances, and go home. Save the larger policy and political battles for the fall election.
The increase in property taxes felt by Vermonters would be menial and is self-inflicted. Individuals voted for school budgets that would increase their property taxes. Scott somehow thinks that his idiotic mandate of not raising taxes is somehow superior to home rule. The legislator, rather than making fiscal decisions based on the premise of no new taxes, would rather use it to pay down obligatory future expenditures. This is like prepaying your electric bill vs winding down structured debt. Only an idiot would put money towards on obligatory payment that’s not a source of debt rather than paying down debt. This is what happens when you let race car drivers become governors.
@Roy.. The liberal legislators are the ones to blame for the coming shut down. They want their way or it’s the highway.. They had plenty of time to do the budget the correct way. … But no they didn’t want to. They took their time in doing this costing the taxpayers more money and if you pay property Tax, it cost you also. The legislators don’t give a rats A$$ about Vermont or the budget and Vermonters. Just their pet projects.. Scott won’t get my vote again because he lied to us, but I also won’t vote for any democrat especially if they are from another state. They are the biggest liars and crooks..
Donna Boutin said that the “…increase in property taxes would be minimal”. Yeah, they are all minimal until they are added up and then they aren’t so ‘minimal’…..like so minimal they are driving our youth and businesses out of the state. Can it get any dumber than to just blithely call a tax increase ‘minimal’? SCHOOL CHOICE NOW!!! And that includes private schools.
@Peter Morgan, I never said, ” that the increase in property taxes would be minimal”. go back and read my post. It was Thommy Taber that said that. the person name is at the bottom of their post, not the top. We do not need any increase in TAXES… We overpay as it is !!!!