The State House has been a flurry of activity the last few weeks, with visits from our federal delegates Representative Becca Balint and Senator Peter Welch, as well as from members of the Youth Climate Lobby. February 5 is Outdoor Recreation Day at the State House, and I look forward to seeing a number of my skiing and cycling friends here. It’s always energizing to have constituents join our discussions and share their ideas for a better Vermont.
The Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) passed the House by a 133-0 roll call vote, and is now in the Senate. The BAA allows for changes to the current budget halfway through the fiscal year. Important adjustments include funding for nursing homes, homeless prevention, public safety, and municipality support for Grand List reappraisals. The House did not concur with the Governor’s request to use the BAA to commit to a property-tax buy-down, but will consider this later in the 2027 budget process. The BAA is now in the Senate.
H.545, a bill addressing immunizations that allows Vermont to set their own vaccine guidelines, passed the House and is now in the Senate. (While introduced with an amendment, the amendment was pulled before the vote.)
The House passed a resolution expressing support for the principles behind Governor Scott’s recent statement regarding the federal surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Minnesota, stating that we “stand firm in its defense of the rights of all under the U.S. Constitution and in its commitment to standards that coordinate acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership.” Interestingly, this resolution was not unanimous, but passed the House with a 106 to 25 roll call vote. As a reminder, last session the Legislature passed S.44, giving only the Governor authority to sign off on any contracts between immigration enforcement and state or local law enforcement agencies.
The House Education Committee continues to hear testimony regarding Education Transformation: the Agency of Education outlined a vision for the future of Vermont Career Technical Education (CTE), establishing a statewide CTE Educational Service overseeing the state’s CTEs. The vision also includes a future educational universe with regional, comprehensive high schools in Vermont, as well as technical education in middle schools. The Association of Education Service Agencies shared information on service agencies (recommended by the Redistricting Task Force) that could deliver immediate cost savings for our system.
We expect to take up. . .
H.588, which updates the purview of the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) by beginning the process of regulating massage businesses by requiring registration with the state; creates an academic dentist license for dentists who aren’t licensed in Vermont to teach dental students; and includes a pathway to Certified Public Accountant licensure through apprenticeship, still requiring exam passage. It also expands the current definition of funeral services to include cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction.
We are taking up H.512, an act relating to the regulation of the event-ticketing market, which proposes to enhance consumer protection by regulating the resale of tickets through improved transparency and prevention of predatory and deceptive practices.
The House Committee on General and Housing is working on a bill (H.772) to amend the relationship between landlord and tenants.
The House Transportation Committee is reviewing the 2027 proposed budget, which includes the elimination of an additional 31 positions, and the start of a pull-back of Purchase and Use tax revenue that has been going to the Education Fund (beginning with $10 million in 2027). The committee also heard testimony on federal grants available for work-zone safety (such as traffic lights in place of flaggers for use on municipal traffic projects); and was reminded that municipalities can purchase traffic equipment from the state to take advantage of state-negotiated prices. AARP also announced they are accepting grant applications for community projects (deadline early March).
Please join me for a constituent gathering on Monday, February 9, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Lawson’s Finest Liquids. Rep. Torre and I will be hosting another February gathering later in the month – stay tuned!
