This is Part 2 of your state representatives’ Town Meeting report. Last week, Rep. Torre updated us on activity in the House Committees on Education, Health Care, and Energy & Digital Infrastructure. This week, I share updates on several other committees. Please be in touch if there are areas of interest we have not addressed.
AGRICULTURE, FOOD RESILIENCY, & FORESTRY
While the U.S. often lags behind other countries in regulating pesticides and chemicals, Vermont has been a leader in protecting our environment and food supply. H. 739 would prohibit the use of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide that has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Paraquat is banned in much of the world, including the E.U. and China, but is widely used in the U.S. (including Vermont) to suppress weed growth in orchards and other crops. The Legislature will consider a wide variety of expert testimony on the risks to human health and the impact a ban would have on Vermont agriculture.
GENERAL & HOUSING
H.757, an act specifically related to manufactured-home housing and limited equity cooperatives, addresses inconsistencies and misconceptions regarding manufactured homes (formerly known as “mobile homes”) and resident-owned manufactured home cooperatives. The bill recognizes these homes as permanent structures affixed to the land, rather than movable personal property, allowing financial institutions to treat these homes as real property, thus reducing perceived lending risk, and improving access to financing. These changes, among others, make manufactured homes more attractive to lenders, lower borrowing costs for buyers, and allow for more reasonable interest rates and loan terms.
H.772 balances landlord and tenant rights relating to residential agreements and eviction procedures, and creates a pilot program for positive rental-payment credit reporting. The bill creates an ejectment process for good-cause evictions; shortens the eviction process when it is the only course of action; makes certain ejectment records confidential; and authorizes assistance for landlord-tenant conflicts.
TRANSPORTATION
The House Committee on Transportation remains focused on the declining revenue coming into the Agency of Transportation (AOT) due to slowing gas-tax revenues and purchase-and-use fees. As Vermont continues its commitment to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions through electric vehicle (EV) adoption, gas-tax revenues decline. Electric vehicles pay an additional registration fee, but the mileage-based user fee (proposed to charge EVs a fee commensurate with the gas tax) is still in development. Federal and state EV purchase incentives, which boosted car sales, halted last year. A 60% increase in construction costs since 2020 compounds the revenue shortfall by impacting road maintenance costs. At current funding levels, the Agency projects that roughly 60% of state roads will be in poor condition by 2030.
The committee is proposing AOT’s annual contribution to the Education Fund through purchase-and-use fees (approximately $50 million in FY26) begin to cease. The proposed FY 2027 budget begins this process. Additionally, AOT plans to cut over $30 million from its FY27 budget, including a reduction in labor of over 50 positions.
Amidst these challenges, AOT plans to increase the miles of state highway maintenance projects in 2027 by maximizing federal funds (making up for the below-average paving in 2026). Legislative action last session ensured that funds for town roads and structures increase, at a minimum, at the rate of inflation. These funds are insufficient to meet the needs of municipalities, and are already committed through 2035, meaning no new projects can be added to the list. And while AOT funds for local projects like sidewalks and bike lanes have brought economic and social benefits to towns, funds for these projects remain severely limited.
WAYS & MEANS
The Committee on Ways and Means is still working to set the annual “yield” (education property tax) bill while awaiting school budget votes. These are unstable times, and property taxes will stay challenging while education transformation is still underway. The Legislature is committed to working to stabilize and lower Vermonters’ property tax bills this year while maintaining essential public services and quality, public-education opportunities for our kids.
The Committee continues work started last year on the creation of regional assessment districts (RAD) and the design of a tax on second homes. RADs will allow towns in a region to work together to ensure a consistent appraisal cycle. This ensures that property taxes are spread fairly across the state and that there are fewer swings in individual taxpayers’ bills from year to year. A different (and higher) property tax rate on second homes is being considered to support public schools while reducing property taxes on homesteads, businesses, apartments, and camps.
Tax Credits and Free Filing Assistance
Last year, lawmakers expanded Vermont's Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which offers tax credits up to $400 for low-wage earners, and up to $1,000/child under 7.
Vermonters may be eligible for a credit on property taxes when filing your homestead declaration.
Vermont has volunteer tax preparers all over the state, ready to assist. Go to TaxCreditsVT.org for more information about Vermont's anti-poverty tax credits and how to file for them.
Please be in touch if you would like us to join a meeting, share a legislative update, or schedule a conversation outside of our regular coffee hours. And remember that the Vermont State House is “the people’s house” – you are welcome to visit, have lunch in the cafeteria, and sit in on House, Senate, and committee deliberations.
