Relief bills advance as Vt. lawmakers eye longer session
A view of the mountains from Cloudland Road in Pomfret, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Much-anticipated COVID-19 relief moved forward in Congress and the Vermont Legislature this week.
Both proposals were voted out of their respective House chambers and are headed to the Senate level. A $1.9 trillion federal bill got House approval late Friday night. Key elements in that proposal would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, extend federal unemployment insurance, deliver $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, help small businesses and support vaccination efforts. In total, the bill has $960 million for Vermont.
“This bold relief bill is a critical step to get us through and eventually recover from this unprecedented pandemic,” U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, of Vermont, said in a statement.
The Vermont relief bill totals $80 million and now awaits state Senate action. It will be the top priority for lawmakers when they return from their week-long break from legislative deliberations. The bill includes $10 million in grants for businesses that didn’t previously qualify for federal aid; $10 million for affordable housing; $1.3 million for the Reach Up program for one-time payments to families in need; $1.4 million for the Vermont Food Bank; and $5 million for the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative.
On Saturday, State Rep. Charlie Kimbell and Sen. Alison Clarkson, the Senate majority leader, updated voters from Woodstock, Plymouth and Reading on the legislative session. Clarkson said COVID-19 relief was at the top of the list and that lawmakers are looking to “leverage these precious federal dollars” to help on a host of issues for Vermonters, such as housing needs and broadband access.
However, lawmakers are also making recovery a priority, including focusing on areas like unemployment insurance and expanding telemedicine — which have been crucial for Vermonters during this time.
“We’re really focused on learning lessons from pandemic,” Clarkson said. She also noted they’re considering how to sustain the unemployment fund for the long-term, while also being sensitive about how businesses are impacted. Another result of those “lessons learned” is a bill currently being considered, which would allow changes in municipal functions, such as moving public meetings to Zoom, if there is a declared state emergency.
Another major topic was the future of the Vermont State Colleges System. Last year, then-Chancellor Jeb Spaulding proposed that two campuses be closed, which drew great public ire at the time. On Monday, the board of trustees voted to consolidate Northern Vermont University, Castleton University and Vermont Technical College into one entity. Under this new plan, Community College of Vermont would become a separate institution.
The system is looking for additional funding from the Legislature to move forward with the merger, and this funding also considers the actual costs of demolishing some buildings and/or consolidating operations, according to Kimbell.
“They are committed to maintaining operations at their locations, but they have to alter those operations,” Kimbell said via email after Saturday’s meeting. Currently, the state colleges system receives $30 million in the state budget each year. In a separate request, the system is seeking to increase that base funding by $17.5 million.
Over the past year, one of the most significant issues facing workers has been child care. Kimbell said lawmakers are looking at how to address access to child care and help with funding.
“There are 20,000 fewer people in the workforce now, than before the pandemic,” he noted. Kimbell said many people either couldn’t find child care, or opted to home-school their children amid concerns about COVID-19.
On a different issue, the implementation of Vermont’s tax-and-regulate cannabis law came up. A question was raised about the Cannabis Control Board, which sets and administers the rules for the tax-and-regulate system, and when members would be appointed to the new board. Clarkson answered that this is up to the governor’s office, and Senate leadership will urge the governor to complete that process.
“It is pushing everything behind, and we have 2,000 businesses waiting for this work to go forward, and for the structure to be all set up,” Clarkson said.
The tax-and-regulate cannabis law went into effect last October. Kimbell said a number of towns on Tuesday will vote on whether to allow retail cannabis businesses. Recently, Woodstock municipal leaders established a group to study the issue for Woodstock.
Moving forward, it looks like lawmakers are in for another long session. It may again go into the summer to give the Legislature time to appropriate the nearly $1 billion expected from the new federal relief bill.
That also means a lot more time on Zoom, which, Kimbell and Clarkson acknowledged, has been a challenge for legislative work. The time spent during breaks and in the cafeteria during an in-person legislative session is important to understanding the issues surrounding a bill, Clarkson said. Those informal conversations don’t always make it into the day, in the current context.
“Really challenging to do some of that informal work that comes from being together,” Clarkson said.
In a later interview, Clarkson explained lawmaking often involves having “very private conversations” with people about what’s driving their views. That’s harder to facilitate, being outside of the in-person environment.
However, Clarkson said she was glad the Legislature has the option to meet on Zoom. Furthermore, she noted that last year, lawmakers appropriated over $1 billion, and she’s confident they can accomplish the same high level of work for Vermonters this year.
“We’re soldiering through, we're doing best we can with the limits that we face," she said.
Clarkson is vice chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, and is also on the Senate Government Operations Committee. Kimbell is a member of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
Other issues they spoke about Saturday included:
A proposal to remove the state education tax from the property tax and make it an income tax, from the Tax Structure Commission’s recent report. In this case, the education tax would be more closely tied to what the local school budget is.
Examining unfunded pension liabilities for state employees and teachers. This has become “a $4.5 billion problem”, Kimbell said, and lawmakers are hoping to craft a plan to make the system more sustainable. Currently, the state pays $389 million from the general fund each year.
Incentives to improve broadband access, by providing funding to more communications union districts, like ECFiber.
A bill which assesses the need for school construction projects statewide. Kimbell mentioned there has been no state aid for school buildings since 2007. Woodstock is currently in the planning process for building a new high school.
A bill which would establish a statewide rental registry, which state agencies could access for information about rental properties. Clarkson said this would have been useful to have both during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, and now during the pandemic.
An elections bill which makes permanent the mailing-out of ballots for general elections. The proposal also gives the ability to cure ballots and provides more flexibility around polling places.
— Gareth Henderson
Click on the following links to contact Sen. Alison Clarkson or Rep. Charlie Kimbell.
