The Vermont General Assembly finalized $1 Billion in federal Corona Relief Funds (CRF) to help Vermonters and to rebuild Vermont's economy and the institutions and systems vital to our quality of life.
$76 million dispersed via the Department of Taxes (for businesses that pay Rooms & Meals or Sales taxes)
$76 million dispersed via ACCD working with regional economic development corporations to businesses and nonprofits that do not pay sales, or R&M taxes.
$5.0 million to help women-owned and minority-owned small businesses
$5.0 million to assist our creative economy
$2.5 million in fund tourism and marketing efforts
$3.5 million to Working Lands Enterprise Fund to aid the agriculture, forestry and wood products industry
$1.5 for help outdoor recreation during COVID-19
$2.5 million to offer a variety of financial and technical supports to businesses
$5.0 million to Restaurants and Farms Feed the Hungry
$25 million to milk producers and processors
$5 million to non-dairy producers and processors
$5 million to Forest Economy Stabilization Grants
$15 million to Local Governments for COVID-19 Reimbursements
$1.4 billion to MicroBusiness grants through Community Action Agencies
Millions more will shore up schools, child care, parent child centers, and our health care system. The dollars will provide housing rehabilitation to increase the number of housing units for the homeless and for those in poverty, will help tenants and landlords with eviction and foreclosure protection, provide food for those who are hungry and summer meals for children. Workers will be protected by COVID-19 related workers compensation changes. Essential workers will receive hazard pay. Monies will support our farms and fund broadband build-out, our Vermont State Colleges, the University of Vermont, working lands and conservation.
Strict federal guidelines require the $1 Billion in federal funds be used for Covid-19-related expenses on items not previously budgeted for at the state or local level, and that the funds be spent by December 30, 2020.
Along with allocating Corona Relief Funds, we continue our work to build a healthier, stronger future for Vermont. During this session, we passed an increase to the minimum wage to put more dollars in the pockets of Vermonters in the coming years. We passed legislation that starts to dismantle systemic and structural racism, hiring a Director of Racial Equity and directing more than $5 Million in Corona Relief Funds to women- and minority-owned businesses and to New Americans.
We look forward to taking action on the Global Warming Solutions Act to make progress on climate change and to taking steps to modernize Act 250. We voted to allocate $7.5 million to our state college system in the Quarter 1 budget. More decisions about higher education, to which $80 million has already been allocated, will take place when we reconvene in August.
The Legislature will return on August 25th. By then we will have received an August 15th updated revenue forecast and the Governor’s Recommended Budget. We stand ready to meet Vermonters' needs because we reserved some CRF funds in anticipation of further requests. We are committed to building a Vermont that works for everyone.