Since March, the Vermont House appropriated nearly $1 billion in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to undergird and rebuild Vermont's economy. We passed financial assistance supporting individuals, small businesses, agriculture, forestry, local government, micro-business, women and minority owned businesses, tourism, arts and the creative economy, non-profits, outdoor recreation, and marketing.
In my July 5, 2020 blog entry, I mentioned that millions more will shore up schools, childcare, parent child centers, our health care system, provide food for those who are hungry, and summer meals for children. Workers will be protected by COVID-19 related workers compensation changes. Frontline 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.
The legislature reconvenes in late August to finalize the state’s budget, completing the work of this two-year biennium. This was my first term in elected office, and throughout, I worked to invest in affordable housing, early education, livable wages, small businesses, the environment, recovery homes, mitigating homelessness, and improving conditions for the inmates at our women’s prison, while striving toward a pragmatic economic bottom line.
I serve on the General, Housing, and Military Affairs Committee. Highlights this biennium included increasing the minimum wage and protecting victims of domestic and sexual violence from housing discrimination. For our veterans, we secured honorable disposition of any unclaimed remains and the creation of an Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. Indigenous Peoples’ Day replaced Columbus Day and Abenaki names will be included on all state park signs going forward.
As the pandemic began, a moratorium on ejectment and foreclosure actions during the COVID-19 emergency was instituted. As well, 1,961 people including 273 children, were moved out of shelters into hotels in order to mitigate contagion – housing every homeless individual and family we found.
My committee developed a plan with advocates, other committees, and the administration to systemically address the needs of those precariously housed using federal dollars from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. This $85M housing plan supports the homeless and low-income Vermonters, including capital investments to create more affordable housing and renovate shelters, rental arrearage and foreclosure stabilization, financial and technical assistance for landlords and tenants, and wraparound services for rehousing those with multiple needs.
Other bills I supported this biennium included:
· investing in early childhood education,
· testing for lead in schools and childcare centers,
· creating ethnic and social equity standards for preK-12 curriculum,
· eliminating the statute of limitations for bringing claims of childhood sexual abuse,
· increasing the legal age for purchasing cigarettes, including e-cigarettes, to 21,
· developing an Older Vermonters’ Act blueprint for aging,
· addressing climate change with the Global Warming Solutions Act framework,
· banning of single use plastic bags, stir sticks, and containers,
· incentivizing electric vehicles and charging stations,
· addressing racial bias and excessive force by law enforcement,
· protecting women’s reproductive rights, and
· expanding telehealth delivery.
The FY2020 Budget was a balanced budget totaling $6.1 billion, a 2.6% increase over the FY2019 budget. It included the State’s full annual contributions for the State pensions and retiree health care and medical benefits funds.
Given the economic devastation of the pandemic, the legislature only passed a first quarter budget for FY2021 which began on July 1, but we funded the Education Fund at 100% as well as the actuarial obligations to both the State Teachers and the State Employee Retirement Systems, and all components of state government at no less than 25% of their 2020 appropriation.
The Legislature returns on August 25. By then we will have received an updated revenue forecast from the Joint Fiscal Office and the Governor’s Recommended Budget. (Last month, the projection was $332 million less revenue due to COVID-19.)
For Vermont to work for all of us, our tax system needs to be as progressive as possible, where lower-income Vermonters pay a lower share of their income in taxes than those with high incomes. According to The Institute for Taxation & Economic Policy, Vermont is one of just 5 states with a tax structure that doesn’t worsen income inequality. Here are some tax changes enacted this biennium:
· Established a long-term funding source for water quality projects across the state - 6% of revenue from rooms and meals taxes will now be deposited into the Clean Water Fund to help pay for the restoration of impaired waters statewide.
· Required online travel companies and short-term rental platforms to remit rooms tax on the entire amount of rent they collect.
· Required third party sellers (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, etc.) to collect and remit sales taxes to the state. Since 100% of sales tax revenue goes the Education Fund, the more revenue we collect from sales, the less we have to collect from property taxes.
· Tax e-cigarettes at the same 92% wholesale tax rate as other tobacco products.
· Increased the non-taxable portion of an estate from $2.75 million to $5 million by January 1, 2021, putting us more on par with neighboring states.
· Clarified that there is a tax exemption for veterinary supplies, prescription drugs, and equipment.
· Held education property tax rates for FY21 to what they would have been without COVID-19, so Vermonters are not paying more to cover the gap in education funding caused by the pandemic.
As we rebuild our social, economic, and civic lives post-pandemic, I would like the opportunity to continue this work on your behalf. People-centered programs can be delivered within a balanced budget. Judicious tax reform and school refinancing is necessary, but must be balanced to ensure a safety net where no one is left behind.