At the beginning of the week, House Speaker Shap Smith provided House members with an update on adjournment. With a nod to the Senate, the Speaker noted that it "takes two to tango" but that it is his goal to adjourn next week. Assuming that the Senate is a willing dance partner, this is likely our last legislative update until after the session adjourns. Our complete wrap up of the 2016 legislative session will be sent the week following adjournment. As always, please contact us with any questions or concerns.
Money Bills Enter Conference
The Miscellaneous Tax, Fee, and Budgetbills have all moved to committees of conference where legislators will work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of each bill. While several billsraise new revenue, overall the Shumlin administration proposed raising approximately $45 million in new revenue, the House almost $51 million and the Senate $47 million. There are several key differences that will need to be ironed out on these must-pass bills before the Legislature can adjourn, including:
- The House and Senate budget bills have different spending priorities and the Senate bill includes a bit less spending than the House.
- The Senate-passed fee bill raises $2.9 million in fees on lenders, investment advisors and other securities in addition to the $20 million hike on mutual funds included in the House-passed fee bill.
- The House-passed tax bill includes an increase to the bank franchise fee on the State's largest banks as well as an increase to the employer health assessment for employers with more than 20 uncovered employees. The House and Senate tax bills include similar measures related to collecting taxes on accommodations rented via online rental sites such as AirBnB.
On a motion of House Commerce Committee Chair Bill Botzow (D- Pownal) the House Commerce Committee was relieved of H.867, the independent contractor bill. The bill will be on notice today meaning that unless the House suspends rules, the bill will be up for further action on Tuesday. Representative Kurt Wright (R-Burlington) indicated that he had planned to make a similar motion and that he looks forward to debating the bill passed by the Commerce Committee on the floor. An amendment may be offered on the House Floor today that would not fix the issues currently facing employers. Please contact your legislator as soon as possible and share your strong support for H.867 without amendment.
Even if the House were to pass a bill dealing with this issue, given that adjournment is nigh, it's unlikely the Senate would take the measure up.
Assessments for Natural Resource Damages
House Fish & Wildlife review the potable water bill.
After about four days of testimony, the House Fish & Wildlife Committee voted out H.595, the potable water bill. H.595 would allow the Agency to make broad information requests if the Secretary has "reasonable cause" to believe that it has identified a person who may be subject to liability for release or threat of release under Vermont's current release of hazardous substances regulation. The bill would also allow the Agency to assess damages for the injury, destruction, or loss of natural resources because of a release of hazardous materials. The damages are intended to cover the cost of assessment and restoration of the natural resource.
We testified previously before the House Fish & Wildlife Committee, expressing our concerns about a significant expansion of the Agency of Natural Resource's authority occurring so late in the session, without sufficient opportunity for vetting by a wide variety of stakeholders. Although we, along with others in the regulated community, recommended a working group process to develop a more thoroughly-reviewed piece of legislation, we also worked with the Agency to provide recommended language that would give greater clarity and direction for the rulemaking process.
The Committee accepted many of the recommended changes. The version of the bill voted out this week limited the Agency's ability to request pre-litigation financial and business structure information to only those situations where a party has claimed an inability to pay, refused to perform, or failed to respond to Agency correspondence. The Fish & Wildlife Committee's version also made a number of changes to the provisions that would allow the Agency to assess natural resource damages, including:
- limiting assessment of damages for injuries occurring wholly prior to the enactment of the bill
-requiring a working group and report back to the Legislature prior to formal rule making
-defining the option for acquiring equivalent or replacement natural resource in instances of damages that require response actions beyond what is deemed appropriate
-including a six-year statute of limitations
The Committee voted 5-4 to remove the provision decreasing the stormwater permit threshold from 1 acre to 1/2 acre. The bill is headed to the House floor for a vote tomorrow.
Economic Development Up For Vote
The Senate will vote this morning on H.868, the economic development bill. The version of H.868 passed by the Senate Economic Development Committee includes several workforce housing provisions, including an extension of the first-time homebuyer down payment assistance program and creation of a workforce housing pilot program. The bill also includes positive changes to the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive, a program that is often met with resistance in the State House. The Senate Economic Development Committee removed the 3-year sunset on VEGI voted out by the House, thus making the program permanent. The Senate Finance and Senate Appropriations Committees both reviewed the bill after the Senate Economic Development Committee and made subsequent changes. The Senate Finance Committee, in its version of the bill, included a provision that would sunset the VEGI program in 2022 (two years after the House's version). The Senate Appropriations Committee accepted the Senate Finance Committee's changes and struck the workforce housing pilot program, replacing it with an affordable housing study to look at current incentives for priority housing and the potential for existing statutes or programs to be used to increase the housing stock. Each committee's amendments will be voted on by the full Senate this morning on second reading of the bill.
The House Commerce Committee is considering aresolution opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and directing Vermont's Congressional Delegation to only support trade deals, including the TPP, if they meet certain requirements including labor and environmental standards and "put the interest of the people and the planet over the interests of private profit." LCRCC President Tom Torti testified in opposition to the resolution noting that "it's easy to speculate and apply emotion and not know what the actual effect will be." Torti commented that the agreement is a very "clear pivot by the West toward Asia and is part of a larger effort to induce China to reduce its tariffs and open its markets." He also added that while not perfect, the TPP "sets the most comprehensive labor standards that have ever been considered" and that it includes a number of measures designed to engage smaller businesses in foreign trade as they traditionally have not exported at the level of their larger competitors. Torti closed his remarks to the Committee saying that "arguably you can always do better but in the drive to be perfect, sometimes you lose sight of the fact that something will do a lot of good."
It is common at the end of the session for the House and Senate to tack a bill one body wants onto a bill the other body wants. These legislative power struggles make for good theater for those unconcerned with the topic but cause heartburn for those with a more than passing interest. Such is the case with the Estate Tax and Telecom bills this year. The Senate passed S.55, changes to Vermont's estate tax law, last year. The House passed a telecommunications bill earlier this month which was sent to the Senate Rules Committee since it missed the deadline to cross over from the House. The House Ways and Means Committee considered changes to Vermont's estate tax law as part of their discussion of the miscellaneous tax bill but chose not to include the language there. S. 55 continued to languish on the wall of the Ways and Means Committee room until this week when the Committee chose to move the bill, adding the (unrelated) telecommunications bill, to the mix. Assuming the House passed the bill today, S. 55, with its telecom language added, will head back to the Senate. We've advocated for changes to Vermont's estate tax law for years now and believe that the revenue neutral changes being considered make Vermont's law fairer and clearer for the Vermont families and small business owners trying to plan for the future.
Members of Vermont's Outdoor Industry gathered at the State House this week to call attention to the sector's impact on Vermont's economy and quality of life. The gathering was also an opportunity to present legislators with ideas on how to grow the sector. "In the past, the Outdoor Industry has been perceived as a bunch of unrelated communities: anglers and skiers, climbers and paddlers. But in the future, to embrace and grow this economic segment, it's important to see it as the multi-faceted economic driver that it is," said Bill Supple of Mammut, one of the event organizers. "The first step is to fully understand the size and scope of the Outdoor Industry as an economic sector in Vermont. The second step is dedicating a point person to this sector, to embrace it and bring it together, to retain and grow businesses in the sector, and to help it continue to be a key part of the Vermont brand."
According to a survey of human resources professionals conducted by LCRCC in 2015, access to outdoor recreation was chosen as the second most compelling reason to relocate to Vermont (after location/proximity to family) and access to outdoor recreation also ranked as the second most compelling reason Vermont employees desire to remain in Vermont. 85% of those surveyed ranked access to outdoor recreation as "extremely important" to Vermont's quality of life.
Participants discuss possibilities at the Vermont Future Summit.
Approximately forty young Vermonters and legislators came together this week to discuss Vermont's economic future. The Vermont Future Summit, organized by the Vermont Future Caucus, made up of young legislators, along with the House and Senate Commerce & Economic Development Committees and the Lake Champlain Chamber. An appreciative inquiry facilitator took the assembled group through a series of exercises to help them focus on positive change and brainstorm potential policy initiatives, mechanisms for creating connections, and ways to develop opportunities for young people throughout the state. Themes that emerged were (1) prioritization of high speed rail and dense, middle income housing, (2) mentoring, (3) student loan forgiveness, (4) improved broadband and cell service, and (5) marketing the state to young professionals. The participants were encouraged to come up with outside-the-box ideas to address the opportunities. One group suggested a program where recent grads work to put in a fiber network across the state and have their student loan debt forgiven for public service to Vermont. The event brought together a diversity of perspective and geography, leaving many with a sense of concern for the many problems facing young Vermonters but also a sense of potential because of the many innovative and engaged people working to make Vermont better.
