2024 Legislative Summary
Note on Links: As of creation of this document, not all final Acts were available. The links typically go to the final bill. If not, the link goes to the best document available to explain the bill, such as fiscal notes.
Abbreviations:
ARPA: Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds made available to Vermont and allocated by the General Assembly
GF: General Fund dollars
EF: Education Fund Dollars
Budget Bill (H. 883; Act 113)
The legislature passed a record $8.5 billion budget for FY25 that fulfills all statutorily required reserves, meets all pension obligations, and makes investments in housing, workforce, and disaster mitigation. Here are some highlights:
Homelessness/Housing:
- Provides $7.5M GF for Emergency Housing in addition to a $16.5M GF one-time appropriation and a $20M GF contingent appropriation;
- Provides $7.2M GF to the Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) Office of Economic Opportunity for shelter bed expansion;
- Provides additional $753K to support programs for homeless youth;
- Provides a $10M contingent appropriation for shelter beds and permanent supportive housing;
- Provides $25.8M to DCF for the Housing Opportunity Grant Program (HOP);
- Provides $900K GF for the State Refugee Office to support transitional housing for refugees;
- Provides $1M GF to extend 10 DCF positions to support Emergency Housing;
- Provides $1M GF to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for the Manufactured Home Improvement and Repair Program;
- Contingent on excess revenues, appropriates:
- $20M GF to DCF for Emergency Housing
- $6M GF to DHCD for the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP);
- $4M GF to DEC for the Healthy Homes Initiative;
- $10M GF to DCF for shelter beds and permanent supportive housing.
Workforce Development:
- Provides $500K GF and a $1.5M contingent appropriation to the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for the Serve, Learn, and Earn Program;
- Provides carryforward authority in statute for education loan repayment programs for health care professionals;
- Provides $1M GF for the Community College of Vermont (CCV) Tuition Advantage program;
- Provides funding for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) 802Opportunity program that provides free tuition to certain Vermonters at CCV;
- Provides $1.3M to VSAC for the National Guard Tuition Benefit Program;
- Provides up to $1M GF to continue the Vermont Trades Scholarship Program;
- Provides authority for VSAC to use up to $300K GF for student aspirational initiatives at one or more high schools.
Flood and Natural Disaster Mitigation:
- Provides $12.5M GF to match Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Flood Hazard Mitigation grants;
- Provides $500K GF for State match for the Water Resources Development Winooski Study;
- Provides $1.75M GF to support S.213 initiatives relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development, and dam safety;
- Provides $1M GF for financial assistance to logging contractors to ensure water quality protection and climate adaptation practices are followed;
- Provides $1M GF for local economic damage grants and transfer to the Emergency Relief Assistance Fund to support communities affected by the August and December federally-declared disasters;
- Provides $250K GF to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for the Urban Search and Rescue Team;
- Contingent on excess revenues, appropriates: $3.5M GF to the Community Resilience and Disaster Mitigation Fund for structure elevation grants;
- $3M GF to the Dam Safety Revolving Loan Fund.
- $5M to ACCD to open a flood recovery center to administer a grant program to issue grants to flood impacted businesses.
Property Tax Relief:
- Provides $25M GF transfer to the Education Fund to provide property tax relief to Vermonters
Here are some online Budget resources:
Status: Signed by Governor.
Business/Economic Development
Extension of the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive Program Sunset (H. 10; Act 176)
Delays sunset of VEGI program until January 1, 2027. There will certainly be discussions in Committee during the 2025 session regarding business incentives and the continuation of the VEGI program.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Extension of the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (Sec B. 1102 of H. 883; Act 113)
Subject to availability of excess revenue, appropriates $5 million to the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) to open a flood recovery center to administer a grant program, in coordination with the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (CVEDC), to issue grants to flood impacted businesses of not more than $50,000 per recipient.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Signed by Governor; ACCD is developing program criteria/parameters.
Employment Protections and Collective Bargaining Rights (S. 102; Act 117)
Employees shall not be discharged, disciplined, penalized, or otherwise discriminated against, or threatened because the employee declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting that has the primary purpose of communicating the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Allowed to become law without Governor’s signature.
Enhancing Consumer Data Privacy (H. 121)
Bill proposed to afford data privacy protections to Vermonters. Key provisions included defining terms like "biometric data," "consent," "consumer," "controller," "processor," and "sensitive data," and establishing applicability thresholds based on the volume of personal data processed. Granted consumers rights to confirm data processing, access their data, correct inaccuracies, delete data, and opt out of targeted advertising, data sales, and automated decisions. Imposed duties on controllers and processors to limit data collection, secure data, provide transparency, and obtain consent for sensitive data. Required controllers to conduct data protection assessments for high-risk processing like targeted advertising and profiling. Also, established protections for minors, including requirements for age-appropriate design, default privacy settings, and limitations on dark patterns and unsolicited contact. Empowered the Attorney General to enforce the law and evaluate data protection assessments, and providing for a limited private right of action. The bill also directed public education efforts and further study on implementation and policy recommendations.
Status: Did not become law. Passed by House and Senate. Vetoed by Governor. Veto sustained.
Labor Force Development
Delivery and Governance of the Vermont Workforce System (H.707; Act 146)
Creates the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development, amends the membership and oversight of the State Workforce Development Board, creates a task force to study and develop a data management model for workforce-related programs, and authorizes a special oversight committee to produce recommendations on statutory language related to workforce leadership.
Status: Passed House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Taxation/Fees
Yield Bill (H. 887)
Sets homestead, non-homestead (businesses) tax rates and sets property tax policy. Set non-homestead rate at $1.391 per $100.00 in value. Result is Non-homestead and homestead rates expected to increase an average of 14.1% statewide. Also, creates a Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont and an Education Fund Advisory Committee. Bill also:
- Imposes an additional 3% tax surcharge on short-term rentals.
- Changes the Sales & Use tax on prewritten computer software to any prewritten computer software, regardless of the method in which the software is paid for, delivered, or accessed.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Vetoed by Governor. Veto overridden.
Property Tax Transfer (part of H. 687)
Raises PTT from 1.25% to 3.4% on second homes. Increases PTT exemption for VHFA et al. to $150,000. Funds go to Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund (VHCTF) and the Municipal and Regional Planning Fund (MRPF), with remainder to GF.
Status: Passed House and Senate. Governor vetoed. Veto overridden.
Department of Financial Regulation Fees (Part of H. 883; Act 113)
Increases fees on insurance company “appointments, renewals, registrations.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Universal Service Fund Increase (H. 657; Act 145)
Changes charge on phone bill from 2.4% of bill to $0.72 per line monthly.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Communications Property (H. 657; Act 145)
Changes communications property from business personal property to “real property” and therefore subject to grand list.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Energy/Environment
Renewable Energy Standard (H.289)
Makes numerous changes to the Renewable Energy Standard (RES), requiring that most retail electricity providers’ annual load be comprised of 100 percent renewable energy by January 1, 2030. For GlobalFoundries and municipal providers, the deadline would be January 1, 2035. The bill also increases the required amounts of distributed renewable generation, new renewable energy, and load growth renewable energy, with some exceptions.
Status: Passed by House & Senate; Vetoed by Governor; Veto overridden.
Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Through Land Use (H. 687)
Establishes a Land Use Review Board (LURB) with 5 full-time professionals to replace the NRB. The Board will work with RPCs to establish new Tiers 1A, 1B, 2 and 3. Appeals will stay in the court system and a study committee has been created. Eventually, Act 250 exemptions will be established for Tier 1A - any development, and Tier 1B - up to 49 units of housing on 10 acres or less. Tier 3 gets automatic Act 250 jurisdiction. Tier 2 – the bulk of the state - no change in jurisdiction, except towns can apply for Tier 1B. Creates new Criteria of Forest Block Definitions that must be addressed in permit application. New Road-Rule: Any single road of 800ft, or combo of road over 2000ft will trigger Act 250 jurisdiction. While the Board and Tiers are set up there will be Interim Exemptions from Act 250, until January 1, 2027:
- No permits for housing within downtowns.
- 75 or fewer units in new town centers, growth centers, and neighborhood development areas in the areas with permanent zoning and subdivision bylaws and sewer or water or appropriate soils.
- 50 units within a quarter-mile along transit corridors or census-designated urbanized areas with 50,000 residents.
[These are contingent on not being in floodplains or river corridors.]
[IEs will not require a jurisdictional opinion] - No permit amendment is required for the construction of improvements to convert a commercial structure to 29 or fewer housing units.
Increases Property Transfer Tax on second homes (not camps) to 3.4%. Establishes 3-year property tax freeze for property in designated areas damaged by flooding.
Status: Passed House and Senate. Governor vetoed. Veto overridden.
Regulation of Wetlands, River Corridors Development, and Dam Safety (S. 213; Act 121)
Transfers responsibility for regulating development in river corridors from municipalities to the state. Requires a state permit to build in river corridors. Wetlands shall be regulated and managed to produce a net gain of wetlands acreage. 2:1 ratio. Changes dam ownership to strict liability.
Status: Passed by House and Senate. Allowed to become law without Governor’s signature.
Sustainable Disaster Recovery (S. 310; Act 143)
Creates a Community Resilience and Disaster Mitigation fund designed to award grants for municipal disaster mitigation projects. Includes review of best management practices.
Status: Passed House and Senate. Signed by Governor.
Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program (S. 259; Act 122)
Creates a Climate Superfund cost recovery Program. State Treasurer will conduct an assessment of the costs to the State of Vermont of the emission of greenhouse gases for the period that began on January 1, 2000 and ended on December 31, 2019. Businesses engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil would be assessed a cost recovery demand for the entity’s share of fossil fuel extraction or refinement contributing to greenhouse gas-related costs in Vermont. $600k appropriation to conduct the assessment
Status: Passed by House and Senate; Allowed to become law without Governor’s signature.
OUR THANKS TO DRM AND THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHAMBER FOR THEIR WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE SESSION