House makes progress on child care, school construction, balanced budget

We’re halfway through the 2023 legislative session. Below are highlights of the significant legislation the House has passed in these first two months. When the Legislature resumes on March 14 work on key priorities will continue, across the House and in collaboration with the Senate, as we debate bills and consider investments prior to an anticipated May adjournment.

Balanced budget

The House is working on the 2024 budget, which covers state government and its community partner organizations from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. We are seeing substantial revenue growth this year, largely due to the impact of federal pandemic stimulus and recovery dollars. The challenge is to make strategic use of one-time funds to meet state priorities. Those priorities include leveraging federal funds to support improvements in roads, bridges and other infrastructure needs under Congress’ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Other targeted statewide priorities are those that will deliver long-term dividends for Vermonters, including investments in housing, broadband expansion, workforce training, clean energy and child care. As is Vermont tradition, it will be a balanced budget, even though Vermont does not have a statutory requirement to do so.

Universal school meals

During the pandemic, the federal government provided free school meals to all Kindergarten through grade 12 students. The Legislature must now determine the best path forward. If the state chooses to continue offering universal school meals, there will be new strategies in 2023 to access federal dollars in paying for the program — both through increased student participation and a new Medicaid eligibility criterion that automatically qualifies schools to receive more federal funds.

School construction

Vermont has a statewide backlog of renovation needs or replacement of school buildings. A statewide assessment of school facilities is currently underway with a deadline of October 2023. To address this problem the education committee is considering school construction models being used in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Wyoming. The committee is considering a non-partisan commission to develop a formula to allocate any state contribution to a school construction project.

Bottle bill 2.0 

Updating and expanding Vermont’s bottle bill — first enacted in 1972 — will help reduce landfill waste, litter and greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the amount and quality of plastic, aluminum and glass recycling. Although Vermont has a high recycling rate thanks to the universal recycling law, returnable bottles and cans dropped off at redemption centers around the state produce more marketable and reusable materials than what gets tossed into our commingled recycling bins.

As the number and variety of beverages has exploded over the years, H.158 proposes a needed expansion of the decades-old deposit system to cover most beverages, including plastic water bottles and glass wine bottles. To fund more conveniently located redemption centers, provide fair compensation to redemption center owners and keep an increasing number of bottles and cans out of the landfill each year, the bill requires that beverage manufacturers and distributors collaborate in a stewardship program overseen by the Agency of Natural Resources that will address the limits of the current system.

Suicide prevention

The facts are heartbreaking: More than 700 Vermont residents died of gunshot wounds in the decade from 2011 to 2020, with 88 percent of these deaths from suicide. Persons at greatest risk of suicide in Vermont are men, persons living in rural areas, persons with a disability, veterans and members of the LGBTQ+ community. There are few bright spots in the statistics, but one is this: 90 percent of the people who attempt a suicide, and survive, do not try again. Suicide by firearm almost never allows this opportunity for a second chance at life. H.230 attempts to reduce suicide by lethal means.

Child care, early childhood education

The lack of affordable, high-quality early childhood education profoundly impacts Vermont and its economy. H.208 develops a blueprint for a significant investment in children, families and communities. It would significantly increase state-funded financial assistance for children in child care; expand the current funding for part-time pre-K to a full-time program for all 4-year-olds in Vermont; increase compensation for early childhood educators and financial support for community and home-based child care programs by reimbursing centers for enrollment; and elevate and streamline state-level oversight of early childhood education. 

The proposed legislation has support from over 90 representatives across party lines and builds on the current system to ensure that all partners, families, schools, child care providers and early educators, have the resources and support they need to best care for our youngest Vermonters. 

Health care protections

With the passage of Proposition 5 in November, Vermonters overwhelmingly demonstrated their support for enshrining reproductive liberty as a constitutional right. The shield bill reinforces the Legislature’s ongoing efforts to protect safe access to reproductive and gender affirming care for Vermonters at a time when these essential and personal health care choices are under attack in many states across the country.  

The bill provides protections for patients and providers from prosecutions and investigations by states that have banned or restricted reproductive and gender-affirming care that is legal in Vermont. It also provides some protections for out-of-state patients receiving this care from Vermont providers.

Education funding

Vermonters all know how much the real estate market has led to a historic rise in property values. To bring this system into alignment the Committee on Ways & Means heard testimony on innovative solutions, including moving away from funding education with property taxes, and moving to a consistent statewide system for property appraisals. A more consistent system would avoid large changes in values that catch property owners by surprise and relieve pressure on municipalities to manage appraisals with limited resources. The committee is also looking at ways to recategorize non-homestead property values to get a better sense of how these properties are used. Currently the non-homestead property category includes everything from second homes to businesses to industrial use.

Transforming transportation

The unprecedented federal funding made available through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act funds, which will total $1.6 billion over five years, provides Vermont the opportunity to make transformational investments in its transportation infrastructure and to address climate change.

Over 40 percent of Vermont’s carbon emissions come from the transportation sector. This year’s transportation bill will continue to help Vermonters transition to more fuel-efficient vehicles, including all electric vehicles. Additionally, we will invest in public transportation and infrastructure that supports more walking, biking and public transit options throughout the state. Purchase incentives that are income sensitive will provide $21 million over five years for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. This will ensure all Vermonters can participate and purchase both new or used low- or zero-emission vehicles. Additionally, the bill utilizes federal funding to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure to ensure that everyone, including those who rent or live in multi-family units, will have access to charging infrastructure.

Rep. Jessica Brumsted and I, along with senators Thomas Chittenden, Virginia Lyons and Kesha Ram Hinsdale, meet the fourth Monday of every month from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Shelburne Pierson Library in the Community Room. This month we meet on March 27. Please reach out any time with ideas, questions and concerns to me at klalley@leg.state.vt.us.

Kate Lalley, a Democrat from Shelburne, represents Shelburne and a portion of South Burlington in the Chittenden-6 House district.