January 2, 2026 — 12:30PM
Lawmakers review taxes, pensions, stormwater fees, housing costs and utility planning across multiple committee hearings
Legislative committees on January 21–22 heard detailed briefings on revenue and spending items, mandates and regulatory authority changes across education, health, environment, housing and energy topics. House Ways & Means reviewed federal grants assessments for teacher pensions and health‑related taxes and funds; General & Housing and Environment committees examined housing development costs, stormwater impact fees and related statutory authority; Natural Resources & Energy and Energy & Digital Infrastructure panels addressed permit delegation, transmission planning and interconnection processes; Appropriations and Health‑related committees discussed budget adjustment requests and funding mechanisms for health and social services.
Ways & Means
The Ways & Means Committee heard staff and treasurer office testimony on the federal grants assessment for teacher pensions, explaining the practice of charging an employer pension component to federal grants that fund certain positions. The committee was told the assessment percentage used this year is 25.47% and that the treasurer’s office calculates the rate annually and bills schools after first‑quarter fiscal data are available. The state retirement system and treasury presented a $3,000,000 request in the Budget Adjustment Act to cover pension costs tied to shortfalls from federal grants.
Committee discussion also covered health‑related taxes and funds. Staff reviewers described a claims assessment equal to 0.999% of prior‑year health insurance claims paid by insurers for Vermont members, with 2% of proceeds allocated to the Department of Taxes for software and the remainder split between the Health IT (HIT) fund and another fund. Witnesses outlined historic components of the assessment, referenced Act 192 and Act 68, and presented estimates that a 0.8% portion would bring in about $24,000,000 with the HIT fund estimated to contribute about $6,000,000; testimony noted a $2,000,000 transfer tied to Act 68 for grants to hospitals.
Members discussed sunsetting and renewal options for related taxes and the health‑IT funding mechanism and the committee planned further consideration in miscellaneous tax work ahead of crossover.
General & Housing
The General & Housing Committee heard multiple presenters on housing development in rural areas, emphasizing predevelopment costs, infrastructure needs and barriers to project finance. Witnesses described projects ranging from senior and family units in small towns to larger redevelopments, citing predevelopment expenditures (one witness reported more than $1,500,000) and remediation and infrastructure costs including test wells, new water and sewer lines and road work.
Committee testimony addressed the burden of permitting and regulatory compliance on small developers, with specific costs cited for permitting and consultant work and references to difficulties in financing projects under typical deal sizes in rural communities. Panelists described financing structures using impact investment funds and grants, the role of community land trusts, and programs aimed at preserving affordability and supporting rehabilitation and home ownership.
Members and witnesses discussed eviction and tenant safety priorities, the need for consistent funding sources such as VHCb and VHIP, and options for aggregating smaller projects regionally to achieve economies of scale.
Environment
The House Environment Committee reviewed draft language in H.632 and related statutory authority on stormwater permitting and impact fees established under Act 64 and later provisions. Agency witnesses described stormwater impact fees for sites unable to meet on‑site treatment standards, the calculation framework for maximum impact fees (including a per‑acre cap for impervious surface), and the Clean Water Service Provider Network’s funding and project pipeline. Presenters said the Clean Water Service Provider program had allocated roughly $19.5 million through its first three years and that year‑four funding brings committed and identified project needs above that initial allocation.
Committee discussion included the operational design of impact fee exemptions or adjustments—particularly for manufactured housing communities and constrained sites—the requirement for operations and maintenance easements for higher‑cost projects, and changes to notice periods and timelines for publishing pollutant accounting methodologies. The department proposed replacing statutory sixty‑day deadlines with a timeline up to one year for establishing scientifically grounded pollutant reduction accounting.
The committee also considered proposed amendments to the Vermont Administrative Procedures Act that would add a new basis for emergency or expedited rulemaking, expanding the circumstances under which agencies could pursue emergency rulemaking beyond imminent peril to public health, safety or welfare. Department counsel outlined existing rulemaking steps and described past emergency rulemakings used to set groundwater and hazardous waste standards.
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Natural Resources & Energy (Senate and House panels)
Senate and House Natural Resources & Energy hearings covered delegation and permitting approaches tied to Act 47 and S.101, municipal delegation of stormwater permitting, and the general permit concept for stormwater compliance. Witnesses described the Act 47 working group recommendations, the role of clean water service providers, and technical and capacity issues municipalities face when assuming delegated responsibilities. Testimony noted both limited past uptake of delegation programs and ongoing efforts to modernize technical standards, connection manuals and capacity tracking.
Panels also addressed wastewater and combined sewer overflow obligations, the cost and complexity of major infrastructure upgrades, and potential statutory or regulatory clarifications to coordinate wastewater permitting and connection rules with permitting reforms.
Appropriations
The Appropriations Committee reviewed the Budget Adjustment Act requests and spreadsheets of public hearing requests. Members discussed funding sources and constraints, noting funds cited in presentations including a $50,000,000 pool referenced in testimony and portions of that amount described as including $30,000,000 tied to federal funding and a separate $30,000,000 the governor had proposed to use to reduce education taxes. Appropriations members said flexibility in the governor’s budget is limited and highlighted reallocation examples within human services and shelter funding. The committee also discussed the $3,000,000 request described in Ways & Means to address teacher pension payments tied to federal grant shortfalls.
Education
The House Education Committee reviewed H.681 as introduced, a bill that would add a requirement for voter approval prior to school closure. Legislative counsel outlined language that would require a school district to obtain an affirmative vote of the town where the school or affected grades are located before closing a school or relocating grades, and stated the provision would supersede any educational charter or local articles of agreement to the contrary. Members discussed implementation questions, including how the requirement would apply to regional schools serving multiple towns and the role of accountability and information provided to voters.
Human Services and Health & Welfare
House Human Services considered an amendment to H.545 that would add a disclosure requirement prior to administering recommended immunizations. Counsel explained the amendment would require health care professionals to provide written information disclosing potential harms, risks and side effects associated with a recommended immunization and to obtain written acknowledgement from the patient or a parent/guardian; the provision would also require disclosure of the provider immunity set out elsewhere in the subsection. Committee members and counsel discussed existing informed‑consent and malpractice standards and how the proposed language would interact with current law.
Senate Health & Welfare received presentations on the Blueprint for Health and the funding and payment mechanisms that support community health teams and value‑based payments. Witnesses described per‑member‑per‑month payments to practices and community health teams (with example figures for practices with about 1,500 attributed patients receiving approximately $4,500–$5,000 per month and community health teams funded at roughly $50,000) and noted reliance on Medicaid and other payer participation in sustaining programs. Committee presenters reviewed program evaluation approaches and measures tied to integrated care initiatives.
Energy & Digital Infrastructure / Energy planning
House Energy & Digital Infrastructure and ISO New England presentations covered interconnection reforms, long‑term transmission planning and FERC orders that shape interconnection queue processes. ISO presenters described FERC Order 2023 interconnection cluster study requirements, Order 1000 cost allocation principles for interregional projects and a 2050 transmission study informing longer‑term planning. Committee members discussed the regulatory paths for telecommunications siting (Act 250, Act 248A), the pending sunset of the 248A alternative process and options including extending the sunset, directing PUC rulemaking to improve public processes, or other statutory changes. Local officials described experiences with contested telecommunications applications, substantial deference to local plans and challenges small towns face in participating in regulatory proceedings.
Conclusion
This article covers committee hearings held January 21–22, 2026, including sessions of the House Ways & Means, General & Housing, Environment, Appropriations, Education, Human Services, Energy & Digital Infrastructure committees and Senate Natural Resources & Energy and Health & Welfare panels. Testimony focused on revenue and spending items, mandates and regulatory authority for pensions, health‑related assessments and funds, stormwater impact fees and clean water programs, housing development and predevelopment costs, school closure voter requirements, immunization disclosure and liability language, and interconnection and transmission planning processes. The reporting reflects the committee discussions and materials presented at those meetings.
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