Legislature hearings on education finance, energy net metering, budgets, local food, and recovery services dominate Feb. 11 meetings

Lawmaker panels heard extensive testimony Wednesday on education finance changes enacted in Act 73 and their tax and consolidation implications, net metering and backup-power reporting in a telecommunications transition bill, agency budget presentations and spending outlooks, a school food local‑purchase incentive, and funding and statutory treatment of recovery residences and services. Committees also took up environmental permitting and restoration language, a prescription drug discount card bill, and a pilot accountability court model for repeat criminal dockets.

Education

Witnesses to the House Education Committee explained financing changes created by Act 73 and how they interact with district consolidation proposals introduced as a “conversation starter.” Testimony described the foundation formula established in Act 73 as a statutory base amount adjusted for inflation multiplied by a school district’s weighted pupil count to produce an education opportunity payment. The formula creates a uniform equalized homestead and non‑homestead property tax rate and replaces prior structures such as the “off the top” education fund approach, officials said.

Act 73 also split the non‑homestead property classification and created a homestead exemption tied to household income. The statute authorizes supplemental district spending: districts may seek voter approval to spend up to a capped amount above their education opportunity payment, with the supplemental district spending tax equalizing tax rates based on the district with the lowest grand list value per pupil, a witness said. Presenters noted many financing provisions are contingent on conditions such as new school districts becoming operational and on JFO reporting required under Act 73.

Local superintendents, disability advocates and school officials raised concerns about consolidation’s fiscal impacts and student services. Representatives of the Vermont Superintendent’s Association said earlier five‑district consolidation concepts were unworkable for Vermont’s geography and could increase taxpayer costs, while disability advocates urged attention to special education funding, oversight of independent schools, and use of boards of cooperative education services referenced in Act 168.

A range of technical questions about modeling, district maps and the small and sparse grant criteria were discussed.

Energy & Digital Infrastructure

The House Energy & Digital Infrastructure Committee received testimony on net metering trends, methodology for valuing behind‑the‑meter generation, and two bills flagged in meeting materials. Department witnesses and consultants summarized analyses showing net‑metered installations have declined and described adjusters and compensation changes that contributed to that decline. Presenters discussed societal and utility system benefits of distributed generation and storage, and the difficulty of quantifying the cost shift without detailed data.

Committee members and staff discussed language in a draft bill addressing the transition from copper to fiber networks and battery backup and reporting requirements. The draft removes explicit backup‑power mandates while creating disclosure and reporting obligations for carriers and directing the Department to review outage and service‑availability reports. Members debated notice timing, the scope of required disclosures, and whether the statute should require carriers to report customer purchases of battery backup equipment and related costs.

Witnesses noted the 2017 delegation to the Public Utility Commission to set compensating rates for net metering and cautioned against legislative fixes that would lock rates or increase complexity for utilities. Supporters of maintaining reporting and consumer protections argued state oversight should monitor service availability and emergency access as carriers transition technologies and billing models.

Appropriations and Budget Outlook

Budget and regulatory staff briefed the House Appropriations Committee on agency budgets, revenue composition, and program changes. The committee was shown an overall FY27 increase figure presented as a 4.5% increase from FY26 and received detail on agency-specific drivers such as health‑care and salary inflation assumptions used in budget development.

The Public Utility Commission described a FY27 budget proposal funded largely by gross receipts tax and application fees, noting application fees for merchant generation and net‑metering reviews do not fully cover review costs and that reserves are being drawn down. The Agency of Transportation presented a multi‑year outlook showing a projected FY27 budget hole narrowed through one‑time funds and administrative adjustments; materials noted federal dollars comprise a majority of AOT funding and match requirements tied to state transportation funds and the Transportation Infrastructure Bond fund.

Appropriations staff discussed Act 18 and clean‑heat positions previously funded by a one‑time appropriation, vacancy savings and how some prior appropriations were treated when comparing year‑to‑year bases. Several presenters highlighted the role of reserves and the limits of fee revenue to cover rising regulatory workloads.

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Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry — Local food and school meals

The Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee heard a report on the local foods incentive for school meals. Agency staff described two grant tracks: a baseline year grant for school food authorities applying for the first time that yields a 15‑cent per lunch award to support startup costs for increasing local purchasing, and a supplemental track for districts reaching higher local purchase thresholds.

Presenters said historical analysis shows roughly a $1 in grant funding corresponds to about $3 in local purchasing, and that federal funding fluctuations have affected supplemental local food support. Committee discussion addressed administrative review cycles, menu and labeling review practices required by federal program rules, and the funding cap in statute for the incentive program.

Committee members also discussed bills implementing the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan and connections between local food investments, food access, and workforce and disability equity.

Human Services — Recovery services and S.157

House Human Services received testimony supporting S.157 and related funding requests. Recovery Partners of Vermont and multiple recovery residence operators and residents described recovery centers, recovery residences, recovery coaching and peer support services and asked the legislature to renew $800,000 in prevention funds to level‑fund recovery centers. Testimony included two opioid settlement‑related funding requests cited by a provider: $1,750,000 for ongoing operations and $200,000 for scholarships. Witnesses described recovery residences as programmatic, community‑based supports distinct from typical rental housing and urged statutory clarity to preserve program accountability and access.

Ways & Means — Prescription drug discount card (H.577)

The Ways & Means Committee considered H.577, a strike‑all amendment establishing a Vermont Prescription Drug Discount Card Program to be administered by the State Treasurer. Testimony summarized the bill as authorizing the treasurer to join a multi‑state or regional purchasing collaboration to pool purchasing power, negotiate discounts, and make a free discount card available to all Vermont residents. The Joint Fiscal Office noted a $50,000 general‑fund appropriation in section five for development and implementation costs and that the treasurer may charge fees and establish a special fund to defray program costs. The House Health Care Committee previously amended the bill to allow amounts paid using the discount card to count toward insured individuals’ deductibles.

Environment — Stream alteration, enforcement and restoration language (H.204)

The House Environment Committee reviewed draft language addressing multiple permitting, enforcement and restoration items. Staff described edits to ANR enforcement authority and a new section focused on surface‑water restoration projects intended to streamline permitting for ecological restoration, including dam removal and floodplain restoration. Witnesses and agency staff debated thresholds for stream alteration permitting and whether to scale permitting requirements by watershed size, and discussed creating an ecological restoration general permit to consolidate reviews now handled by multiple DEC programs.

Committee members and stakeholders also discussed dam orders and whether repair orders should incorporate an assessment of whether a dam should be removed as part of public safety, water quality and ecological restoration determinations. The committee noted sequencing of phase two rulemaking under Act 161 and related capacity constraints at ANR.

Judiciary — Chittenden accountability court and case backlog

The House Judiciary Committee received an update on an accountability court pilot in Chittenden County launched after a governor’s announcement. The special prosecutor and court staff described identifying defendants with five or more pending dockets, assembling resources and addressing communication barriers. Judiciary staff presented December case‑count snapshots showing pending criminal dockets and a reported 14.5% decrease in pending dockets during a cited period; speakers emphasized local differences across counties and the need for flexible, resourced approaches to managing repeat misdemeanor cases alongside rising serious felony caseloads.

Conclusion

This article covers Feb. 11 committee hearings across multiple House and Senate panels, including Education, Energy & Digital Infrastructure, Appropriations, Agriculture, Human Services, Ways & Means, Environment, Judiciary and Transportation. Committees heard detailed testimony about Act 73 school financing and consolidation implications, net‑metering and telecommunications transition reporting, agency budget presentations and funding pressures, school food local‑purchase incentives, recovery services and residences, prescription drug discount program language, environmental permitting and restoration proposals, and an accountability court pilot for high‑docket defendants.

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