Lawmakers Hear Budget, Tax and Housing Testimony Across Multiple Committees
Legislative committees on Wednesday heard wide-ranging testimony focused on budgetary impacts of pending bills, tax policy and credits, housing funding and program fiscal notes, and utility and energy-assistance issues. Committees including Appropriations, Finance, Health Care, Ways & Means, General & Housing and Energy & Digital Infrastructure reviewed fiscal estimates and program details tied to specific bills and existing acts, and received testimony from agency and stakeholder representatives about funding needs, implementation costs and program operations.
Appropriations
The Appropriations committees reviewed fiscal and operational details tied to tax administration, environmental programs and staffing.
Tax department officials described metrics and performance indicators they are tracking, including vacancy rates and service metrics. The department uses a 12‑month snapshot for vacancy rates and reported periods with low overall vacancy outside the compliance division; officials said they aim for refund-processing performance targets, including a goal to issue 95% of refunds by June 1 within 45 days of filing. Presenters reported handling about 115,000 phone calls in a calendar year and achieving roughly a 90% handled‑call rate with average wait times reduced to about one minute and five seconds.
Appropriations members also reviewed fiscal notes for S.200 and related proposals addressing chloride reduction and municipal applicator training. Joint Fiscal Office and agency estimates presented to the committee included a proposed implementation cost for a salt reduction program: a one‑time $200,000 allocation for contractor services and a recurring $150,000 for a full‑time position, and an ANR estimate that a $350,000 appropriation would be necessary for program implementation. Committee discussion noted that some sections of the bill would be contingent on receiving appropriations.
Committee members discussed S.2 and operational metrics from the tax department, and S.29 relating to increasing chloride in the landscape and the environmental and transportation implications tied to road salting and TMDL issues.
Finance
The Finance Committee considered matters connected to existing acts and tax policy. Members discussed Act 73 and Act 60 in the context of property tax and income sensitivity provisions; testimony noted that Act 73 changes exempted a portion of housing value based on income.
Committee discussion also focused on proposed changes to corporate tax credits. Analysts said converting an existing nonrefundable machinery and equipment investment credit into a refundable credit could create a fiscal exposure, identifying a minimum potential general fund outlay of $500,000 per year for refundable portions and noting the possibility of a mix of refundable and nonrefundable treatment. Members raised that making a targeted corporate credit refundable would functionally operate as an appropriation when taxpayers do not owe tax liability.
Finance members also heard from business and advocacy witnesses on tax fairness, disability rights and the interaction of tax policy with housing and eligibility programs.
Health Care
The House Health Care Committee heard testimony on multiple bills including H.764, H.227 and H.17 and other measures addressing behavioral health, rights of people with mental health conditions, school mental‑health services and related spending.
Witnesses representing disability advocacy and mental‑health survivor networks urged investment in community‑based resources and raised concerns about involuntary institutional care. Testimony emphasized rights and penalties associated with coercive treatment and described experiences of survivors and advocates. School‑based clinicians and suicide‑prevention advocates spoke in favor of bills including H.817 and H.818 to support training, prevention and school‑based services; testimony referenced Youth Risk Behavior Survey data and described staffing and funding pressures in schools. Vermont Care Partners and designated agency representatives outlined the continuum of services provided by community mental health providers and the role of designated agencies in crisis and longer‑term supports; S.16 was among bills noted in testimony.
Ways & Means
The House Ways & Means Committee continued work on property‑tax classification and homestead/dwelling attestation language connected to Act 73 implementation and S.10.
Committee discussion covered a proposed dwelling use attestation to be added to homestead declaration processes. Staff and members discussed the operational burden of initial data collection — identifying dwelling units on parcels — and the need to support assessing officials with resources for initial setup. The committee reviewed penalties tied to fraudulent dwelling use attestations; draft language referenced a penalty assessed by the municipality equal to 100% of the education tax on the property plus interest and late fees for fraudulent filings. Members discussed compliance concerns such as an estimated gap in homestead declaration filings and how those who do not file may be affected by classification changes.
The committee planned additional stakeholder review and edits before further votes and noted outreach to short‑term rental and real‑estate stakeholders for comment.
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General & Housing
House General & Housing and related panels heard detailed presentations on housing funding, program performance and the Act 69 “Road Home” recommendations for housing people receiving developmental disability services.
Representatives from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) and other housing entities provided an overview of investments funded by the property transfer tax and one‑time general funds. Presenters said VHCB statutory funding comes from a designated share of property transfer tax receipts and noted past one‑time general fund appropriations, including $5 million directed to housing development and $2.8 million focused on a Burlington project to serve people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. VHCB testimony included average unit investment figures for pandemic‑era investments and noted wide variation in per‑unit costs depending on project type, with examples ranging from lower‑cost activities to multifamily projects with substantially higher per‑unit costs.
Witnesses addressing the Act 69 Road Home report described estimated five‑year costs for implementing recommendations and building needed housing stock; the report suggested a planning scale of tens of millions, with one cited range of $56 million to $61 million over five years for a package of recommended actions. Testimony stressed that rental assistance, service integration and housing production must work together, and pointed to pilot work under Act 186 to test models for project planning and development.
General & Housing panels also heard multiple witnesses on eviction, recovery housing and coordinated entry, with testimony citing program capacity, the role of community supports and the importance of funding and system coordination.
Energy & Digital Infrastructure
The Energy & Digital Infrastructure Committee received testimony on utility disconnection practices, low‑income rate programs and interconnection for large loads and data centers.
Utility witnesses described account‑management practices and customer outreach tied to delinquencies. One utility reported sending about 4,000 disconnect notices per month, representing roughly 10% of accounts that are categorized as preferred accounts. Utilities described the disconnect notice as both a collection step and an opportunity to connect customers with payment arrangements and community assistance.
Committee members reviewed the low‑income rate program: a 25% monthly discount on customer bills for eligible customers with income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, with income verification coordinated with the Department for Children and Families. Witnesses outlined winter‑month protections and noted that legislative and recovery funding during the pandemic supported customers who had accumulated balances.
Energy committee testimony also addressed interconnection processes for large new loads, explained that interconnection upgrades are studied and paid for by the interconnecting customer, and discussed the rate class used today for larger loads. Proposals and bills including H.753 and H.727 were presented and discussed in the committee record.
Other budget and program testimony
Additional appropriations testimony covered legal services funding and Medicaid advocacy programs. Vermont Legal Aid and related witnesses described contract and appropriation lines that fund mandatory legal services, a statewide helpline (receiving tens of thousands of calls annually) and the Medicare Advocacy Project; presenters said the governor’s proposed budget did not maintain some current appropriations and requested restoration of funding for services that help low‑income Vermonters access benefits and legal assistance.
Economic‑development and community action witnesses briefed committees on microbusiness, VITA tax assistance, and workforce supports. Community action agencies sought base funding increases for microbusiness development and year‑round VITA support, and described previous one‑time and federal grant funding streams that have supported programs.
Conclusion
The article covers committee sessions on February 11 attended by Appropriations, Finance, Health Care, Ways & Means, General & Housing, Energy & Digital Infrastructure and related panels. Testimony and presentations addressed fiscal notes and appropriation needs for specific bills and programs, tax credit and refund mechanics, housing funding and program implementation, school and mental‑health services, and utility customer assistance and interconnection procedures. The committees received detailed operational and cost information from agency and stakeholder witnesses on those subjects.
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