Lawmakers hear testimony on environment, energy, housing, education and budget matters in January hearings
Witnesses and agency officials testified before multiple legislative committees on January 23 on a range of policy proposals that included environmental rulemaking and mandates, watercraft decontamination and aquatic invasive species, changes to net metering and renewable energy authority, tax credits and housing finance measures, the state sales tax exemption for heating fuels, and budget appropriations for housing assistance.
Environment — House Environment, 2026-01-23 11:00
Testimony to the House Environment Committee included extended remarks from Annette Smith of Remoders for a Clean Environment about long-running local challenges with energy and development projects and references to Acts 1, 181 and 174. Witnesses discussed municipal zoning, the role of rebuttable presumptions tied to permits, and community participation rights in siting and permit challenges. Comments described concerns about renewable energy siting in critical habitat and referenced fee and capacity constraints on the regional grid.
Natural Resources & Energy — Senate Natural Resources & Energy, 2026-01-23 09:05
Multiple witnesses addressed S.224 and related proposals focused on inland lake protection and aquatic invasive species. Testimony described a proposed "home lake" rule in S.224 to prevent spread of invasives and urged the bill as an inexpensive strategy for prevention. Witnesses described decontamination costs and capability gaps for wakeboats, with ANR estimates for decontamination ranging broadly and concerns that existing boat wash stations are insufficient for wakeboat ballast tanks. Testimony also covered proposals to add lake protection priorities to Fish & Wildlife public access rules, greeter program funding and enforcement language, and changes to net metering and grid-interconnection decisionmaking referenced in Act 99 and S.170 and S.53. Speakers raised mandates, enforcement, rulemaking authority, and potential program costs.
Ways & Means — House Ways & Means, 2026-01-23 10:40
The committee heard from Mark Collins of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency on state housing tax credit programs and related financing mechanisms. Testimony described a five‑year state tax credit structure and how sales of tax credits are used to finance rental housing. Witnesses discussed program scale, pricing of credits, and past sales. VHFA representatives described down payment assistance, the interaction of state and federal programs, and program demand and fiscal accounting for tax credit sales. S.972 and S.10 were among bills noted in Ways & Means materials.
Finance — Senate Finance, 2026-01-23 15:15
Senate Finance reviewed options for funding the Education Fund, including a proposal to adjust the sales tax treatment of heating fuels and the scope of the domestic use exemption described in Act 73. Testimony summarized the current exemption for fuels used in residences and discussed potential narrowing of that exemption to classify some properties differently for tax purposes. The session included discussion of administrative questions about identifying properties and impacts on exempt entities such as hospitals.
Appropriations — House Appropriations, 2026-01-23 15:20 and related sessions
House Appropriations reviewed budget adjustment language and spending designations. Committee materials show an item that would direct $5,000,000 of amounts appropriated to the Agency of Administration in FY 2026 to assist housing authorities to avoid termination of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 vouchers that would otherwise be lost due to federal funding reductions. Meetings across Appropriations panels also addressed closing out pilot special fund appropriations, transfers, reversion language, and allocations for a range of programs including recovery centers and health care provider grants. S.292 and S.3 appeared among bills discussed in appropriation contexts.
🍁 Make a One-Time Contribution — Stand Up for Accountability in Vermont 🍁
Education — Senate Education, 2026-01-23 15:00 and related sessions
Multiple witnesses discussed school district governance, consolidation and fiscal impacts tied to acts referenced in testimony, including Acts 46, 73 and 127. Presenters reviewed research on district mergers, reporting no clear evidence of significant per‑pupil savings from mergers while noting shifts in how merged districts allocate spending across administrative support, salaries and contracted services. Testimony raised questions about governance scale, local oversight, the foundation funding formula, weighting of students, and potential impacts on staffing and capital liabilities.
General & Housing — House General & Housing, 2026-01-23 13:05 and related sessions
Committee discussion and testimony addressed S.6 and a suite of proposals on manufactured homes and manufactured home communities. Presenters described proposals to change tax treatment so manufactured homes sold as tangible personal property would be subject to the property transfer tax rather than sales and use tax, to clarify treatment of limited equity cooperatives, to exempt certain cooperative-owned parcels from three‑acre stormwater permitting, and to require municipalities to allow mobile, modular or prefabricated homes in residential zoning districts. Testimony also covered valuation, appraisal and disclosure requirements for manufactured home sales.
Environment and Conservation — House Environment and related hearings
House Environment also received testimony on Act 59 implementation and state land classifications. Witnesses described targets for ecological reserves on state lands, the role of conservation funding sources such as Forest Legacy and Land and Water Conservation Fund, and options for statutory designation of ecological reserve areas. Testimony discussed percentages of conserved land in various classifications and the state’s long‑range management planning for public lands.
Health Care and Digital Infrastructure — House Health Care and Energy & Digital Infrastructure
Health Care committee sessions addressed legislation tied to pharmacy benefit managers, PBM practices, patient out‑of‑pocket payments and confidentiality in peer support for emergency responders; H.202 and H.270 were among bills noted. Energy & Digital Infrastructure reviewed IT system modernization and continuity, including discussion of SSMIS outages, federal funding and system design approaches; witnesses urged iterative investment strategies and highlighted operational risks tied to eligibility and federal match calculations for human services systems.
Conclusion
The article covers hearings held January 23, 2026, before multiple legislative committees — House Environment; Senate Natural Resources & Energy; House Ways & Means; Senate Finance; House and Senate Education; House and Senate Appropriations; House General & Housing; House Energy & Digital Infrastructure; and House Health Care — addressing environmental rulemaking and invasive species prevention, net metering and energy authority, tax and spending proposals affecting housing and education funds, budget designation for housing vouchers and other appropriations, manufactured housing policy and taxation, state land conservation under Act 59, and health care and IT system issues discussed in committee testimony.
FYIVTBOT | FYIVT
You can find FYIVT on YouTube | X(Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram
#fyivt #vtleg #goldendome #vermontpolitics
Support Us for as Little as $5 – Get In The Fight!!
Make a Big Impact with $25/month—Become a Premium Supporter!
Join the Top Tier of Supporters with $50/month—Become a SUPER Supporter!
Subscribe to RSS
Leave a Reply