External Link: http://legislature.vermont.gov/
Legislative and Education Committee Update 1/30 to 2/2
There was very little action on the House floor this week, with only one bill being passed to the Senate. H.363, an act relating to prohibiting discrimination based on certain hair types and styles, and one being passed to the Governor, S.160, an act relating to state education property taxes and flood-related damage.
(You can read the full text of any bill by going to the Vermont General Assembly website at http://legislature.vermont.gov and entering the bill number in the search bar.)
S.160, an act relating to state education property taxes and flood-related damage, received a unanimous vote on the floor, and rules were suspended to expedite it to the Governor for signature. This is an important bill that will supply tax relief to individuals with property lost or destroyed due, directly or indirectly, to severe storms and flooding in an area that was declared a federal disaster between July 1, 2023, and October 15, 2023. This will occur by allowing a town to gain reimbursement for state education taxes that were abated (removed) from the property owner's taxes due to the floods. There are stipulations as to what qualifies an eligible property for reimbursement, as follows:
– a 50 percent or greater loss in value to the primary structure on the property;
– loss of use by the property owner of the primary structure on the property for 60 days or more;
– loss of access by the property owner to utilities for the primary structure on the property for 60 days or more; or
– condemnation of the primary structure on the property under federal, state, or municipal law, as applicable.
There is a lot more that needs to be done to help those affected by the flooding that occurred this summer. It was a devastating event that caused extreme damage to many, and hopefully this will play a small but helpful part in bringing relief.
In the Education Committee this week, we continued discussions and testimony on many important topics.
Education Finance: We joined in a joint hearing with the House Ways and Means committee to continue discussions surrounding the effects of Act 127 on school budgets this year and what can be done to help lessen the projected large property tax increases. Some of the solutions proposed are to do away with the 5% tax rate cap altogether, find a more targeted mechanism to help districts, and identify alternative/additional means of revenue to offset the cost. Finding the actual revenue streams to mitigate the effect on taxpayers is an ongoing discussion that, to me, doesn't equate to a real, long-term, solution. I say this because the only way the state gains more revenue is through more taxes or fees, which in turn means taxpayers are still paying more, just through other avenues. I have long been a proponent of education funding improvements and feel the system should be more predictable for school districts and much more transparent and easy to understand for the taxpayer. Hopefully, the current situation we are facing will drive further conversations on this topic and lead to that change in the future.
School Construction: The School Construction Aid Task Force report was released on Thursday. As stated in past updates, this report makes recommendations on a path forward for Vermont school construction and sustainable funding. A large portion of these recommendations will need much more discussion, but our committee has already started formulating a bill that can move some of the pieces forward. There is a sense of urgency behind formulating this program due to the extreme cost of immediate needs and the compounding effect of not taking action. To view the full report, follow this link:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Education/Reports%20and%20[…]pdf
Lastly, on Friday, we heard testimony from UVM President Suresh Garimella. During his testimony, he reminded us of a great scholarship program that they offer called the UVM Promise. This program provides free tuition to Vermont students from households making $75,000 or less. Please take a look into this program if you qualify and have a child looking to further their education.
Thank you, and if you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at 802.233.7579 or chris.taylor@leg.state.vt.us.
Representative Chris Taylor
Chittenden-Franklin District
