By Alison Clarkson The Vermont Legislature is now deep into the work of our 2023 session. To date, 230 bills have been introduced, committees are taking testimony on various issues, and the priorities we identified before session began are beginning to take shape in legislation. The discussion about the Senate’s 107-page child care bill, S.56,…

By Jim Harrison I have never been much of a poker player, but I do know when my cards could have been better. With an 8-4 partisan split on the House Appropriations Committee and only 38 Republicans in the full House, trying to negotiate a reduction in the $91 million in new spending in the…

By Erin Petenko/VTDigger The Vermont Supreme Court issued a decision Friday, Jan. 20, in favor of Montpelier allowing noncitizens to vote in its local elections. The court ruled that the Vermont Constitution does restrict voting in statewide contests to citizens. Montpelier City Council President Jack McCullough told VTDigger that the initiative began when town residents noticed that it…

National Unclaimed Property Day is this Wednesday, Feb. 1 and the state is partnering again with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) to remind Vermonters to search for and claim their missing money.   The Treasurer’s Office currently holds $119 million of unclaimed property. In 2022, the office paid out over 15,000 claims…

By Jim Harrison As I begin my third year on the House Appropriations Committee, I have often marveled how the 11 member (now 12) could reach consensus on the major budget bills each session. That doesn’t mean we all agreed on every appropriation, but enough compromises were made to achieve unanimous votes in committee. Unfortunately,…

The 2023 tax season officially opens Jan. 23, at both the federal and state levels. This is the date that the IRS and Vermont begin accepting personal income tax returns for tax year 2022.  The department offers the following tips to make filing and getting your refund easier and faster:  Wait to receive all W-2…

By Riley Robinson/VTDigger Vermont’s revenues are in boom times, state economists announced Tuesday, Jan. 17, as public coffers are buoyed by what economic adviser Jeff Carr called “epic, unprecedented, off-the-charts” federal money — for now. Those same economists predicted the state’s general fund revenues will drop nearly 9% in the fiscal year that begins July 1,…

By Rep. Jim Harrison The semi-annual revenue update from state economists was presented and adopted last Tuesday, Jan. 17. Both the administration’s and legislature’s outside experts agreed that the unprecedented influx of federal dollars to the state and individuals (a total of $10 billion over the past few years), has definitely helped state coffers. The…

Our 2023 legislative session is off to a fast start. Only two and a half weeks into the session, we’ve already passed our first bill (H.42 which extends remote options for Town Meeting wwand the Open Meeting Law).  Committees are meeting and being brought up to speed on the reports they have requested and the…

Administrative complexity, staff turnover, and poor recordkeeping contributed to millions of dollars in mistakes  State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a new audit Jan. 23 of Burlington’s Waterfront TIF district. TIF districts allow municipalities to designate an area for public infrastructure improvements, incur debt to pay for the work, and use a portion of the area’s…

On Tuesday, January 3, Sugarbush Resort submitted two sets of applications to the town of Warren Development Review Board seeking approval to redevelop the former Rosita’s Restaurant and three of the four parcels known as the “Sugar Cube” to house Sugarbush Resort employees. The Rosita’s project contemplates a four-story apartment building housing 16 studio apartments…

The Vermont Homeowner Assistance Program (VHAP) has paid over $22.5 million in grants to assist homeowners impacted by the pandemic. This represents nearly 55% of total program funding available to homeowners. Administered by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, VHAP launched in January 2022 to assist homeowners who have faced economic hardship brought on by the…

Green Mountain Power (GMP) is launching two programs to connect income-qualified customers with solar energy that has too often been out of reach for them. The Shared Solar Program (SSP) unlocks incentives in the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to create a qualified low-income program that saves participants money. Another program, the Affordable Community Renewable…

By Rep. Jim Harrison With the start of the new legislative biennium, all legislative proposals must start fresh. Bills that were proposed on the past, but not enacted, can be re-introduced again, as well as brand new initiatives. In a typical year there may be 600-700 new bills with about 10-15% of them getting enacted…

Obstacle: assessors in Vermont are in short supply By Ethan Weinstein/VTDigger Two-thirds of Vermont’s 254 municipalities can expect a reappraisal order this year, according to the state’s Department of Taxes. And with so many townwide reappraisals in order, the state faces another issue: a lack of resources to handle the demand. “There’re not enough firms to…