2025 Town Meeting Day Report

Dear Constituents –

The Legislature convened on January 8 with the directive to bring tax relief to Vermonters. However, the policy development has stalled. Since then, committees have taken testimony on every aspect of education reform, from aid for school construction, to PCB remediation, to class size, to district size, and everything in between.  The Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, of which I am Vice-Chair,  has received a crash course in drawing district lines and the school board elections process. What we have yet to do is to produce anything of note that takes the Governor’s Education Transformation Plan and moves it forward.  The biggest roadblock from where I sit is the majority party not being able to make a counter-proposal on the number of supervisory districts to divide the State into. Currently, there are 52 Supervisory or School Districts, and the Governor has proposed five. The entire House is waiting for the Education Committee to decide on a number between five and 52. Ways & Means cannot move forward with creating a Foundation Formula until the correct number is determined. Gov Ops stands ready to draw district lines in the event that the Ed Committee is not up to the task, which is becoming more apparent as the weeks go by; we have already started work on determining the elections process for the proposed wards within those districts. What is the cause of this inertia?  My guess is that undue pressure is being put on the Ed Committee from outside sources in the education world that seek to preserve the status quo…an unreasonable expectation after so many from the majority party lost their seats on the unaffordability of their property taxes. Vermonters demanded change at the polls in November – whatever that change looks like is up to the Legislature to determine, and the time to do that is now.  As Vermonters flee the State to more tax-hospitable locales, we don’t have time to waste on more studies or money to waste on more commissions to do that studying.

There are many valuable bills and policy concepts being introduced each year, and there are an equal number that are pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. It is our duty in leadership to determine which will do the most good for the most Vermonters; it is a task I take seriously, even if I don’t have the ultimate say in what we pass or don’t pass. Being in the minority means making concessions and building relationships to get through the contentious times and working across the aisle to bring forth what we believe is best for Vermont. I will continue to work with other legislators to advance legislation for the good of Vermonters.

Bills of note for public interest are: H.2 (increasing minimum age for delinquency proceedings); H.16/S.68 (Repeal of the Affordable Heat Act); H.62 (Repeal of the Global Warming Solutions Act); H.65 (Revoke VT’s use of California’s Clean Car Act); H.159 (Repeal of Residential Energy Standard); H.411 (Governor’s Public Safety package); H.412 (Governor’s Land Use and Housing Development package).

A sampling of bills that I’ve sponsored or co-sponsored this session are: H.16 (repealing the Affordable Heat Act); H.43 (exempting military retirement and survivor benefit income from VT income tax); H.57 (survivor benefits for law enforcement officers); H.70 (inclusion of use value appraisal land in the conserved land inventory); H.74 (exempting Social Security benefits from VT income tax); H.87 (raising awareness of military-related postsecondary opportunities); H,136 (health insurance coverage for biomarker testing); H.139 (requiring licensed athletic trainers at secondary school athletic events and practices); H.144 (enhancing food allergen awareness in food service establishments); H.247 (cardiac emergency response plans in schools); H.249 (income tax deduction for home study programs); H.296 (VT’s adoption of the Dietician Licensure Compact); H.300 (income tax credit for emergency first responders); others will be introduced at a later date, as there are many bills coming before the House, and our Legislative Counsel attorneys are working through that backlog.

Constituents should be aware of this website for information on tax relief programs and assistance that may be useful: TaxCreditVT.org

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected] I welcome your questions and concerns.  It is an honor to represent you.

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5 (Highgate, Franklin, Berkshire, Richford)