Dear Constituents –

The Legislature continues to move towards the end of session. By now, the pace should be at a frenzy, but we seem to be in the lull before the storm.

In Government Operations, we picked up our work on S.59 (amendments to Open Meeting Law), S.56 (Office of New Americans); S.233 (State-funded grants); S.23 (use of synthetic media in elections); a couple of new charter changes: H.506 (Town of Charlotte) and H.508 (City of Burlington); and H.153 (expanding family access to certified copies of birth and death certificates).

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations held a joint public hearing on Veterans Affairs. While only a small number of veterans signed up to speak, we have heard from others in writing about their concerns and plan to circulate a survey in the coming weeks to better understand the challenges faced by those who served.

On that topic, House Ways & Means passed out a favorable version of the military pension and survivors’ benefits tax exemption in a more comprehensive tax credit bill (S.51) that also includes a tax credit for low-income veterans. This bill will come to the House Floor next week, and I expect it to receive widespread support.

On the House Floor, we passed the following legislation to the Senate: H.364 (approval of the annexation of property by the Village of Swanton); S.36 (Medicaid payment model for residential substance use disorder treatment services); S.50 (increasing size of solar net metering projects that qualify for expedited registration); H.13 (Medicaid payment rates for home- and community-based service providers; H.206 (uniform commercial code); H.398 (Vermont Economic Development Authority); H.463 (Technical Corrections); H.218 (Opioid Abatement Special Fund); H.96 (increasing the monetary thresholds for Certificates of Need); and S.27 (medical debt relief and excluding medical debt from credit reports). To remind readers, at this time of year, if the House is passing an “H” bill, it means that the Senate has sent it back to us with an amendment, and if we are passing an “S” bill, we are sending it back to the Senate either with our approval or with further amendment. We also addressed JRS 15 (Joint Resolution supporting Vermont’s transgender and non-binary community and declaring Vermont’s commitment to fighting discrimination and treating all citizens with respect and dignity), which was brought to us by the Senate, and PR 3 (Declaration of Rights; Right to Collectively Bargain). It is of importance to note that PR 3 is a Constitutional Amendment and must pass through the Senate and the House in two successive bienniums and will be brought to the voters in a subsequent general election. The roll call vote in the House was 125-15. The language of this Amendment can be found on the General Assembly website, and it is worth noting that it includes a clause that would require an employee to join a union, if one exists, at their workplace as a condition of employment; it is for this reason that I voted no on this Amendment, despite supporting the premise on which unions were first established, their historical impact, and current union activity. We also moved to establish Committees of Conference on H.493 (Budget Big Bill) and H.488 (Transportation Bill). This is a good sign, as it typically signals that the end of session is coming. However, this year, because the Education Transformation Bill (H.454) is moving so slowly, we have been told that the session will go through the month of May.

The Rural Caucus this week learned more about the Housing Bill (S.127) that is making its way through the committee process and USDA federal funding cuts affecting local farm and food security programs and agencies.

It is an honor to serve your interests in the Statehouse. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5