2022 Session Preview
Thanks to federal stimulus funds and an increase in state revenues, Vermont has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make significant investments that will transform the future of our state. I’m tracking conversations and bringing your voice to these critical issues:
Jump to: Forest Economy | Broadband | Climate Change | Education Funding | Public Employee Pensions | Reproductive Rights | Childcare | Pandemic Emergency Measures | Housing | Mental Health Care | Truth & Reconciliation | Redistricting
Forest Economy
Forests are vital to the environment, economy, ecology and culture of Vermont yet we know that Vermont’s forest industry, like agriculture, faces serious challenges.
This summer, I led a tripartisan group of over 30 legislators to visit loggers, landowners, and forest-based businesses and forestry experts across the entire state. Based on what we heard, we’re recommending:
A program to support municipal fuel switching (including wood heat)
Updates to Act 250 for forest-based enterprises and recreational trails
Updates to transportation regulations related to forest products
Creation of the Vermont Forest Economy Investment Program
These recommendations are now a part of a Rural Omnibus Bill being introduced this legislative session by the Rural Economic Development Working Group.
Broadband
Last session, we passed H.360 dedicating $150 million of federal stimulus funds to the construction of broadband infrastructure in the most underserved parts of the state.
The Vermont Community Broadband board, established by H.360, has already issued $21 million in pre-construction grants to 7 of the 9 Communication Union Districts and will distribute the remaining funds in the coming months.
This session, we’ll ensure that the money we’ve allocated is getting deployed and identify additional strategies to ensure that all Vermonters have access to affordable, high-speed internet.
Climate Change
The climate crisis calls for immediate action to lower Vermont’s emissions, make the energy that fuels our lives more affordable, and grow our green economy.
As charged by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020, the Vermont Climate Council published its highly anticipated Climate Action Plan, a roadmap to reduce Vermont’s greenhouse gas pollution to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Some strategies that we’ll be exploring include:
Accelerating weatherization at scale
Accelerating fuel-switching from fossil fuels to electricity for transportation and heating
Supporting municipal/school building resiliency and efficiency
Supporting an electric grid that can better weather storms and carry renewable energy
The plan will guide our climate crises policy decisions in 2022 and beyond.
Education Funding
The Task Force on the Implementation of the Pupil Weighting Factors Report has been working on a plan for how the legislature should implement the new recommended weights into our complex education funding formula to "ensure that all public-school students have equitable access to educational opportunities.”
The recommendations come from a 2019 UVM-lead peer-reviewed study that analyzed the "weights" that we use, across districts, to account for the fact that some categories of students — English language learners, for example, or students living in poverty — require a greater investment.
The weights are important because they impact the number of "equalized" pupils each district has, which in turn impacts property tax rates. The task force’s goal is to fine-tune this system to deliver even greater equity for students, for schools and for taxpayers in every corner of Vermont.
The task force will be delivering an action plan on December 15th, along with proposed legislation for the assembly to consider in the upcoming session.
Pensions
Vermont’s public pension system faces a $5.6 billion unfunded liability which, left unaddressed, will grow exponentially over time. We will continue to work towards a path that provides long-term sustainability for the fund, so that teachers, troopers, and all state employees can rely on a well-funded, solvent system when they retire.
The Pension Task Force has been reviewing the benefits, design, and funding of retirement and retiree health benefit plans and will report back to the legislature recommendations for putting the retirement systems on a sustainable path. Their recommendations will guide legislative work this session on this issue.
Reproductive Rights
While other state legislatures are taking steps to erode reproductive rights and limit access to abortion, Vermont has been strengthening our laws and taking steps to permanently protect reproductive rights in our state’s constitution.
Proposition 5 proposes adding language to the Vermont Constitution stating that "an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course." Changing the State constitution requires a two-part vote in the Vermont Assembly over two biennia, and then a vote by Vermonters.
The Senate passed Proposition 5 in 2019 and when the legislature reconvenes in January, the House will take up Proposition 5 as one of our first orders of business. If the legislature approves Prop 5, Vermonters will vote on the proposal in November of 2022.
Childcare
Last session, H.171 set in motion a public commitment to achieving an equitable, affordable, accessible, high-quality early childhood education system in Vermont. Our state has never been closer to achieving this goal. Simultaneously, circumstances are harder now than ever for Vermont families, businesses, and our essential early childhood education workforce.
In 2022, we’re focused on:
Equitable access to early childhood education opportunities
Affordability so that families are able to stay at or return to work
Equitable compensation for early childhood educators
As we work to develop these solutions here in Vermont, our work may be accelerated if Congress passes the Build Back Better bill which includes a once in a century federal investment in children and families.
Pandemic Emergency Measures
Right now, Vermont has one of the highest Covid-19 case rates in the country, the number of individuals in hospitals and ICUs remains high, and Vermonters' lives are being disrupted because they need to stay home and take care of loved ones while they await test results, or worse, are unable to access testing.
We continue to focus on keeping Vermonters safe and our health care system afloat. During the session, we will be taking testimony on testing protocols, contact tracing, masking and other measures to help determine next steps.
Housing
We suffer from a critical housing shortage for middle income, low income and homeless Vermonters. Last year, S.79, an act passed by the house and senate to improve rental housing health & safety, was vetoed by the Governor.
In the coming session, we will build on the work of S.79 to provide emergency housing relief, increase access to homeownership for Vermonters, and invest in new and rehabilitated housing in every corner of our state.
Mental Health Care
Many of us struggle with increased stress, anxiety and isolation and more serious mental health issues as a result of the pandemic. Vermont’s mental health system, critical to the support of children and families, has also been struggling. Folks are on waiting lists throughout the state, and even children are waiting in hospital emergency departments for essential, inpatient mental health care.
On December 9th, the House Committee on Health Care will take testimony from witnesses on patient wait times and pressures in Vermont mental health services.
This session, we’re considering concrete actions to address the demand for more and better community-based mental health services.
Truth & Reconciliation
In the coming session, we’ll explore establishing a Truth and Reconciliation process “to examine and begin the process of dismantling institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination in Vermont, both past and present.”
Since the 1970’s, Truth and Reconciliation commissions have been created by federal, state, and municipal governments to acknowledge past harm to a specific group or groups by an authority (government or other institutions with authority and power).
Truth and Reconciliation efforts offer an opportunity to publicly acknowledge harm, mourn its impact, and offer a path toward healing.
We hope this process will lead to wider public understanding of how and why reparations are vital to progress and healing.
Redistricting
This year legislative districts will be redrawn based on new census data with the goal of equal representation for all Vermonters.
The Legislative Apportionment Board makes recommendations to the Legislature, which will have the final say on the new map before it goes into effect for the 2022 election cycle.
The initial map from the LAB contains 150 single member districts, which is a change from the current map utilizing both single and multi-member districts.
I’m working on a bill to improve this process in the future. The bill proposes that the Legislative Apportionment Board, with assistance from the Secretary of State, study nonpartisan redistricting practices in other states and recommend to the General Assembly options for a nonpartisan redistricting process that Vermont could enact before the 2030 Census.