End-of-Session Summary 05.22.23
The new House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency and Forestry took the lead on introducing legislation for those sectors this session. Committee members introduced or co-sponsored at least seven relevant bills. Granted, their colleagues on the Senate side secured the organic dairy relief that was in limbo in the Senate at first, and developed the language and secured aspects of agricultural status for outdoor cannabis producers. Here is a status update on which bills that we’ve been monitoring, supporting or informing did and did not pass.
Stay tuned for an in-depth End-of-Session Recap with key takeaways from bills that passed into law!
Bills that We Anticipate Passing into Law
Please note: the status on the legislative website doesn’t suggest that all of these bills have been delivered to the Governor’s desk yet, so the status below is our take on the bills that were passed by the legislature and might have passed into the Governor’s signature by now given the time lapsed since passage. We will update this overview as needed - you can check the Governor’s Office’s website for action on bills here.
S. 56 - An act relating to child care and early childhood education
We anticipate it passing into law either without the Governor's signature, or by legislative override of a gubernatorial veto
More info —> The House and the Senate passed S.56, a bill with a significant investment in Vermont’s childcare - parents, providers, workers - settling on a payroll tax requested by the Senate to substantially fund it, as opposed to a more progressive taxation plan proposed by the House. The Governor has stated his concerns about this legislation, and whether or not he vetoes it - we anticipate the legislature having the votes to override the veto, and the legislation passing into law.
H. 270 - Miscellaneous Cannabis Bill
We anticipate it passing into law with or without the Governor’s signature
More info —> H.270 includes numerous aspects of agricultural status to outdoor producers as its most significant and consequential achievements. The legislation continues to fund its existing social equity program one year at a time, and though it makes no direct investments in community members harmed, or communities disproportionately harmed, we did get a study included which will work to develop data by which we can inform the development of a program like this.
H. 165 - Universal School Meals
We anticipate it passing into law either without the Governor’s signature, or by legislative override of a gubernatorial veto
S. 115 - An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects
We anticipate this passing into law without the Governor's signature or veto
H. 472 - An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects
We anticipate this passing into law without the Governor's signature or veto
H. 494 - Highlights from the Budget as passed
One time Working Lands Enterprise Grant program: 1M stayed unchanged
New Ag Development Program (Meat/Maple/Produce): passed with 2.3M appropriation for grants for meat, maple processing and produce and grantees should not include hydroponic operations.
Land Access and Opportunity Board: base funding of 1.2M included
Organic Dairy Relief: One-time 6.9M
New! Small Farmer Diversification and Transition Program: One-time VAAFM funding reduced from 350K to 150K
The path of the budget is harder to discern. If vetoed by the Governor, the legislature may not be able to override a veto unless it is willing to meet the demands of some lawmakers who are fighting for adequate funding to provide needed housing support to close to 3,000 people, including several hundred children, who will be without shelter once a federally funded motel voucher program ends.
Vetoed Bills
S. 5 - An act relating to affordably meeting the mandated greenhouse gas reductions for the thermal sector through efficiency, weatherization measures, electrification, and decarbonization
House and Senate did override the Governor’s veto so that S.5 became law