Rep. Sibilia: Week 2 of the 20214 Legislative Session

Good evening,

A reminder that this Thursday, January 18th from 6-7, I am hosting virtual Office Hours – you can connect with me at the Wardsboro Library or from your home. Stop in for a minute or the hour with your questions or advice.

This is the second year of a two year biennium – that means that at the end of this session, all of Vermont state office holders from the governor to every legislator will finish their term and have to decide if they will run again, for a different office, retire or return to private sector employment. It also means the legislative year starts off pretty quickly and will may also end pretty quickly as those who decide to run for office in in the 25/26 biennium look to get on the campaign trail.

Have you ever thought about running to represent your state House or Senate district in the future? Or running as an independent for any office? I would be happy to meet and talk, show you around the statehouse, or share what I know about the benefits and challenges of running for office as an independent – feel free to reach out!

This week the House voted on a proposal to allow overdose prevention sites, a safe place for people with serious addiction disorders to use, receive resuscitation drugs, and get assistance getting into treatment. Several years ago, pre-Covid in fact, I was approached by a recovering addict about the potential of these sites. He told me about the horror of his addiction, the pain for his family, and all of his friends who had died before they could get the help he got. He pleaded – please, help my friends live one more day and give them one more chance to get into treatment. As I’ve previously reported, I’ve worked with Sen. Hashim and the Windham County States Attorney on legislation that reforms bail restrictions for repeat offenders. There is more work to be done, including addressing the states workforce shortage which has also impacted law enforcement, corrections and the judiciary. We can and should do work on all sides of the issue of addiction, recovery and restitution. This bill now heads to the Senate for consideration and if passed on to the governor who vetoed similar legislation two years ago. As Vermont Grapples With Spike in Overdose Deaths, House Approves Safe Injection Sites

One of the other major issues taking over conversations in the halls of the statehouse are the issue of school budgets and property taxes. I have previously written about this issue in an oped entitled Rep. Sibilia: About that December 1 Letter from the Tax Commissioner… This piece considered the compounding problem that a lack of statewide leadership has as our districts face myriad challenges, and an end to years of federal assistance and the legislature buying down property tax rates.

As we learn more and more about specifics with this years school budgets a few items are becoming very clear. First, in order to slowly roll in changes to the weights for districts that had benefited from their inaccuracy, the governor and the legislature agree to a 5% cap on property tax rate increases. Secondly, the excess spending penalty has been temporarily paused. This effective cost containment measure has been paused while the correct pupil weights are being rolled in. In its place a budget committee has been agreed to by the legislature and the governor, and this is for reviewing budgets in all districts whose per pupil education spending increases by 10%.

There is a fair amount of room between the 5% rate cap and the 10% budget review that is allowing districts to increase their budgets to alleviate other cost pressures, mitigate future rates, or invest in their buildings. This was not an intended outcome. Many of us assumed these hold harmless protections protections were only for districts who were going to be negatively impacted by the weight corrections, but in fact, these hold harmless measures are available to every district. This was also not an intended outcome.

Construction in Postive Pie – a downtown Montpelier Restaurant devastated by flooding

Individual school boards are behaving rationally, doing the best they can for their students and taxpayers, and many are accessing these available funds. Additional analysis and guidance from the Agency of Education is missing right now, as is any description of how the budget commission will work by the Agency which is charged with standing it up, as is a permanent Secretary of Education to replace Dan French who left in April of 2023.

Today I spoke with Rep. Kornheiser, Chair of House Ways and Means, and shared my concerns about these unintended consequences and about the lack of leadership coming from the AOE to offset this outcome. She shared with me that she is working to understand how the legislature and the governor can address the tax rates from these unintended consequences this year, and to identify the best means of adjusting the hold harmless mechanisms to reduce and disincentivize access in the coming years. I also spoke with Rep. Rebecca Holcomb, former Secretary of Education about this issue. She used the reference of the tragedy of the commons – which is when each individual actor acts in their own best interest when accessing shared resources. There is no one to provide oversight and guidance about the use of the shared resource which subsequently becomes depleted and impacts everyone.

As more data and analysis become available (hopefully soon) – I will return to updates on this serious and time sensitive topic.

Monitor the bills I am sponsoring and recorded roll call votes. Here is a bill I am pretty excited about:

H.769 – An act relating to establishing a baby bond trust program

Baby bonds would set aside $3,200 for each VT child born on Medicaid, to be invested by the Treasurer’s Office. Children could access their baby bond between ages 18 and 30, with the initial $3,200 investment projected to grow to $11,500 by age 18 and $24,500 by age 30. The funds would be dedicated to wealth-building activities like purchasing a home in Vermont, starting or investing in a local business, pursuing higher education or job training, and saving for retirement.

Every year, about 2,000 children born in Vermont qualify for Medicaid, aka Dr. Dinosaur. Baby bonds would ensure that Vermont children facing the toughest circumstances can accumulate assets, build wealth, and shape their own financial future. By investing in our state’s greatest resource–our people–we can create a more resilient, fair, and productive Vermont economy for all.

But how will we pay for this without raising taxes or fees in a tight budget year?

Currently the state holds $119 million in unclaimed property. Each year a portion of these funds are transferred to the general fund, based on the amount of unclaimed property collected and paid out by the state. The Governor typically proposes a transfer of $2.5 million to $3.5 million, but in past years, it has totaled $6 million to $10 million. What if, instead of using these funds for one-time expenses, the legislature invested in children born into poverty – giving them hope, and a future where one day they can provide for their children in Vermont?

Last year, Connecticut became the first in the nation to implement a baby bonds program statewide. I know we can work together to pass this impactful legislation which promises to support generations to come.

As always, if you have suggestions, concerns or critiques please be in touch so we can schedule time to discuss. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need assistance navigating government services at (802) 384-0233 or lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us. Follow my regular posts online at http://www.laurasibiliavt.com

Rep. Laura Sibilia – Dover, Jamaica, Somerset, Stratton, Wardsboro