A short note for this week: Come meet with me this Saturday at 11 am at the Dover Free Library for regular office hours – all are welcome to stop in with questions, ideas or input. This week the House passed adjustments to this year’s budget and heard from the governor about how he proposes to fund next years budget.
Governor Scott delivered his Proposed FY2025 Budget to run state government agencies and programs. The budget is $8.6 billion across all funds, including $353 million for Transportation, $2.4 billion for Education, and $2.3 billion for General Fund. His proposed overall General Fund growth is capped at 3.6% over last year’s budget. The Governor highlighted his long standing priority of affordability, plus housing regulations and addressing crime. The budget is now being considered by the House Appropriations Committee which will likely have a public input session to hear from Vermonters before sending the budget to the Senate. Want to read the high level details of the gov’s budget? Click the image below:
What is everyone in the statehouse talking about?
The Property Tax issue. Ongoing Tuesday’s at 1 pm there will be a joint hearing with House Ways and Means, Senate Finance, and Senate Education hosted on Zoom. Hearing will be live streamed on the House Ways and Means YouTube channel.
Capitol Recap: Lawmakers retooled Vermont’s school funding law. Now, no one is happy
Vermont has been without an Education Secretary since April. The State Board of Education forwarded three names to the Governor on November 15th. A recap from this article in October of 2023 discusses the effort, Is Vermont Doing Enough to Find the Right Leader for Its Education Agency?
Vermont Public: Agency of Education to lose $100K for missing reporting requirements
Recent reports to the Legislature:
| 1-29-2024 | Agency of Digital Services 2024 Annual Report | Agency of Digital Services |
| 1-29-2024 | Report on Reallocation of Revenues Generated for the General Fund and the Education Fund | Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office |
| 1-29-2024 | Performance Indicators for the Vermont Weatherization Assistance Program | Department for Children and Families |
| 1-29-2024 | Report from the Working Group on Student Protections from Harassment and Discrimination in Schools | Working Group on Student Protections from Harassment and Discrimination in Schools |
| 1-29-2024 | Vermont State Colleges Early College Report | Vermont State Colleges |
https://vtdigger.org/2024-vermont-legislative-guide/
Vermont’s presidential primary will take place on Town Meeting Day, Tuesday, March 5th. Registering to vote is easy!
Read more at VTDigger Vermont announces candidates for 2024 presidential primaries
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
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Vermont State Representative Laura Sibilia 