38 other bills passed on last day of 2024 Legislature
By Guy Page
The Legislature adjourned Saturday morning at about 2 AM, after passing a slew of bills, including the $8.6 billion state budget, a 13.8% average statewide property tax increase, and an Act 250 reform bill exempting some urban housing from Act 250 review but tightening restrictions on rural home building.
S.220, which allows a library to withhold information from parents about their 12-year-old child’s library and computer use, also passed, as did a retail theft reform bill.
The scheduled June 17 veto session is likely to see action on the following bills passed by the Legislature:
H.72 (Safe Injection Sites). Scott said Vermont should stick with its current drug treatment and recovery programs, not decriminalize use of drugs in so-called safe injection sites.
H.887 (the property tax and education funding bill), which sets an average SW property tax at 13.8%, adds new taxes on online services and short-term rentals, draws down on ‘rainy day’ funding, and promises school spending reform study but no specific spending cuts.
S.213 (river corridor and floodplain regulation) – mostly because it spends too little on the VHIP program to rehab old housing, which he says is a prompt, cost-effective solution to Vermont’s housing crisis.
S.289 (the Renewable Energy Standard bill). Scott said his plan to buy power from existing regional, carbon-free sources (nuclear, hydro) would help reach carbon reduction goals faster at a fraction of the cost of S.289’s reliance on instate renewable power (mostly solar and wind).
S.259 (Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund). Pushed by lobby groups for the renewable power industry, this bill seeks to retroactively recover climate-related damages from Big Oil. Scott and others say it costs money up front, is unlikely to recover any actual damages, and exposes Vermont to an industry counter-suit.
Scott has already vetoed S.18, banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids.
Besides H.887, the Legislature passed 38 other bills on Friday, May 10, the final day. In the coming weeks, VDC will report on the details of most of these and other bills passed by the Legislature.
| H.882 | capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment |
| H.883 | making appropriations for the support of government |
| H.885 | approval of an amendment to the charter of the Town of Berlin |
| S.192 | forensic facility admissions criteria and processes |
| S.195 | how a defendant’s criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release |
| S.183 | reenvisioning the Agency of Human Services |
| S.159 | the County and Regional Governance Study Committee |
| S.55 | authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law |
| S.58 | public safety |
| S.253 | building energy codes |
| S.254 | including rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products under the State battery stewardship program |
| S.259 | climate change cost recovery |
| S.204 | supporting Vermont’s young readers through evidence-based literacy instruction |
| S.206 | designating Juneteenth as a legal holiday |
| S.220 | Vermont’s public libraries |
| S.30 | creating a Sister State Program |
| S.302 | public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk |
| S.305 | miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission |
| S.309 | miscellaneous changes to laws related to the Department of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicles, and vessels |
| H.233 | licensure and regulation of pharmacy benefit managers |
| H.121 | enhancing consumer privacy |
| H.10 | amending the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive Program |
| H.868 | the fiscal year 2025 Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation |
| H.875 | the State Ethics Commission and the State Code of Ethics |
| H.876 | miscellaneous amendments to the corrections laws |
| H.877 | miscellaneous agricultural subjects |
| H.870 | professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation |
| H.687 | community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use |
| H.780 | judicial nominations and appointments |
| H.563 | criminal motor vehicle offenses involving unlawful trespass, theft, or unauthorized operation |
| H.546 | administrative and policy changes to tax laws |
| H.534 | retail theft |
| H.655 | qualifying offenses for sealing criminal history records and access to sealed criminal history records |
| H.645 | the expansion of approaches to restorative justice |
| H.612 | miscellaneous cannabis amendments |
| H.622 | emergency medical services |
| H.626 | animal welfare |
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Categories: Legislation
If the average VT property tax is $4697 (1.73% which was the lowest I found) then the state government just took $54.02 per month from your wallet and put it in theirs.
Right after 4 years of increasingly higher inflationary costs on everything from food to electricity (~20% is what I’ve seen). Just after voting to increase your energy costs. While creating new yet unrealized taxes on cloud services and short term rentals. This only 4 years after unnecessarily locking you in your homes and telling you that you couldn’t go to work and must put a mask on your face and take your shots like a dog.
Your State Government HATES YOU!
Well, Vermont this is what you get when you vote in year after year, progressive or more like ” regressive DemocRATs to handle any type of financial responsibilities for the state, they don’t know how to balance anything, bet most can’t balance their own checkbooks, but they surely know how to tax………………………..
These elected officials know property owners are the ” money tree “, you’re like a caged animal, you’re going nowhere, so they’ll tax you to death ” legal extortion ” to say the least, but then again you vote these inept fools in.
Look at the political cesspool known as Burlington, the ” progressives ” have all non-residence “non-citizens or part-time college students” are allowed to vote in city politics why, to pass nonsense, and we know they vote progressive ideology and you’re left holding the funding bag…….suckers !!
Wake up people, vote these clowns out, we are all going to die, but you’ll die broke with progressives, just look at the posted bills.
CHenery, how can we vote them out when the democrats have stacked the deck in their favor? Voter fraud? Can’t prove it because they don’t look for it nor do they take precautions to prevent it. In fact they instituted programs to facilitate fraud. Mass ballot mailings with no controls on how they are returned. Un monitored drop boxes. Walk in registration on election day with no proof of residency needed. Mass registration of out of state college students.
Truth in legislation. Stick it to the taxpayer, and hey, let’s go on vacation. OH, and don’t you little people go thinking you can go building out in the country. That’s for the fat cats. Now be nice peons!
Hemp, it can help so many of the state’s issues. Why not a comprehensive statute on hemp usages?
Throw them out!
Hey State of Vermont, want to help the homeless…..then lower the taxes and fees, and while you’re at it shrink State Government to a number suitable for a 650,000 population.
i would not vote for any of the franklin county house or senate members again/// by not saying any thing about the covid kill shot, they are guilty of the over throw of the vermont constitution with the lock down////
‘Tap Trees, Not Vermonters’.
Over-Taxation , Enough is Enough don’t you think!! Vermonters!!
Wake up Americans wake up Vermonters!
Get out and get people Registered to vote and get out and VOTE Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red vote Red period folks Get-R-Done Patriots 🇺🇸
People get off the couch and out of the closet!! Only you can make change !
Stop complaining and do something people!! You have the power people!!
So the question now is…is it bad enough yet? Is it bad enough for people to vote differently? Is it bad enough yet for all of us keyboard warriors to go out and knock on doors, to each get 10 people to the poles and vote? I doubt it..but it is bad enough for those of us who can to leave. The child care tax will be hitting paychecks in July. Good luck to you all I will watch the ship sink from afar.
Will the most popular governor in the country King Philip the 1st Eunuch King of Castrati veto this only to be overridden by his Commiecrat friends that put him in office?
Will it matter…
They’re working on making us all homeless.