By Michael Bielawski
Legislators are looking to reimburse municipal governments who invested public money to help businesses or other entities that were impacted by the flood. A component of bill introduced this week is to prioritize financial resources based on the race and immigration status of the business owners.
H.723 states: “The Agency shall develop criteria for awards under this section, including priority eligibility for businesses owned by persons of color and indigenous peoples and businesses owned by new Americans. U.S. citizenship shall not be a requirement for eligibility under the program.”
The bill was introduced by Rep. Jonathan Williams (D-Barre City) and has many co-sponsors, including at least one Republican. It was introduced Jan. 10 and is now in the House Committee on Environment and Energy.
A trend in Vermont
This is not the first time that lawmakers have considered legislation that prioritizes resources based on race. An April 2021 True North Reports story, “New bill would prioritize land and home ownership by skin color, other identities,” detailed how at the time they were considering distributing housing assistance funds by “prioritize opportunities for land and home ownership based primarily on an individual’s skin color.”
The practice of distributing resources may violate the Civil Rights Act of 1963.
President John F. Kennedy said in 1963: “Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination.”
$85 million up for grabs
H723 includes $85 million in funding. To be eligible for this money, certain qualifications must be met.
The bill states, “As used in this subsection, “eligible property” means property lost or destroyed due directly or indirectly to severe storms and flooding in an area that was declared a federal disaster between July 1, 2023, and October 15, 2023.”
Specific requirements include 50% or more loss to the property’s main structure, the loss of use of the building, and/or the loss of working utilities in the building for at least 60 days, or if there is state condemnation of the property.
Part of the bill includes the creation of the Flood Recovery Assistance Program tasked with distributing these funds.
The bill states that the program shall “provide financial assistance to nonprofit and for-profit businesses in the State that suffered losses due to the 2023 floods. Assistance under the program shall be available for all of the following when related to losses due to the 2023 flooding.”
A study
Another component of the bill would study how to manage rivers and floodplains for future flood mitigation.
The bill states, “In addition to other funds appropriated to the Agency of Natural Resources in fiscal year 2025, $500,000 is appropriated from the General Fund to the Agency to contract with the University of Vermont or other qualified contractor for the purpose of identifying the amount and location of floodplain in the Winooski River watershed that should be acquired or conserved in order to protect communities in the watershed from recurring flood events.”
Controversies in other states
Vermont is not the only state to put illegal aliens ahead of its citizens. A public school in New York City is kicking out its students to house illegal immigrants, meaning the students will have to return to remote learning as they were during the COVID-19-related lockdowns.
Libs of Tic Tok wrote on X, “Buses are now pulling up to @JMHSBklyn and dropping off illegals. School is closed tomorrow because illegals will be sleeping in the school’s gym. This is disgraceful! NYC is prioritizing illegals over Americans.”
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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