[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6116383,"mediaKeyId","2732949-8085a951ec16ebf856032df6ed5960fa","parentId",2732949,"title","Senate committee advances broad housing package after removing appropriations and tax credits","audioSeconds",3015,"startMs",1517000,"endMs",4532000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2732949-8085a951ec16ebf856032df6ed5960fa&start=1517&end=4532","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2732949-8085a951ec16ebf856032df6ed5960fa/thumbnail_1517000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6116383/Vermont/Senate-committee-advances-broad-housing-package-after-removing-appropriations-and-tax-credits","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6116383-9cb8ec05698433542f1e47ed12079860/orig.mp4?Expires=1770846499&Signature=oBNcqHoSmC76Na8M-VLwMpCyQ13CammB4U8uuoHABe5epes00iS5EvJNTzAR~83SxLpyIBz0iNlpsRuJlqDqDr99aEWHP3f~D~NJInZb98rWRSRXfcZW7Kp1l~TItLkZgyUiwVg5TghGzRm19c5arZulh9HTTADq4me~vpndlKp3T8f6liPQEWHA2bUA5b9eMVE4fj5c693gC9hgu8bSm~~xbI23ea3TpjzXDo8lQV-kWCsh6QVIcElkL-tEgwjn7CHinvhQSojvTuZg3BFLW3vB9v97jOHCEcqi4ZueYaOSxjwdHC9bIP2r2vJvZQ8QXuioFzYNWIG57-XgtfQh8A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-21T19:10:54Z","article","The Senate Appropriations Committee on March 21 voted unanimously (7‑0) to report out S.127, a comprehensive housing bill that combines grant programs, revolving funds and policy changes aimed at adding and preserving housing across the state. Committee members agreed to remove direct appropriations and several proposed tax expenditures before advancing the bill.

Senator Cheryl Clarkson, the bill sponsor in committee, summarized the measure as a package that \"builds on what works.\" \"This bill, our housing bill this year, is not unlike our economic development bill, which I presented yesterday, which is it builds on what works,\" Clarkson said. \"This invests further in what works wonderfully. This invests another $2,000,000 in our downtown... This is $4,000,000 for our VHIP program, which is, as you know, dollars 50,000 grants for bringing our vacant lighted non code compliant, buildings up to code and back into use.\"

Key provisions described in committee testimony include:

- Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) incentives: The draft includes funding for VHIP (described in committee as $4,000,000) and continued support for ADU grants. The sponsor described a three‑year ADU incentive that would freeze the assessed value of a home at the point before construction finishes and provide a temporary tax break to encourage conversions.

- Mobile home community assistance: The bill would appropriate $2,000,000 for a program to help mobile‑home owners and communities with repairs and improvements; grants are described as up to $20,000 per use and the appropriation was characterized as a base budget request for the program.

- Infrastructure sustainability fund: The draft references a revolving loan fund administered through the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank and tied to the governor’s budget; committee testimony cited $9,100,000 to capitalize the fund to support water, sewer, wastewater and transportation improvements that specifically tie to housing development.

- Brownfields and cleanup funding: Committee language would provide additional funding for brownfield cleanup. Sponsor remarks described a $4,000,000 request split as $2,000,000 to the Brownfield Revitalization Fund and $2,000,000 to regional planning commissions to advance prioritized projects.

- Tax credits and household programs: The committee discussed tax credits and down‑payment assistance for first‑generation homebuyers. Committee testimony referenced $750,000 in proposed tax expenditures in the bill draft (with $250,000 described for HFA-related tax credits and $500,000 for medical/continuing‑care tax treatment), but the Appropriations committee removed the tax expenditures and direct appropriations from the committee report before voting.

- Study of housing for persons with disabilities: The bill would create a study of needed accessible housing units for people with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities; committee members referenced an estimate of over 600 new units needed statewide.

Committee members pressed for clarity on program definitions, target incomes, and whether the municipal infrastructure and project‑based tax increment financing (TIF) changes would enable development in smaller or rural communities. Senator Christopher Lyons emphasized unit‑cost metrics when considering program design: \"One of the best metrics I always had in mind was the cost per unit…we are in a prolonged moment where the more units we're able to bring onto the market, the more we are able to solve this larger housing crisis.\"

Appropriations action and amendment package

Senators agreed to remove sectioned appropriations and the bill’s tax‑expenditure language from the committee report before advancing the policy sections. The clerk recorded a unanimous 7‑0 roll call to report the bill favorably after those removals.

Votes at a glance (S.127)
- Yes: Senators Matthew Norris; Mike Watson; (Senator) Bruce (first name not recorded in transcript); Christopher Lyons; Robert Westman; Alan Brennan; Emily Perchlet (7)
- Outcome: advanced (reported favorably out of committee, appropriations and tax expenditures removed)

Why it matters

S.127 packages multiple housing tools the sponsors described as \"building on what works\"—from rehabilitation grants and ADU incentives to a municipal infrastructure loan fund and brownfield remediation dollars. Committee discussion focused on targeting (who qualifies), unit cost and whether project‑based TIF and infrastructure funds will unblock rural projects that currently stall because of upfront infrastructure needs. By removing appropriations and tax expenditures at the committee stage, Appropriations signaled it will advance the policy framework but leave funding decisions and tax‑expenditure tradeoffs for later budget or conference work.

Next steps

With the Appropriations favorable report, S.127 moves to the full Senate for further consideration alongside fiscal documentation and with the expectation that appropriation amounts and tax‑expenditure language will be reconciled in subsequent budget or conference processes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Appropriations – 2025-03-21 – 3:00PM","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Appropriations Committee on March 21 voted unanimously (7‑0) to report out S.127, a comprehensive housing bill that combines grant programs, revolving funds and policy changes aimed at adding and preserving housing across the state.","taxTitle","Appropriations, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",36948,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6116389,"Senate committee advances bill to refocus Efficiency Vermont on greenhouse‑gas reductions",1323,2000,1325000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2732949-8085a951ec16ebf856032df6ed5960fa&start=2&end=1325","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2732949-8085a951ec16ebf856032df6ed5960fa/thumbnail_2000.jpg","/articles/6116389/Vermont/Senate-committee-advances-bill-to-refocus-Efficiency-Vermont-on-greenhousegas-reductions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6116389-6e433e739a2090898f44dd68d85fceb4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770846499&Signature=e2BDEDSU~JkpCv~RDOcOTNqlBjTGtDVEh9ul0-1t9ufa50EJwz2GxwSjSdFKDaTJUUK0VxW7I703H-ausOhBVDYX64BKyrVptGGxmqvzibn63rpSE~94yExEo8mw0AajghVpJaYeh1g0Yi2ovFbeA~E7y7Sm9xk7OFSaDKGhmz7U-~y2A38SPorVSq5XwOAyZcNLDU~tjmzLjUoghm4CdksCPu1ceIgqsYir3fP6UJb7QYtDPhdnROGT1N0SZ8WEiPYJn1UTQRhteZ-z5mUa1P9~T3dNdei-yzF84yMPm-ChFNzOepDFUEIpYVknBvfUnirfQQnQaeyVUYU4y4p3aA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 4‑3 on March 21 to report out S.65, a bill that would redirect how Efficiency Vermont may spend funds collected through the electric efficiency charge, placing greenhouse‑gas reductions as the primary priority while preserving other program objectives.

Senator Mike Watson, the bill sponsor in committee, said the bill’s main purpose is to change how the Public Utility Commission and Efficiency Vermont prioritize spending. \"The primary issue that we're trying to address with this is that right now, the public utility commission evaluates efficiency Vermont in a way that, means that 90% of the work, the money that they, that they have from, electric efficiency charge is used for specifically, electric consumption reduction,\" Watson said. \"The vision of this bill is to, shift the prioritization of, what, efficiency Vermont is allowed to do with that money, to make the the primary priority greenhouse gas, reductions.\"

Watson told the committee current rules effectively allocate a small share of the program to greenhouse‑gas goals: \"So right now, only 5% of their mission is allocated to, a greenhouse gas reduction.\" He also described two required spending carve‑outs in the draft: 25 percent of Efficiency Vermont's budget for benefits directed to low‑ and moderate‑income households and 12.5 percent for small businesses and nonprofits.

The bill would also \"fix\" the portion of the Efficiency Vermont budget associated with the electric efficiency charge at the fiscal‑year‑2026 rates and then adjust that fixed amount for inflation in later years, Watson said. He added the draft removes unused language tied to the clean‑heat standard and consolidates previously separate electric and fuel efficiency funds so both can be spent on electrification and greenhouse‑gas reduction projects.

James from the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) told the committee the bill has largely indirect fiscal effects on the state budget. \"The direct impacts of the state budget from this are largely indirect and secondary,\" he said, noting any shift that raises electricity consumption could change retail electricity receipts and related revenues. \"There is not a fiscal for the current draft of the bill, but just given those secondary and directed past the budget… I think the proposed assessment of this 1 actually will be unchanged.\"

Committee members asked technical questions about draft language, including the use of the word \"budget\" in different sections and references to the PACE reserve fund. Staff and counsel explained that some language is existing statutory wording being moved and that the PACE (property assessed clean energy) reserve remains in the draft for statutory completeness even though there are currently no funds in it. Counsel said the bill commingles funds that were previously sequestered for thermal and process fuel efficiency so they can be used for electrification.

Committee action and next steps

Without a named mover and second recorded in the transcript, the clerk called the roll on a motion to report S.65 favorably. The roll call recorded four yes votes and three no votes; the motion passed and the bill was reported out of committee for floor consideration. One committee member emphasized that a yes vote to advance the bill from Appropriations did not imply support for final passage on the Senate floor and said they planned to offer amendments there.

Votes at a glance (S.65)
- Yes: Senator Mike Watson; Senator Andrew Baruth; Senator Christopher Lyons; Senator Emily Perchlet (4)
- No: Senator Matthew Norris; Senator Robert Westman; Senator Alan Brennan (3)
- Outcome: advanced (reported favorably out of committee)

Why it matters

The bill would change the stated priority for Efficiency Vermont away from primarily reducing electric consumption and toward greenhouse‑gas reductions, a shift that could broaden program activities to include beneficial electrification measures such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. Supporters said the change targets greenhouse‑gas goals and expands access for lower‑income households and small businesses; fiscal staff said revenue impacts on the state budget are likely to be indirect and secondary and that retail electricity prices could face offsetting upward and downward pressures.

The bill now goes to the full Senate. Committee testimony and the JFO fiscal analysis will be available to senators as they consider amendments and floor action.","The Senate Appropriations Committee on March 21 advanced S.65, which would reprioritize spending by Efficiency Vermont toward greenhouse‑gas reductions, carve out funding for low‑ and moderate‑income households and small nonprofits, and fix the electric efficiency charge budget at fiscal‑year‑2026 levels adjusted for inflation.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate committee advances broad housing package after removing appropriations and tax credits

Senate committee advances bill to refocus Efficiency Vermont on greenhouse‑gas reductions