[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",[32,75,87],{"_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",6223827,"mediaKeyId","3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b","parentId",3562608,"title","Committee reviews S.122; many small‑business investments cut, downtown tax credit held at $3 million","audioSeconds",267,"startMs",53000,"endMs",320000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b&start=53&end=320","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b/thumbnail_53000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6223827/Vermont/Committee-reviews-S122-many-smallbusiness-investments-cut-downtown-tax-credit-held-at-3-million","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6223827-dccff5d5e9d39351ed80b7b5c6a3b03d/orig.mp4?Expires=1776063596&Signature=GKv2xOaGVbEiGxeeCoZ1aYzYddYJrhZWJDeYGSGJj9Y04Fs1PabSnrHyerp0JBIOj4uNLanpNgkLuiXeq1FY0he~udMt-V-ZA~TyHICqH9dHkTuUhBKHzqVpVsHw86khDBi4qkilQl7Z-ZnfgKpgh-iZ~BjcDm0FkalA42CoUlZAdIC0N5H9Q-rKNZWbkwq8QKbFZcBawfJot6z6mnPmwmuW1dRQCNCUebgL0~jTlm5EkaIVdWskoZAKmQvLazsEa9JFTuNNZRZla0ZHKKmZZtLofEYm6By0ZIivtuO02AVSObvhP~DZwD~IUZnbIFXBSzwhN8H6Ae17TgBjqnJVMA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-28T19:31:01Z","article","The Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee on Thursday reviewed S.122, the senate’s economic development bill as amended by the House, and discussed whether to concur with the House changes. Committee staff said several line items that increased small‑business and arts funding were removed because the additional dollars did not make it into the enacted budget.

Committee staff member Rick Segal, addressing members, said, “So quite a bit has changed,” and summarized the House edits, noting that increases tied to budget language were removed when the money was not appropriated.

The most prominent change involves a proposed increase in the downtown and village center tax credit. The Senate version had proposed raising the combined cap from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000; Segal said the House removed that increase and “it stays at 3,000,000” because the budget did not fund the higher amount.

Several small‑business add‑ons in the senate draft were also stripped or reduced. Segal told the committee that a $350,000 request for a professional network was reduced to $200,000 and that the Vermont Small Business Development Center would receive a one‑time supplemental that the House set at $150,000 above its base appropriation. Other proposed grants and one‑time bumps — including a proposed $250,000 outdoor recreation climate/circularity grant, a requested increase for the Vermont Arts Council, and a Vermont Law School small‑business legal clinic appropriation — were removed from the House version because the additional funding did not survive budget negotiations.

Segal also reviewed the House’s edits to the bill’s international trade and workforce sections: the international trade office expansion was reduced to match the budgeted $150,000 and many of the performance conditions tied to that expansion were removed; the bill retains funding for a Quebec trade office. Sections that create or change task forces and boards were moved around but largely retained in substance, Segal said.

Members asked procedural and timing questions, and Segal walked the panel through effective dates in the bill. He said appropriations and workforce provisions would take effect July 1, 2025, while certain commissions and sister‑state provisions would take effect in 2026 to accommodate planned work such as a sister‑state working group report.

Discussion-only items and next steps: several members said they were inclined to concur with the House edits to S.122’s appropriations language because the House had removed items that lacked budgeted funding. At the same time, members flagged separate sections of the bill for follow up, notably the baby‑bonds pilot language, which prompted a distinct and lengthier debate.

The committee did not register a formal recorded vote on concurrence during the session; members discussed next steps and requested additional briefing and witnesses on items that remained contested.

Ending: Committee staff said they would schedule additional briefings as needed before a final decision on concurrence. Members planned to seek more detail overnight on contested sections and expected to revisit the bill the following day if necessary.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Economic Development - 2025-05-28- 3:30PM","oneSentenceSummary","The Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee on Thursday reviewed S.122, the senate economic development bill returned by the House, and discussed whether to concur with House edits after several small‑business and arts appropriations were removed because the money did not survive budget negotiations.","taxTitle","Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",37662,"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},6223818,"S.122 keeps convention‑center task force; membership adjusted and per‑diem rules clarified",330,489000,819000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b&start=489&end=819","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b/thumbnail_489000.jpg","/articles/6223818/Vermont/S122-keeps-conventioncenter-task-force-membership-adjusted-and-perdiem-rules-clarified","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6223818-1d62872f3d81c163424b97137eb89737/orig.mp4?Expires=1776063596&Signature=GxnETkodKYb-ciGTiIaMwiwXAzp5VfJGBTW2FtG9hlDrm0M1kW7goGbSey-YPE9dsHWCZSPgiJ~iUlwejP9docH1rYhZB~zqc6m9xUcXwE44MDkXl93LggjCQGgWOMKsTj0Ub9AQaMtXpMbzvJenFKnGUx0fJWhsiAIW6lKYJIrILGGSxWzpfwwq6qH9Jzt7P8XSDBO7-a~CYREhp63eedyOVcgrDjWyv5obXvACNJ~4x436hlo6MVYS2W37Fcm6~Lr9TT~3eQxJoIhoB4KpEUlKN0JbjGXhN0o8rzYfLJTiEAnKgD3RxOhmIieOeUu-bFCYpwmkAmiPvd5H1-UWZg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Committee staff summarized edits that affect a task force created to study a performance venue or convention center. The content of the task force’s charge remained substantially the same, but the House version added one seat: the chair of the regional planning commissions (RPCs) or a designee. Staff said the House also replaced a reference to “the secretary of ACCD” with the commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.

Rick Segal explained that meeting and reporting duties were unchanged but that the House added explicit reimbursement language. “We did have reimbursement language because they will be getting per diems,” Segal told the committee, adding that the Joint Fiscal Office and the Appropriations Committee confirmed that legislators on the task force will be paid per diems and expenses. He said the provision authorizes ACCD to reimburse non‑legislative members who are not otherwise reimbursed by their employers.

Segal said the committee set an effective date for some task‑force provisions to take effect upon passage because the group’s first meeting is scheduled for July 15 and members should be appointed before July 1. There were no changes to powers, duties, reporting or meeting frequency noted in the House edits, he said.

Ending: The committee accepted the staff summary and did not remove the task‑force language. Members asked staff to confirm appointments and reimbursement mechanics ahead of the group’s first meeting.","The committee reviewed changes to the bill’s convention‑center task force: the House revision added one member (the regional planning commission chair or designee), replaced the secretary post with the Department of Economic Development commissioner, and clarified per‑diem and reimbursement rules for members.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6223823,"Committee debates baby‑bonds pilot language in S.122; members request treasurer testimony",871,791000,1662000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b&start=791&end=1662","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3562608-8398cb8414c093170c63d3fa4abb254b/thumbnail_791000.jpg","/articles/6223823/Vermont/Committee-debates-babybonds-pilot-language-in-S122-members-request-treasurer-testimony","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6223823-51fda62151c06400f003156f7ea8b6a8/orig.mp4?Expires=1776063596&Signature=cqzTOlNlQHc4cJljl7-6Vx76FaG~yi6rVIWzP1iOsPNtQD~PU3En477X3xF0npQSR55ciBeQ53reohMN~rA7sek1iqqVz-uQbAGvAS9SW-iOnX7ZA9qxjPdoRPBG2aRgepbj1QIMbRUvr-6atq4EWIwpGWqo9iPR2RzctBfjeZjj4yHTmHHlbAVgsSI~ym4isKh5bXOTlpclhe1EeF962QsEjQTh7JSzHEjb6AK--ZAnGyhuzpt~lkwrVqdQ1Gn-S0n4cS8PaT2AES9cpdpbOt8~gNzzaq6yq2KxMVpmqoYZHE211jtOtZvx8wJZS0xhLgPURiAZl3bEzKPBxR0xHA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A lengthy and at times contentious portion of the Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs meeting centered on baby‑bonds language contained in sections 8–10 of S.122. The sections would create session law enabling the treasurer to run a privately funded pilot of the Vermont Baby Bond Trust and create a special fund to accept private donations to seed a five‑year pilot.

Committee staff member Rick Segal summarized the changes, telling members the treasurer’s office “came, late in the session to ask for more specific pilot language to help them establish this pilot program.” Segal said the session language would give the treasurer authority to convene a five‑year pilot, appoint an advisory group, evaluate eligibility criteria, and report annually to the legislature through 2030 with a final report in 2031.

The committee’s discussion focused on four areas: who would be eligible for the pilot; how the pilot would be financed; whether state resources or labor used to run the pilot create a de facto state commitment; and what rules should govern beneficiaries who leave the state.

On eligibility, Segal pointed to the statute created last year (the Vermont Baby Bond Trust in Title 3, Chapter 20) and summarized a definition in that law: a designated beneficiary is someone born on or after July 1, 2024 who is “eligible at birth for coverage in the Dr. Dynasaur program and CHIP under the Social Security Act,” language Segal read to the committee. The committee discussed whether tying eligibility to a parent’s income at birth was fair, noting that family circumstances can change over time.

Several members expressed substantive concerns about administration and potential future state spending. One member said administrative overhead and the program’s state management created the appearance the program could become publicly funded over time; another described the criterion of eligibility at birth as “arbitrary” because parental economic status can change and that a child could be excluded despite need later in life.

Members pressed operational questions: how the treasurer would manage accounts assigned to individuals, what would happen if a beneficiary moved out of state, and whether pilot funds would be restricted to in‑state uses such as education or homeownership. Segal said the treasurer’s office envisions rulemaking to address those issues and emphasized the pilot intent: “This allows them to keep that money for this purpose” and the special fund would accept private donations and terminate after the pilot period.

No member called for a final partisan vote during the meeting. Instead, several members said they were inclined to concur with the House language for the bill overall but wanted additional testimony and the treasurer’s office to explain implementation details before the committee took final action. The committee chair (unnamed in the transcript) said staff would try to schedule a follow‑up briefing at about 11:00 a.m. the next day and try to get a House representative and a treasurer’s staff person to attend.

Ending: Members left the meeting split on the merits of permanently funding baby bonds, but most agreed to allow the treasurer to run a privately funded pilot if the office could answer outstanding questions about eligibility, administration and long‑term financing. The committee set a direction to hear additional testimony before a final concurrence vote.","Committee members debated language that would enable a privately funded Vermont baby‑bonds pilot and expressed split views on eligibility, administration and the potential for future state funding. Members asked for the treasurer and a House liaison to appear at a follow‑up briefing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee reviews S.122; many small‑business investments cut, downtown tax credit held at $3 million

S.122 keeps convention‑center task force; membership adjusted and per‑diem rules clarified

Committee debates baby‑bonds pilot language in S.122; members request treasurer testimony