Committee reviews S.56 to study creation of an Office of New Americans

Senators and legislative staff on the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee discussed S.56 on April 3, a bill to establish a study committee to recommend whether Vermont should create an independent Office of New Americans.

The bill would create an eight-member Office of New American Study Committee chaired by the director of the Vermont Refugee Office and include appointments from the commissioner of labor, the executive director of the Office of Racial Equity, and five governor-appointed members nominated by specified community organizations. The committee would produce a written report to legislative committees by Sept. 1, 2026, with the chair required to call the first meeting on or before Sept. 1, 2025.

Sponsor Senator Claire Gulick said the proposal aims to coordinate services and reduce fragmentation among nonprofits and state agencies that serve immigrants. "There was this lack of coordination, especially across the state," Gulick said, adding that many foreign-trained professionals struggle to find work in Vermont and that "this office has never been more important."

Legislative counsel Tim Devlin walked the committee through the bill's text, describing the study committee's membership and duties and noting that the committee would examine current demographic, economic and public health data about new Americans; barriers to workforce participation and licensing; service gaps; the proposed structure, duties and funding needs of an Office of New Americans; and a statutory definition of "new Americans." "This is a bill about a study committee and the resulting report to come from it," Devlin said.

Committee members described changes made in the Senate-passed version: the size of the study committee was reduced, legislators were removed as mandatory members (though a legislator may be appointed), the secretary of state's office was added as a consulting entity, and the economic development committees were added to receive the report. Senator Tanya Vihofsky, who helped report the bill to the floor, said the Senate reduced the committee's membership after stakeholder input and that the bill carried a fiscal-note high-end estimate of about $6,000.

Members pressed staff on implementation details. One member asked what would happen if a specifically named nominating organization (the bill lists five organizations that would nominate governor-appointed members) ceased to exist; Devlin said the bill as written does not include a replacement mechanism but that the governor could be given discretion or the language could add a timeline for filling such vacancies. The committee also discussed that the study itself would have no immediate impact on nonprofits, but an eventual office could have effects depending on the duties the study recommends.

No committee vote on S.56 was recorded in this meeting. Committee members agreed to return to the item at a later date for further consideration.

The discussion drew references to models in other states, the existing Vermont refugee resettlement office and the role of programs such as those run by the Vermont National Guard in integrating immigrants into the workforce. Proponents emphasized workforce development, language access, licensing barriers and coordination among state agencies and community organizations as central issues the study should address.

The bill text specifies that the committee may create subcommittees, receive administrative, technical and legal assistance from the Agency of Human Services, meet up to 10 times, and cease to exist upon submitting its report or on Sept. 1, 2026. Compensation and reimbursement for members and a legislative stipend if a legislator serves are included in the bill's language. The act would take effect upon passage.

The committee indicated it will revisit S.56 with additional detail at a future meeting.