Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Land Access Opportunity Board presents priorities, asks for cannabis excise reinvestment and base funding
Summary
The Land Access Opportunity Board (LAOB) briefed the Senate Appropriations Committee on its first year of work, requested sustained base funding included in the House budget and proposed dedicating a share of cannabis excise revenue for community reinvestment to expand down-payment assistance, developer capital and community programs.
Cornelia Matas Tierra and Jean Hamilton, co‑directors of the Land Access Opportunity Board, presented to the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 2 and described the board’s mission and first-year activities, asked the legislature to sustain base funding and outlined how additional dedicated revenue could expand housing access for historically marginalized Vermonters.
Matas Tierra introduced the board’s founding purpose: LAOB was created in 2022 to address disparities in land and homeownership for groups historically marginalized in Vermont, including low-income Vermonters, people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, LGBTQIA Vermonters, immigrants and Vermonters of color. Jean Hamilton described the board’s structure, noting that appointing authorities hold two seats (a primary representative and an alternate) to enable robust participation by smaller community organizations.
The co‑directors said LAOB’s first year focused on trust‑building, mapping existing programs, identifying policy barriers (including the legacy effects of redlining), and testing pilot services such as a forthcoming housing coach program and targeted capacity‑building grants. Matas Tierra and Hamilton said the board has worked to avoid duplication, to leverage federal and private funding where possible, and to center “those closest to the problems” in design and outreach.
On funding, the presenters said the House budget contains a $1.6 million base appropriation that supports LAOB’s operating and program work. They urged the committee to consider an additional, recurring revenue stream: a community reinvestment allocation from cannabis excise revenues. LAOB staff cited work with the Cannabis Control Board’s community reinvestment recommendations and said a 25% carve‑out of projected cannabis excise revenue could yield roughly $5.6 million for reinvestment targeted at down‑payment assistance, capital for emerging community developers, housing coaches and related programs; LAOB described those uses as complementary to existing state housing programs.
Matas Tierra and Hamilton emphasized community engagement and capacity building in their description of planned programs, and said LAOB intends partnerships with state housing entities, local organizations and funders to scale technical assistance and capital support for community-led projects.
Committee members asked questions about LAOB’s staffing and grantmaking approach; the presenters said the board currently operates with a two‑person co‑directorship and intends to hire additional staff as funds permit. The presenters also asked the committee to consider programmatic detail and statutory language to ensure LAOB can use any dedicated revenue for both grant making and technical‑assistance activities.
The presentation concluded with an offer to continue technical conversations with housing agencies and the fiscal office; LAOB officials said they will follow up with materials on program design and possible statutory language for a cannabis excise reinvestment mechanism.
