Rep. Teddy Wozozak introduces short-form bill to create voluntary flood buyout program

Representative Teddy Wozozak introduced H466, a short-form bill to establish a voluntary state buyout program for properties repeatedly damaged by flooding. The bill was presented to the Committee on General & Housing as a carve‑out from a larger omnibus flood package (H397).

Wozozak told the committee that under the current process, a homeowner applies to their municipality, which forwards the application to the state and then to FEMA. FEMA reimburses the homeowner at the property's fair market value the day before the disaster but requires the acquired land remain permanent green space with no future development. Wozozak said that binary outcome—either a FEMA buyout with permanent open‑space restrictions or no buyout—creates hardships for municipalities that would see large hits to their grand list if they accepted many buyouts.

Wozozak described Berry City (a four‑square‑mile community) as an example: the city received roughly 60 buyout requests after two flood events; about 20 had been approved, and the municipality could not afford to accept 30 additional FEMA‑style buyouts without severe fiscal stress. He said many towns lack the budget capacity to buy out dozens of parcels themselves.

The bill, Wozozak said, would create statutory authority for a state voluntary buyout program distinct from FEMA funding and rules. The short form would establish the program and defer financing and technical standards (including definitions of “flood‑resilient housing”) to later legislative work and administrative rulemaking. Wozozak suggested the program could be structured so state dollars buy properties and allow resilient redevelopment—examples mentioned included podium‑style parking with housing above or other flood‑resilient designs—rather than requiring permanent green space in every case.

Committee members asked practical questions about financing and repayment. Committee members and Wozozak discussed possible funding sources including a revolving fund, the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), the Vermont Land Trust, or a land bank; no financing plan was specified in the hearing. Wozozak acknowledged there is a “math challenge” because replacement housing built to resilient standards will likely cost more per unit than the value of single‑family homes bought out, and he said additional subsidy would be required for developers.

Wozozak offered to bring the Berry City manager and the state chief recovery officer (Don Farnham) to provide testimony if the committee wished to develop the bill further. He said the short form is intended to begin the policy conversation this session, with financing and technical details developed in subsequent work.

No formal vote or referral action was recorded during the introduction; the bill was presented for committee consideration.