Committee reviews S.122, confirms some one-time small-business funding and strips unfunded expansions

Committee members in the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on May 20, 2025 reviewed S.122, the economic and workforce development bill sent from the Senate, and identified several provisions that were not funded in the budget while confirming some one‑time allocations.

The discussion matters because the bill contains a mix of program expansions and time‑limited appropriations intended to support small businesses across the state; committee members flagged items that cannot move forward without budget authority.

Chair, Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, opened the committee’s review and asked staff to run through what remained in the budget. Pat Tippetton, Joint Fiscal Office, said, “the first appropriation is in section 2A, was to the Department of Economic Development for expanding services for small businesses that is not in the budget.” Rick Stadel, Office of Legislative Council, reiterated that sections not reflected in the budget should typically be removed from the bill.

Committee members confirmed specific allocations: the Professionals of Color Network received a one‑time appropriation of $200,000; the Vermont Small Business Development Center (SBDC) received a one‑time appropriation of $150,000 to the Higher Education Coordinating Council (HCCD); and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund received a $25,000 one‑time top‑up in addition to base funding, which committee staff noted results in combined funding of about $275,000 for those line items. The microbusiness development program was noted as having a base appropriation of $493,339 in the budget.

Other items in the Senate bill that committee members said are not included in the enacted budget — and for which they recommended removing enabling language — included a planned expansion to Department of Economic Development services and a proposed $1 million expansion to the downtown tax credit program. Pat Tippetton said he had sent an inquiry to confirm the tax‑credit numbers and later reported the budget contains a roughly $13.5 million accommodation for due tax credits that the committee had addressed in separate legislation (S.51), meaning the $1 million expansion in S.122 was not required.

Committee staff directed members to double‑check language where necessary, and staff (including Stadel and Tippetton) agreed to draft amendments that remove or narrow provisions the budget did not fund. The bill’s effective date was discussed as July 1, 2025.

The committee did not take a formal vote on S.122 during the session covered by the transcript; members asked staff to return with proposed statutory language and confirmations of budget treatment before making final changes.