Senate committee advances housing bill but leaves appeals, mobile‑home lot rents, credit‑score rules unresolved

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee met to continue its line‑by‑line review of the housing bill and said it had largely worked through the text but still needed to resolve four substantive areas: appeals, lot rent increases for manufactured/mobile homes, credit‑score rules for tenant screening and the landlord certificate provisions.

Committee chair Heidi (Committee Chair, Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs) opened the meeting by saying the goal was to “get this our housing bill out either probably tomorrow may be ambitious, but Tuesday definitely,” and to “sign off on as much as we are able.” Cameron Wood, Office of Legislative Counsel, then walked members through a side‑by‑side of the house and senate versions and paused at each section for committee agreement.

The chair and staff said most sections could be “checked off” and moved forward. Items the committee identified as still needing work were: • Appeals: committee members said appeals language raises the standard relative to the version sent by the House and needs additional discussion before finalizing. Members agreed appeals would require more time and likely additional sessions. • Lot‑rent increases in manufactured/mobile home communities: several senators flagged lot rent as a larger policy topic that may not be resolvable in the current amendment cycle and could require separate attention. • Tenant credit‑score provisions: the committee listed credit‑score rules as an outstanding item to land before final action. • Landlord certificate: while the committee favored retaining landlord‑certificate provisions, members debated data access, privacy and what reports the tax department should provide to the legislature.

Committee staff said they would invite subject‑matter staff and external witnesses back for the outstanding items. Michael Gaughan (bond bank/agency representative) was asked to be available to explain bond‑bank language tied to the Vermont Infrastructure Sustainability Fund; the chair also asked for representatives focused on universal design and developmental‑disability housing planning to appear for a later meeting.

No formal roll‑call votes were taken; the meeting proceeded as a working session to resolve language and identify items that need further briefing or amendment. Members asked staff to prepare amendments that reflect the check‑off decisions and to schedule follow‑up briefings on the four outstanding topics.

The committee paused mid‑session to hold open time for deeper appeals discussion at a later meeting and arranged for additional witnesses to appear on Tuesday or the next available meeting day.