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Committee advances study of Office of New Americans after agency testimony
Summary
A legislative committee heard testimony supporting S.56, which would create a study on establishing a state Office of New Americans; officials emphasized outreach needs, translation resources and potential appropriations before the bill advances for a committee vote.
The Government Operations & Military Affairs committee heard testimony in favor of S.56, “an act relating to creating the Office of New Americans,” and scheduled the bill for a potential committee vote Wednesday morning at 9:30.
Lauren Hibbert, Deputy Secretary of State, told the committee the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office supports S.56 and asked that the bill list the entire Secretary of State’s Office — not only the Office of Professional Regulation — as a consulting party. “We really strive to ensure that if you had a career, a professional career in a different country and you move here and become naturalized, that we can ensure that you have a pathway to have professional licensure here,” Hibbert said. She also described increased demand for vital records services by people born outside the United States and said the office has seen “almost double our normal records requests” in recent months.
The nut of the testimony was that an Office of New Americans could help coordinate outreach and resources across state agencies. Hibbert urged the committee to consider funding and resources for agencies to do the work well, saying translation and culturally appropriate outreach requires more than automated tools. “Translation in order to do it well, it’s not a chat GBT function,” she said, adding that governments must account for differences in how new Americans perceive and trust government.
Ashley Nguyen, director of policy in the State Treasurer’s Office, delivered comments on behalf of the treasurer and said the office strongly supports the bill. Nguyen read a statement from the treasurer endorsing the study as a way to evaluate efficiencies and grow the state’s workforce, noting that nearly 20 other states have taken similar steps. “The bill represents a significant and rare opportunity to grow our economy and provide services more efficiently,” Nguyen said, and added the treasurer’s office recommended no amendments.
Committee members described the discussion as broadly consensual. The committee chair said staff planned to schedule the bill for a markup and potential vote and that, if approved by the committee, it would likely go to the Appropriations Committee for any funding review before a floor report and further votes. The committee noted the expected fiscal impact as low but said appropriations review would be the next step if the committee advances the bill.
The hearing also recorded that Executive Director Davis of the Office of Racial Equity had been invited to testify and that representatives from the National Guard were expected to discuss the bill later in the day. No formal committee vote on S.56 was taken during this session.
Committee staff scheduled the next step as a potential markup and vote Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.; committee members agreed to notify the bill’s House sponsor of the planned action.
What happens next: Because the bill contemplates a multi-agency study and potential stipends or per-diems for study participants, the committee expects to send the bill to Appropriations for a fiscal review if the committee votes it out. The committee did not adopt any amendments during this hearing.
