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Committee weighs multimillion-dollar requests for regional planning, brownfields and infrastructure fund
Summary
The committee reviewed requests including $7.74 million for regional planning commissions, $3 million for municipal technical assistance, requests for additional brownfields funding, a $9.1 million infrastructure sustainability fund request, and a $5.6 million cannabis-funded land access proposal.
Members of the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs reviewed multiple housing- and infrastructure-related funding requests aimed at removing barriers to development and restoring contaminated sites.
Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) asked for base funding of roughly $7.74 million to support RPC operations around the state. Members discussed the Municipal Technical Assistance program, for which the committee reviewed a proposed $3 million continuation; that program was originally funded with ARPA and supports towns that lack grant administration capacity.
On brownfields, members noted a request for $1 million in brownfields assessment grants and a governor-recommended $2 million for cleanup grants; RPCs and VAPDA flagged that $2 million may be insufficient and asked for an additional $1 million. Members cited examples where cleanup funding enabled redevelopment into housing.
The Vermont Infrastructure Sustainability Fund request totaled $9.1 million through the Vermont Bond Bank, which the committee said would support wastewater, drinking water and other infrastructure investments tied to housing development in communities lacking utility capacity. Separately, the Land Access and Opportunity Board requested $5.6 million (largely cannabis-excise funded) to support property access for marginalized community members; committee members said this item would be considered as part of the cannabis-related hearings scheduled for the next day.
Members said rural housing remains a top priority for many caucus members and asked staff to note housing and infrastructure funding as high-priority suggestions in the memo to Appropriations.
