Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee makes housing, permitting and scheduling priorities

Allison Clarkson, chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee, convened the panel to set its early-session priorities and scheduling, saying the committee will emphasize housing, coordination with House counterparts and timely tracking of reports due to the committee.

The committee’s work matters because senators said housing shortages, permitting delays and unclear jurisdictional lines between Senate and House committees affect the pace of development and the state’s economy. Members described housing as the top priority and called for clearer appeals processes, better coordination between municipal, regional and state permitting, and attention to the cost of living and workforce pay.

“We don’t have to solve a single other problem in this building until we tackle our housing crisis,” Kaysha Robinsdale, former chair of the committee and senator from Chittenden Southeast, said. She recalled past session figures, saying “when I was chair, it was something like 24,000 open jobs and a 1,000 housing…