Governor Philip B. Scott told a joint session of the Vermont Legislature on Jan. 9 that increasing housing supply must be a top priority and urged lawmakers to “legalize housing” through a four‑part strategy that includes infrastructure investment, converting dilapidated properties, encouraging private investment, and reforming the land‑use appeals process.

Scott said the state’s housing shortage is large and quantified the gap: “According to the housing needs assessment, it will take 7,200 homes just to break even,” and that to grow the workforce the state would need “over 8,000 homes a year for the next 5 years,” compared with a current production rate of “about 2,300” homes a year. He framed housing as a central lever in addressing affordability and workforce shortages.

Why it matters: Scott tied housing shortages to workforce and affordability problems across Vermont, saying supply constraints drive up housing costs and push residents and potential workers out of state. Lawmakers’ choices on housing policy will influence the state’s ability to attract and retain workers, he said.

Scott laid out four strategies he urged the Legislature to pursue: strengthen infrastructure and flood‑recovery investment (including expanding the state’s TIP program), convert dilapidated houses into homes and economic opportunity, grow programs that encourage mom‑and‑pop investment such as the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP), and treat the housing shortage as a crisis by reforming the appeals process he said has been “abused for far too long.” He also called for expanding Act 250 exemptions for select projects and giving rural communities a stronger role in decisions affecting growth.

Scott cited past and current programs to show progress and capacity for scaling: he said VHIP investments “have brought 500 affordable apartments online, with almost 500 more under construction,” and that the average VHIP grant is “about $36,000.” He also pointed to brownfields cleanup funded with state dollars, saying that 42 sites have been remediated and made way for “over 700 new homes.”

Scott urged the Legislature to prioritize housing in the coming session and signaled he would press for related proposals in his upcoming budget and housing bills.

Ending: The governor said the session has a “rare opportunity” to pass an “actual housing bill” focused on the four strategies he described. He did not lay out specific bill language or revenue mechanisms during the speech; those details will be for the legislative process and the administration’s budget materials.