Mark Mahale, chair of the House Committee on General and Housing, opened the committee’s first meeting Jan. 9 and framed the panel’s work around the state’s housing shortage and related labor and social-service issues.

"I am Mark Mahale. I'm the chair, and, I represent Kalas, Plainfield, and Marshfield," Mahale said as he introduced himself and the committee’s staff and plans. He told members the group would reconvene the next day after the legislative floor and aim to begin general testimony at 10:45 a.m.

Members used brief personal introductions to outline the problems they expect the committee to address. Representative Ashley Bartley, the vice chair, said her district spans politically mixed areas and that she is "absolutely obsessed and love[s] housing" and wants to address the housing crisis. Representative Leonora Dodge said she intends to bring a transportation perspective to housing issues and noted workforce concerns, saying "we have about 5,000 workers" in the context of workforce and demographic discussion. Representative Mary Howard described motel placements for families in Rutland as evidence of a housing crisis in her district.

Several members raised tenant and mobile-home issues specifically. Representative Gail Pezzo described her experience living in a Colchester mobile-home park and cited a legal requirement she said applied to a sale: "Vermont Law 6242 says you have to offer it to the homeowners, the mobile homeowners." Pezzo added that she has worked to create what she called "the first village in Vermont in 90 years," an incorporated village around a mobile-home community that she said opens eligibility for some forms of municipal aid and grant funding.

Representative Emily Prasnow, who co-chaired a landlord-tenant study committee with Representative Joe Parsons this fall, said the committee’s report is imminent: "our report should be out next week," and flagged that the study’s findings will inform upcoming committee discussions.

Mahale outlined short-term logistics and next steps: the committee will determine housekeeping matters such as clerk assignment during a brief organizational period, and the first public testimony will come from Public Assets. "We have a floor at 9:30. We never know how long the floor is gonna be, but we think it's gonna be short. So come right on over here after the floor and we'll basically convene as soon as we can, 10:15, I hope," he said.

No formal motions or votes were taken at the session, which the chair described as an introductory meeting focused on scheduling, staffing and initial priorities. Members signaled agendas likely to include tenant protections, mobile-home community issues, workforce-related housing shortages and follow-up on the landlord-tenant study.

The committee is scheduled to resume business the following day with procedural housekeeping followed by invited testimony beginning at 10:45 a.m.