At the Oct. 15 meeting members discussed topics and framing for the commission’s annual legislative breakfast, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at the Delta Hotel in South Burlington.

Staff circulated a shortlist of issues for discussion with the legislative delegation: housing and Act 181 (Title 24 process changes and LERB/DPS coordination), transportation funding, water and wastewater funding and deployment, plug-in solar policy, e-bike charging code, and residential building energy standards and how those interact with state building code processes. Taylor noted these are priorities from staff and partners and asked for board feedback.

Several board members urged staff to prepare accessible, fact-based “talking points” the delegation can use when advocating in Montpelier — including quick factoids about why Chittenden County matters for the state economy, workforce and tax base. Jeff and Dana both suggested the breakfast include concise statistics (population share, jobs, GDP contribution, diversity indicators such as number of languages spoken in certain districts) that legislators can use when making the case for county needs. Taylor dropped last year’s presentation in the chat for board review and invited feedback on additional facts to include.

Logistics discussed: event will run roughly 7:30–9:00 a.m.; typical attendance is 50–65 people including municipal officials and legislators; invitation list includes local legislators and select boards. The breakfast is usually held in lieu of the December board meeting.

Why it matters: the legislative breakfast is a direct opportunity to brief the county’s legislative delegation and municipal leaders about near-term priorities and to equip legislators with concise facts that help them advocate for county needs during the legislative session.