Rep. Elizabeth Rose urges raising advisory-body per diems, says $50 since 2007 discourages participation

Representative Elizabeth Rose presented a proposal to the House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee to raise minimum per diems paid to members of study committees and other advisory bodies.

For the record Rose said she represents Windsor-1 and that she has reviewed historical reports and recommendations, including a 2023 Office of Racial Equity report on advisory bodies. She told the committee the current statutory per diem for many advisory bodies is $50 per day and that amount has not been updated since 2007. "That $50 could cover a 2 hour meeting... Or it could also cover an 8 hour day. It's still $50," Rose said, arguing the rate does not come close to the state’s definition of a livable wage and discourages broader participation.

Rose asked the committee to consider at minimum tying per diems to the basic-needs budget or otherwise increasing compensation for volunteers so advisory bodies attract a wider cross-section of Vermonters. Her proposal, as described in the hearing, would set the minimum per diem at $50 or the Joint Fiscal Office basic-needs budget amount, whichever is higher. The transcript does not record a bill number for this measure.

She said the change would also potentially reduce the number of study committees if legislative sponsors budgeted for higher pay and thus prioritized fewer, more focused bodies. Rose asked committee members to review the range of roughly 30 recommendations in the Office of Racial Equity report and consider broader changes to make participation more humane and effective.

Committee members thanked Rose and indicated they will continue conversations; no motion or vote was taken during this session.