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Committee reviews S.238: 2% rooms surcharge and 1¢/oz beverage excise to seed housing fund
Summary
Legislative committee reviewed bill S.238, which would establish a 2% surcharge on rooms (hotels, B&Bs, short‑term rentals) dedicated to a Housing Investment Special Fund and a 1¢/ounce sugar‑sweetened beverage excise to replace diverted education‑fund revenue; fiscal staff estimated roughly $20–30 million annually depending on assumptions.
Madam Chair opened a committee hearing on S.238 on Feb. 6, describing the bill as a first attempt to secure recurring revenue for housing development by imposing a 2% surcharge on the state rooms tax and a 1¢ per‑ounce sugar‑sweetened beverage excise to backfill the education fund.
The chair said Vermont’s housing goals — 7,500 new units a year — will not be met without sustained funding, noting an internal estimate that about 4,000 of those units will require state or state‑enabled financial support. "If we're gonna continue to build housing ... we have to identify an additional source of revenue," the chair said.
Kirby Dean, legislative counsel, gave a section‑by‑section overview. He said section 2 would add…
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