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House General & Housing panel debates applying prevailing-wage rules to treasurer's housing loan program
Summary
Witnesses and committee members debated whether Vermont's prevailing-wage requirements should apply to projects that use treasurer-backed financing (the transcript refers to a "10% for Vermont" loan program). Members asked for fiscal studies and treasurer input; no vote was taken.
The House Committee on General & Housing heard testimony April 7 about whether Vermont's prevailing-wage statute should apply to housing projects that receive treasurer-backed financing outside the capital construction appropriation.
David Nickenberg, representing Working Vermont and the Vermont Building and Construction Trades Council, told the committee that a labor provision had been removed from the senate markup and described a voluntary density bonus that would have awarded a 20% bonus for projects over 45 units using project labor agreements. "We don't see prevailing wage rates as a barrier to doing any of this stuff," Nickenberg said, adding that prevailing-wage standards can help workforce shortages and improve productivity and safety.
The witnesses also flagged a treasurer's proposal to expand a lending fund currently described in testimony as about $30 million (the transcript referenced the…
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