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Committee advances economic development bill with Route 22A study and budget adjustments
Summary
The committee reviewed S.327 (draft 5.1), which adjusts funding for business advising and legal services, removes a proposed Taiwan office expansion, and directs a Route 22A study managed by the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies with a report due Jan. 15, 2027.
Rick Sable of the Office of Solicitor Counsel presented a revised draft of the economic development bill (S.327/draft 5.1), describing line edits and budget adjustments the committee requested.
Sable said the downtown tax credit funding line was adjusted, legal-service support to the Vermont Law and Graduate School was reduced to $100,000 for 2027, and business advising funds for the Vermont Small Business Development Center were reduced by $150,000 compared with an earlier draft. He said the International Business Office expansion to a Taiwan office was removed, though the bill directs the office to identify what would be needed to support an international presence.
A new study provision refocuses a previously proposed Route 22A task from solely road options to a cross-border economic-connection study, and assigns the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies to manage the work in consultation with the Agency of Transportation, Agency of Natural Resources, the Land Use Board, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Regional Development Corporations. The study’s scope includes current and projected road usage, accident rates, limited-access highway options, rail feasibility, and cost estimates; a report is due to the General Assembly on or before Jan. 15, 2027.
Committee members generally endorsed the revised draft and discussed next steps for reporting and appropriation priorities; the bill was set to be moved following committee drafting and staff adjustments.
