[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6219610,"mediaKeyId","3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5","parentId",3621478,"title","Senate accepts conference report on $2 billion housing infrastructure program, sets $200 million annual cap","audioSeconds",1836,"startMs",1154000,"endMs",2990000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5&start=1154&end=2990","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5/thumbnail_1154000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6219610/Vermont/Senate-accepts-conference-report-on-2-billion-housing-infrastructure-program-sets-200-million-annual-cap","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6219610-a3c62c2869f3af1da629e4e89802a6b3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770438056&Signature=kJBuO28FbJtObEpLOaUq1ZOEm0R-hhNSDZlOU1misaejOeNRiL2T1H1oDlnuIsrc6Ll4htXQQWs-otUcpYEbM5e1N9EpJitDY4OsJkhi3UL574N54HL2t9UI-oMrGksMtDcRZp9aDYu6AE2WGRKfUcb976JFR~RvjEzxqvSU~ii17gwhGVkVS7GDkj4fBvYif8umQtRxeDm1ZVweWMhYkMcVvhx4gnejWoujsEVyBdGcIlfKlUSeMgQ~yz1Wd7eqL0PJMsuYFKS~VzhufA9K3NUyyi8Dx~ckzV1Ilv1ExOrBreNFJcdp~RjPu81HW4afUNFQ2p5T~WeydqYn642jVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Vermont Legislature","date","2025-05-31T10:58:52Z","article","The Vermont Senate on May 30 accepted and adopted the committee of conference report on S.127, an act to create a Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) to finance infrastructure for housing development, and immediately sent the measure to the governor.

The measure would authorize up to $2 billion in infrastructure investment over 20 years, with a $200 million annual cap on approved increment and a program sunset in 2035. Proponents said the program uses a tax-increment financing model to allow communities to retain a portion of growth in property value to pay for streets, stormwater, transportation and other infrastructure tied to new housing.

Senator from Chittenden Southeast, the conference-report presenter, told the Senate the program is intended to expand tax-increment tools beyond Vermont’s largest downtowns so “any community who can put a project together, with partners” can apply. She said conference negotiators added “economically focused parameters” including a sunset in 2035 and an enhanced increment-retention split for affordable-housing projects (described in debate as a 75/85 split). She described the committee’s final choice of a $200 million cap as the outcome of “careful math” and local capacity considerations.

The presenter said the committee used a $50,000-per-unit infrastructure cost estimate supplied by the Champlain Housing Trust to calculate need, and that if Vermont built 7,500 units per year it would require roughly $400 million in infrastructure investment; planners therefore set the cap at $200 million as a realistic limit. “At $50,000 per unit and needing 7,500 units per year to have healthy vacancy rates and meet our housing needs as a state, we got to close to $400,000,000,” she said.

She cited examples to illustrate scale: an infrastructure project in Burlington’s South End tied to the Hula development that proponents say could support stormwater improvements for an entire neighborhood and enable 1,200 or more housing units to be built over time. The presenter said larger, lower‑risk projects in population centers could help finance riskier projects in rural communities by producing returns to the education fund.

Senators asked clarifying questions on definitions and fiscal impacts. The Senator from Rutland asked, “Give me a definition of a unit,” and the presenter replied that per-unit infrastructure costs fall with density and that smaller rural projects will have higher per-unit infrastructure costs. The presenter said in aggregate Vermont’s current affordable-housing projects cost more per unit than neighboring states, and that infrastructure can be spread across multiple units to lower the per‑unit cost.

On fiscal impacts, the presenter said committee spreadsheets project that a $2 billion investment spread over 20 years would yield roughly $2.66 billion in grand-list growth attributable to the program. She said the program’s peak year (projected around 2050) would use about $112 million of retained increment while yielding roughly $150 million in revenue to the education fund, a difference of about $38 million at peak.

The Senate accepted and adopted the report of the committee of conference on S.127 (voice vote). Later the Senate suspended its rules and directed the Secretary to “message the actions taken on S.127 to the governor forthwith,” a motion that carried on a voice vote.

Supporters emphasized the program’s potential to expand housing and grow grand lists; some senators pushed for guardrails on education-fund impacts and for parameters that prioritize affordable housing. The bill keeps Vermont’s existing TIF program in place rather than sunsetting it, and places time and capacity limits on CHIP’s operation.

The conference report was presented by the senator designated in the record as the Senator from Chittenden Southeast; committee conferees were noted as signing the report. The Senate’s acceptance and the immediate messaging to the governor complete the chamber’s action on S.127; implementation details and administrative rules will be decided by state agencies and the program’s governance structure once enacted.

• Clarifying note: unit-cost and revenue projections cited in debate were described to the committee and summarized on spreadsheets the presenter offered to share with other senators; the Senate record indicates those spreadsheets informed the conference calculations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Session - 6:00 p.m. - May 30, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Vermont Senate on May 30 accepted and adopted the committee of conference report on S.127, an act to create a Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) to finance infrastructure for housing development, and immediately sent the measure to the governor.","taxTitle","SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",29455,"location","Vermont","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6219602,"Senate pauses resolution opposing federal public-health funding cuts; SR16 recommitted to Health and Welfare",2798,162000,2960000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5&start=162&end=2960","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5/thumbnail_162000.jpg","/articles/6219602/Vermont/Senate-pauses-resolution-opposing-federal-public-health-funding-cuts-SR16-recommitted-to-Health-and-Welfare","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6219602-97c6da2109585ed045f52048f2407a6e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770438056&Signature=RClNFPHuILavK4qqiQM1n4OoJ4bAuxBuZBmqk2nWCcK9HQOhMfJk7OaQhtY29n5v1sL~jDaqBVPz4HvEUdGG~oAbLzEwDWnvubpBalVExzMxMYZjC3UluOgQOkEb2DEtXI6QT3Yw2rAXHWWYXIar0e3fo1JsSa90IQQRylCeLOIHCefA4ewdaGBwSljbKaprVMcub9WnHaPsGAPcozgGgQYs9B~xu7mYQBW3LWGoLNS99kGD9azkAtXcoNRPRbWKn1SJs3YG7Y6SCMTl4lofyZuGq~Dpw0bF1aF4b0SRV5ZAsLFRaFFzS-aat0bz4Uco35c5Cukyb5O7VGhg1nfjcg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate took up SR16, a resolution opposing recent federal actions that the committee said threaten public health, and after debate and drafting confusion recommitted the measure to the Committee on Health and Welfare for further work.

The health-and-welfare committee’s report (concurred out 4-0-1) framed the resolution as a statement of concern about federal funding and policy changes that committee members said could weaken Vermont’s ability to prevent and respond to disease and public-health harms. The committee presenter said “disease does not respect borders” and warned that cuts that reduce global and federal public-health capacity could jeopardize Vermonters.

The presenter cited multiple federal actions and programs by way of example: reductions in World Health Organization funding, the elimination of roughly “20,000 positions being eliminated from the Center for Disease Control teams” that work on injury prevention and other public‑health programs, and cuts to the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Tobacco Products that may reduce oversight. The presenter also highlighted approximately $1 billion in Department of Education cuts described as targeted at school mental‑health services, and said those cuts could affect property taxes that fund education.

Senators attempted to offer an amendment to SR16 but the record shows drafting problems and confusion over an amendment’s presence; the body took a recess for drafting issues and “passed over this resolution for now.” Later the Senate voted to recommit SR16 to the Committee on Health and Welfare (motion carried on voice vote).

The committee report and presenters framed SR16 as an expression of concern and a request for reversal of federal actions; recommitment means the Senate did not adopt the resolution in final form at this session and requested further committee work and clarification before another floor vote.

Quotations in the debate are taken from the presenting senator’s remarks during the committee report: “We believe this resolution represent[s] some of our concerns regarding our efforts to combat disease. Disease does not respect borders, so decisions that are made to cut funding to the World Health Organization may jeopardize the health of Vermonters as disease outbreak[s] spread from region to region.” The presenter also summarized staffing and program cuts: “20,000 positions being eliminated from the Center for Disease Control teams are cut that work on preventing injuries and violence from causes, including motor vehicle crashes, child maltreatment, traumatic brain injury.”

The Senate record shows the recommitment motion was offered and carried; no final adoption of SR16 occurred during this sitting.","The Senate debated SR16, a resolution expressing opposition to recent federal actions the health committee said threaten public health, but postponed final action and recommitted the resolution to the Committee on Health and Welfare for further drafting and review.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6219605,"Senate concurs with House changes to cannabis bill, removes proposed trim-and-harvest license and showcase events",137,2642000,2779000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5&start=2642&end=2779","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3621478-db2efbf4f59ffc6a2e373b755371f2d5/thumbnail_2642000.jpg","/articles/6219605/Vermont/Senate-concurs-with-House-changes-to-cannabis-bill-removes-proposed-trim-and-harvest-license-and-showcase-events","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6219605-d431d4c5b957605dd67700cb44286e23/orig.mp4?Expires=1770438056&Signature=fMbx8Fw6Bj1uDKB896~qBvw9OBwDHKNzF9gWrUTc7bHDZ87dJEV0zieQXIpw7zMJJNM2bRzwDDAKTj3bY5ASHsGXKcTjpwUulwGV9NNqOu6REQEwBGeZv2tSvzoOA4KZO3lgtq5ZXeWk1wkwJkqIV0B9lHpj5PKrKdVHVsw-864qMdKYTJt~YW0P8NuNsG15RUveadXFvffMMa3aH7lq1ZqgptBTOQJUfGZNGVXECOkN7JXmUSmL-RpYg4bQXy0rDOJCqTFWG6zdS~UOs2qIIxcugpJdcfAA1jQCEETBrzAQjcG0zsXj-0PEQbZ6Xx~w5617Q-F44ucXp6VJ-TlT5w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Vermont Senate on May 30 concurred in the House’s proposed amendments to H.321, a miscellaneous cannabis bill, removing several provisions the House said were unnecessary or premature.

The conference/house-returned document deletes a proposed “trim and harvest” license category, associated rule-making authority and multi-location operation language, and eliminates authorization for up to five statewide cannabis showcase events. The Senate voted to concur in the House proposal of amendment by voice vote.

Senator from Franklin, presenting the House amendments, said the Cannabis Control Board had raised capacity concerns because the bill did not provide additional staffing to carry out the board’s new duties. For that reason, the committee and the board agreed the separate trim-and-harvest license and the more expansive license criteria should be removed for now. The presenter said the board uses outside labor for trimming and harvesting at present.

On the showcase events, the presenter said House committee members were concerned such events “may be seen to promote the use of cannabis” and recommended the deletion. The committee voted 4-0-1 to accept the House’s changes and recommended concurrence.

The Senate concurred in the House proposal and later suspended rules to message the chamber’s action on H.321 to the House.

The presenter said some parts of the deleted language could be revisited later if the Cannabis Control Board’s staffing and capacity increase; for now, the body removed provisions described as operationally unnecessary or potentially promotional.

The Senate record shows the concurrence was followed by a rules suspension to send the action to the House forthwith.","The Senate concurred in the House amendments to H.321, deleting provisions that would have created a separate 'trim and harvest' cannabis license and removing authorization for up to five cannabis showcase events; the changes were made after the Cannabis Control Board expressed capacity concerns and House members voiced promotion-related worries.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate accepts conference report on $2 billion housing infrastructure program, sets $200 million annual cap

Senate pauses resolution opposing federal public-health funding cuts; SR16 recommitted to Health and Welfare

Senate concurs with House changes to cannabis bill, removes proposed trim-and-harvest license and showcase events