The following is an update related to bills and conversations that have an impact on our Agricultural Landscape. ACT 155 (S.161) An act relating to extending the baseload renewable power portfolio requirement Although VTFB was not tracking this bill, it does contain information for our forestry sector: the Act will require three reports back to the
Read More...As you may know, the Governor signed H.697 into law – now Act 146. Act 146 changes Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal (UVA) Program by adding a subcategory to Managed Forestland called ‘Reserve Forestland.’ Appropriately, folks have questions. I’m writing to provide an overview of the law to help you respond to questions from landowners, understand the timeline and
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Click for More on House Bills Click for More on Senate Bills S.100 An act relating to universal school breakfast and lunch for all public school students and to creating incentives for schools to purchase locally produced foods The Senate Agriculture Committee reviewed changes to this language based on conversations with Chair Campion from Senate Education. The
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Click for More on House Bills Click for More on Senate Bills Presentation on The Future of Vermont Technical College Members of the leadership team have been tasked with finding a solution for VTC’s challenges. They met in a joint session of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees this week to offer their plan. Pat Moulton,
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Click for More on House Bills Click for More on Senate Bills Senate Finance Reviews S.128 An act relating to the taxation of grid-connected renewable energy plants, energy storage facilities, and energy transformation projects The Senate Finance Committee discussed a bill aiming to treat energy storage facilities and small scale solar projects (under 50kw) the
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MORE INFORMATION ON UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE S.10 We are attaching a graph courtesy of the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce as well as a letter from Associated Industries of Vermont that sets out more data regarding the proposed 20% increase in Unemployment Insurance benefits in S.10. If you have employees and are paying UI benefits, please
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CROSSOVER UPDATES FOR COMMITTEES Friday, March 12, is the deadline for bills containing no budget issues (that is, no tax, fees or charges that would affect the budget) to be voted on the floor and moved to the other body. Here is a review of what has gotten out of the Agriculture Committees: Voted out
Read More...By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund When the water pump on Allard Lumber’s boiler went a few years back, Trevor Allard finally had the excuse he needed to begin building the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system that he had been considering for years. “I couldn’t justify throwing out
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Click for More on House Bills Click for More on Senate Bills Bills of Interest S.52 An act relating to increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. This bill is in the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. S.67 An act relating to repair of agricultural equipment -This bill is the Senate version
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This publication is for the benefit and education of Vermont Farm Bureau members. Please do not forward or copy this for any purpose other than to promote the farm bureau. Thank you. Week Ending January 29, 2021 Bills of Interest Introduced Due to the legislative webpage being down and inaccessible, Bills of interest will be
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