Vermont passes bill for towns to fund new construction, enacts other reforms
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – A long-awaited compromise on housing that gives towns more options to fund building projects, a bill addressing the impact of social media on children that will likely face challenges in court, and a reform that will seal many criminal history records were among ten bills Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law Thursday.
Senate Bill 127, on housing, was perhaps the bill that took the most work by both chambers of the state assembly. The bill establishes the Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), which lets cities and towns fund housing projects by taking out loans to be repaid later, with the increased tax revenue gained from the projects. It was passed by the Vermont Senate this past March, and went through a long process of amendment before final passage May 30.
VT Governor calls for action on housing legislation
This bill on housing also includes a provision to award up to $20,000 to people helping to build houses in empty lots, and establishes a state program to offer low-interest loans to cities and towns aiming to improve their infrastructure.
Scott made a special statement on Senate Bill 69, the Vermont Kids Code, which you can read more about in its own article below.
Vermont signs Kids Code into law, faces legal challenges
Senate Bill 12 changes the procedures for sealing someone's criminal history after they have completed serving a sentence. Under previous Vermont law, when asking for a crime to be sealed the burden of proof is on the petitioner to show that sealing 'serves the interests of justice', while S. 12 moves this burden over to the state.
The governor also signed S. 45, which protects farmers from nuisance lawsuits for activities that comply with generally accepted farming practice, S. 122, which funds several groups that aid small businesses in the state and explores the development of a convention center, and S. 126, which aims to lower health care costs by allowing 'reference-based pricing,' along with four other bills.
VT House passes healthcare 'redesign', now goes to Senate
The Vermont state legislature is currently scheduled to adjourn for the summer on June 17, The adjournment has already been postponed at least once as the legislature said it needed more time to work out important reforms.
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