VT Rural Economic Development Working Group

03/23/2022

Tri-Partisan Rural Caucus Calls for Meaningful Discussion on Common Sense Act 250 Reforms
Now is time to update Act 250 governance to reflect realities of rural Vermont

Montpelier, VT – The tri-partisan House of Representatives Rural Economic Development Working Group (REDWnG), also known as the Rural Caucus, is calling for meaningful action on common-sense Act 250 reforms to make the law consistent, realistic, and reflective of the actual needs in the state of Vermont. The Rural Caucus call for substantive engagement follows extensive work throughout the past summer and fall of 2021 working with forest and farm businesses across the state to identify important changes to Act 250 governance that would help refine and clarify requirements, make them consistent across the state, and reflect the realities of working lands businesses.

The caucus introduced the first-ever Rural Economic Development Omnibus Bill (H.581) as a result of this work, and the Act 250 changes proposed in H.581 were crafted to find broad support across party lines in the Statehouse by recognizing the priorities and realities of Vermonters who work the land and also building resilience in the face of global climate change.

While several components of H.581 have advanced (described below), the revisions to Act 250 sought by the caucus have a long way to go.

“S. 234 and S. 236 incorporate some of the changes important to the caucus,” said Representative Charlie Kimbell, co-chair of REDWnG, “and the House Committee on Natural Resources is planning to take up those bills when they come over from the Senate.”

“Our 50 member caucus is ready to engage all parties - our colleagues in the legislature, regulators, advocates, the Administration - thoughtfully and productively on these issues that are critical to rural Vermont,’ added Representative Laura Sibilia, co-chair. “Rural Vermonters need more consistent governance and process in Act 250 decision making, and policymakers and regulators should work to solve known unintended consequences of Act 250 without tying more contentious issues to passage of those solutions .”

The common-sense Act 250 reforms the caucus is most focused on include:

Establishing hours of operations conditions in Act 250 permits for forest-based enterprises
Reducing the requirement to mitigate the reduction of primary agricultural soils for forest-based enterprises
Establishing permit exemptions for small forest-based enterprises
Clarifying the definition and allowable operations of Accessory On-farm Businesses: Introduced as a separate bill H 704, passed out of House Ag & Forestry, now being considered in House Natural Resources.

Rural Omnibus Initiatives Advance
The first-ever Rural Omnibus Bill has had a number of components advance this session. Between the specific bill initiatives and other initiatives supported by the Rural Caucus, more than $150 million in funds would be allocated to support economic development in rural Vermont communities. Specific measures in the Omnibus bill that are advancing include:

H. 566 establishes the Vermont Forest Future Roadmap to stabilize and strengthen Vermont’s forest economy over 10 years and help existing and potential forest-based businesses that are working to sustainably manage Vermont’s forestland. This bill passed out of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee with an 8 – 0 vote and has been combined with H. 703.
H. 518 recommends a $40 million program to support the transition of municipal fuel needs to more sustainable sources. This includes a transition to modern wood heat, weatherization and other measures.

In addition, the Caucus backed several important measures that have been included in the FY23 Budget including:

The Working Lands Enterprise Fund has had its base budget increased nearly four-fold, to $2 million annually, in addition to a further $2 million increase via the Budget Adjustment Act.
$95 million for improved broadband internet access across Vermont.
$50 million for new housing initiatives across the state
$5 million for advanced metering infrastructure
$3 million to support the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) grants
$1 million for e-snowmobiles and ATVs

About the Rural Economic Working Group
The Rural Economic Working Group (REDWnG) is a tri-partisan caucus made up of over 50 members of the Vermont House of Representatives, who share a goal of advancing policy that strengthens and supports Vermont's rural communities & economy.

Over the years, the group has worked to support initiatives to expand access to affordable broadband, ensure equitable funding for Vermont's rural schools, and invest in Vermont's farm and forest economies. The group values civil discourse, local wisdom, and working across party lines for a better future for Vermont. This year, the Vermont Council on Rural Development is providing some basic administrative support for the caucus, given the group’s non-partisan mission of supporting Vermont’s rural communities. Learn more at: https://sites.google.com/vtrural.org/redwng/.


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About

01/25/2022

Check us out on our new website, https://sites.google.com/vtrural.org/redwng/!

About

01/21/2022

With a mindset of staying small, a sawmill in Fletcher sees wood products as the next “go local” movement. By Christine McGowan, Vermont Forest Industry Network Tucker Riggs, owner of Laughing Stock Farm (LSF) Forest Products in Fletcher, is busier than he’s ever been. As the pandemic and resu...

09/30/2021

Another great day of legislators meeting with forest products businesses: Built by Newport, Columbia Forest Products and LaBranche Lumber

07/28/2021

04/08/2021

This week we talk more about ARPA funding for municipalities with Rebecca Ellis from Congressman Welch's office and Karen Horn from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

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03/26/2021

Vermont Legislature Takes Measures to Help Rural Vermont Communities

At the mid-point of the 2021 legislative session, the Rural Economic Development Working Group in the House is tracking components of bills passed in the House and are being considered in the Senate. We believe that these bills help to sustain and grow the economies in rural Vermont.

$5 million in one-time funding for the Working Lands Enterprise Board for pass through grants to both operators of working land businesses and system providers to help those businesses with technical assistance and supply systems. ($3 million is in H. 315 Covid Recovery and $2 million is in H. 439, the Big Bill)

$2.5 million in one-time funding for Tourism Marketing, to market Vermont to potential visitors as the state and the county emerge from the COVID-19 travel restrictions. Many of Vermont’s tourism business are located in rural parts of the state. (H. 439, the Big Bill)

Limiting Liability for Agritourism Businesses (H. 89) by exempting from liability the operators of agritourism businesses from voluntary activities taken by visitors while on the property (think of a visitor to a sugar house placing their hand in a boiling pan of sap).

Extension of the Dr. Dinosaur program (particularly pre and post natal care) to undocumented mothers and children most of whom are working in agriculture in rural parts of the state. (BILL #)

Broadband infrastructure bill (H. 360) that dedicates $150 million to the build out of quality broadband services through the efforts of CUDs and Community Groups to the last mile to the premise. The Vermont Community Broadband Authority will have the authority to make grants and loans to extend broadband to the unserved and underserved areas of the state.

Childcare funding and workforce development bill (H. 171) that redefines eligibility for assistance, provides scholarships and loan repayments to individuals working in the profession, and looks to limit families’ expense for childcare to 10% of their income. This continues to be large issue in rural areas, particularly the shortage of infant care.

The creation of community schools (H. 106) recognizes the increased needs of students because of poverty, adverse child experiences, or other challenges and provides additional services around them.

State aid for school construction (H. 426) may be revived following a full analysis of the condition and needs of all school facilities in the state. This should help address one of the major challenges faced by rural school districts with aging facilities.

Choices for care (H. 153) provide a sustainable income for individuals providing health care services to older and disabled individuals in their own homes, making it more likely that individuals can “age in place” in their rural community without having to move to a larger town in which a hospital or health care facility is located.

The creation of the Better Places Program (H. 159) provides matching grant funds to communities to build cohesion and vitality through creating new public spaces in a community-wide effort. $5 million in grant funds to be allocated in grants of $5,000 to $50,000 each.

$5 Million is allocated to Adult Day Programs to help seniors live independently by providing services to them on a daily basis.
The miscellaneous alcohol bill (H. 313) clarifies the serving of alcohol by the manufacturers or non-profits at festivals and events, an important part of our rural activities and economies.

Vermont Housing Conservation Board receives $40 million in one-time funds, $10 million of which is to be used for conservation and for farm and forest viability work, and $100,000 for the Rural Economic Development Initiative in which a grant writer assists small towns apply for and obtain federal grants to fund community projects.

Creation of the Vermont Housing Improvement Program with $3 million in financing to bring 1-4 unit rental properties up to building codes and habitable as a way to utilize existing housing stock to meet housing demands.

Several workforce development programs are included to meet the needs of both residents and employers, with $20 million going to the Vermont State College system to support students in critical employment areas as well as students returning to Vermont.

The capital bill provides funding for improvements to state properties throughout the state as well as significant investments in clean water and community grants that many rural towns take advantage of.

ARPA funds are headed directly to communities, dividing $121 million to communities based on 2019 population estimates. Those funds can be used for: (1) the pandemic and/or to aid impacted industries, (2) hazard pay for essential workers, (3) to replace lost wages, (4) to make investments in sewer or broadband.

03/17/2021

Demand Equitable Education Across Vermont Zip-codes.

02/15/2021

Speakers from rural, urban and economically deprived communities come together to discuss the harm that is being done under the current education funding system, and ask the legislature to work this year to implement the recommendations made in the UVM Pupil Weighting Factors Report.

02/15/2021

On Monday Feb. 15 at 11:00am representatives from a coalition of school districts across Vermont will be streaming a virtual press conference on this page to urge action on the 2019 UVM Pupil Weighting Study recommendations.

Speakers from rural, urban and economically deprived communities will discuss the harm that is being done under the current system, and the work that has been done to identify a solution.

09/18/2020

We are early risers! This morning we met at 7:45 am to hear from the House Natural Resources Committee Chair Amy Sheldon and Department of Forest Parks and Recreation Commission Mike Snyder and Deputy Commissioner Sam Lincoln and about the changes to Act 250 made in the Senate. We also said goodbye to our long time Chairman Rep. Chip Conquest who is retiring from the legislature.

03/11/2020

Equalized Pupil Weighting Study Press Conference - 2:30pm, March 11, 2020