CRAFTSBURY – As your representative, my job is to ensure that your values and your needs are not ignored and that our towns can thrive for generations to come. Like other rural regions of Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom’s priorities don’t align neatly with the agenda of a particular party–and neither do I, for that matter.
I believe I do my best work for our district as one of three co-chairs of the Rural Caucus, a bi-partisan group of legislators unified by our commitment to supporting rural Vermont. With over 50 members, the caucus as a whole has much greater influence on policies that affect rural Vermont than any one of us has alone.
With support from the Rural Caucus, I’m introducing bills and fighting for policies that work for our district and speaking up and voting “no” when policies aren’t in our best interests, regardless of their party affiliation.
As we head toward our mid-May finish line, here’s what’s happening at the statehouse:
To become a law, a bill must pass both the house and senate, and then be signed into law by the Governor before adjournment in May. Over the last few weeks, the House has sent over a number of bills to be considered by the Senate, including:
H.883 Annual Budget Bill presents a balanced budget of $8.5 billion, prioritizing essential investments in housing, workforce, economic development, human services, and the environment. I worked hard to help secure $1M in funding to the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for a new Water Quality Assistance Program providing financial assistance to logging contractors.
H.721 Healthcare Expansion Bill — Increases Medicaid income eligibility to include 19- and 20-year-olds and pregnant people, and brings an estimated 2,400 residents onto Medicaid next year. The legislation would also significantly increase subsidies for low-income seniors on Medicare.
H.622 EMS Bill — Addresses emergency medical service workforce issues, governance sustainability, and fair payment for services rendered by dedicated EMS providers. I am proud to have introduced this important bill and worked extensively with stakeholders and the committees to advance it.
H.829 Housing Bill — Sets forth a 10-year affordable housing initiative that includes more than $90 million in funding in fiscal year 2026 for affordable housing. Funding for the investment would come from taxes on those making over $500,000 per year and those who own expensive homes.
H.657 Telecommunications Bill — Modernizes telecommunications taxes to be more competitively neutral and to stabilize revenue for critical services including E-911. I had the honor of reporting this technical bill on the floor at 9:45 p.m. at night.
H.880 Judiciary Bill — Seeks to improve access to justice in our state by funding new positions in the criminal justice system to clear the court backlog and ensure future offenders face quick consequences.
H.706 Neonicotinoid Bill — – Bans the use of neonicotinoid pesticides which are highly toxic to bees and other pollinators. After talking with local farmers and hearing their concerns, I voted “no” on the bill. I hope the senate will continue to work with our farmers to find a way forward on this bill where they feel supported in the transition away from this class of pesticides.
H.121 Data Privacy Bill — This groundbreaking legislation ensures the right to access, delete, and correct information, plus opt-out of data sales and targeted ads.
H.687 Act 240 Bill — Would relax Act 250 in some municipalities, allowing new development to proceed without triggering review under the state law. It also would identify “critical natural resource” areas or places deemed so ecologically sensitive that any development would trigger Act 250. The bill would also overhaul the current body that oversees the administration of Act 250, replacing it with a professionalized board that would take up appeals to Act 250 decisions instead of a judge. Working with other members of the Rural Caucus, I was successful in offering several amendments to the bill to help more towns develop zoning and subdivision bylaws and to increase Act 250 exemptions for housing and accessory on farm businesses. While I feel urgency to modernize Act 250 to support the development of new housing and climate adaptation measures, I still have a number of concerns about the bill, especially about its impact on our rural communities, so I voted “no” on the bill. I’m hopeful that after the Senate continues to work on the bill, it gets to a place where I can vote “yes.”
H.871 School Constrution Aid Bill — Establishes a Facilities Master Plan Grant Program to support school districts developing educational facilities master plans and establishes the State Aid for School Construction Working Group, a legislative working group to design a statewide school construction aid program. I offered an amendment to the bill to ensure that the working group will consider different metrics for different schools, such as schools with low population density, when designing eligibility criteria and incentives for the school construction aid program.
In the coming weeks, the House will consider bills from the Senate, including:
S.55 — An act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law
S.58 — An act relating to public safety
S.159 — An act relating to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee
S.213 — An act relating to the regulation of wetlands, river corridor development, and dam safety
S.257 — An act relating to including rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products under the State battery stewardship program
S.258 — An act relating to the management of fish and wildlife
S.259 — An act relating to climate change cost recovery
S.284 — An act relating to student use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices in schools
S.310 — An act relating to natural disaster government response, recovery, and resiliency
Katherine Sims represents Albany, Craftsbury, Glover and Greensboro.
