MONTPELIER – The Legislature reconvened on January 6, with education reform being a top priority. That said, 115 new bills (a number still growing) have been compiled and assigned to various committees, including one from a Burlington representative that would establish a 10-member task force to investigate UFO sightings in Vermont. As a first-term legislator, this really leaves me scratching my head, not just because of the lack of focus on serious issues, but the cost that comes with frivolous bills like this.
As of this writing there have been 637 proposed new pieces of legislation in the House since the start of the biennium. It is estimated that the average cost to have Legislative Council (our in-house lawyers) to draft a bill is $1,000 per bill. So, to date we have spent $637,000 in just drafting legislation, most of which will never get a hearing in a committee, let alone become law. I’m still in the learning stage of this job, but I cannot fathom why we would need all this legislation. What we do need more of is common sense and fiscal responsibility.
The governor’s State of State message was focused primarily on education reform, and for good reason. Vermont’s total education bill is $2.4 billion to teach 80,000 students (includes pre-k) putting per student spending at $31,250. This is more than every other state in the Union but one, and this appetite for spending on public schools is causing problems for other programs. The Education Fund consumes not just $800 million in property taxes, but also every dollar from the 6% sales tax, a quarter of the rooms and meals tax, a third of the vehicle purchase and use tax (taken from the Transportation Fund), the new 3% surcharge on short term rentals, all of the lottery funds, and all of the new payroll tax that goes to Pre-K.
This is unsustainable, and as an example of the problems it is creating, our Transportation Fund has a $35 million deficit, and if we can’t fill that hole we will lose out on federal matching funds amounting to about $150 million to pave and fix our roads and bridges. If the Education Fund wasn’t eating up a third of the Vehicle Purchase and Use tax, that hole would not exist.
Ten years ago, the Education Fund spent $1.6 billion. In just a decade it has increased $0.9 billion, over 40%. This why education reform is essential. The current spending path is not sustainable and making young people, those that can, move to other states that are more affordable. We as a state cannot afford to lose this young workforce. The governor is correct we need to get this Education Fund spending under control.
In the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee where I serve, we are still discussing priorities and deciding which legislation we will take up. Several bills to repeal or reform the Global Warming Solutions Act and related laws are still on the wall, and unfortunately there is no desire on the part of the majority to even consider them, though I will continue to fight to get them a hearing. Vermont’s current tab for climate change related laws was recently pegged at half a billion per year. Given other challenges we face with education, healthcare, public safety, and tax burden, my personal opinion is that we should be paring back in this area, not adding on. However, we will be debating another request to support an additional $800,000 increase spending to set the stage for a Cap & Invest carbon tax scheme on home heating and transportation fuels. I will not be supporting this request.
Another topic of discussion involves Residential Building Energy Codes, which are currently under voluntary compliance by home builders. A new bill wants the Department of Fire Safety to enforce these codes. Fire safety testified that they do not have the personnel to do this enforcement and would have to increase staff at taxpayer expense to do so. Safety is important, but these codes are much higher than standard building practices and add a substantial amount to the cost of building a house, which contributes to our housing affordability crisis. We need to strike a common sense balance.
It is an honor to represent the residents of the Lamoille 2 District in the Vermont Legislature. My email is [email protected], and my text number is (802) 760-0405.
Richard Bailey is a state representative serving Belvidere, Hyde Park, Johnson, and Wolcott.
