March 15, 2025

Constituent Communication 3-15-25

Happy Mud Season,

While I am told this has been an unusually slow session so far, things are heating up in the State House!  

I am a straightforward person, so I am going to give you unvarnished commentary.  

Despite having a large surplus from last year, the state’s finances are very tight, and we are going into a period of difficulty. The state is challenged by the same things we are as citizens and business owners – inflation, health insurance premiums skyrocketing, and a tight labor market. Add to this limited projected economic growth (and therefore limited tax revenue increases) and the numbers quickly turn red. As an example, Vermont needs to pave 300 miles of road every year to stay current on our routine maintenance schedule. The Transportation Committee has proposed allocating money for 100 miles because of all the other transportation priorities. The dedicated and under-appreciated members of the Appropriations Committee have requests from across state government and outside organizations for over $300,000,000 above what we have set as the base budget for next year. Making choices on what to fund at what levels is extremely difficult. The good news is that we have a long history of balancing our budget.

On top of the state situation, there are the frozen, revoked or unclear futures of so many federal grants, programs and reimbursements to factor in.  One small example is this program supporting local farmers and schools. There is a deep, deep level of concern in the General Assembly about the impact on Vermonters of all these cuts. Vermont’s budget consists of 36% federal dollars. The elephant in the room is Medicaid – if this program is cut significantly, it will be absolutely devastating to both the direct recipients of Medicaid and to the state budget.

The education reform proposals being debated, largely based on the Governor’s initial plan (with significant modifications), will not lower education spending. They will, “bend the cost curve.” Meaning future increases will not be as high as they otherwise would be. For those of us hoping for significant savings this is disappointing. There is still a great degree of uncertainty about the particulars of the education reform bill that will eventually make it out of the Assembly. I hope we take a go-slow approach.

As you know, taxes are currently assessed based on homestead and non-homestead rates.  Non-homestead includes every property that is not your primary residence, so it is a catch all category. There is a proposal to break the non-homestead classification up so tax policy can be more flexible and refined – for instance, there could be different rates for second homes, businesses, camps, etc. This would be tied to a statewide property appraisal system, a big change.

In my committee, Energy and Digital Infrastructure, we are continuing our assessment of state government IT spending. We heard some good news from the Secretary of State’s office about several IT projects that came in on time and on budget. We are also hoping to get a bill from the Senate in the next few weeks that will expand the purview of Efficiency Vermont to include work on the thermal sector (not just electric), which includes a repeal of the Clean Heat Standard (I support repeal).

The Budget Adjustment Act, a mid-year adjustment of funds, was passed by both houses and vetoed by the Governor. More on that here. In my opinion, there is not enough cooperation between the parties and between the different branches of government. I have a practical approach to problem solving, not a political one. The dynamics of Montpelier can be difficult to understand and disappointing to watch, but there are many dedicated, hard-working legislators from all parties toiling to make the lives of Vermonters better. Please make your voice heard – it makes a difference!

Representative Chris Morrow

cmorrow@leg.state.vt.us