Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: This is the House Probations Committee. It is Thursday, 03/19/2026. It is about 01:55 in the afternoon, and we're going to try to vote out a few bills. We do not have legislative counsel here. We've gone over these bills. Some of them are we're trying to account for them in the budget, at least the money in the budget, and one we may just move into the budget. So

[David Yacovone (Member)]: Oh, that one is not in here.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Oh, I know why. Okay. This is another one we need to talk about that's We'll also talk about which is the H548. We should put that on here, Autumn, as a discussion. You can add it to this 145To215, H548, which is the mediator for the Vermont Labor Relations Board. So we have H577, which is the Vermont prescription drug discount card that's going to, we hope, save significant dollars for monitors in their prescriptions. And the request was $50,000 one time to market it to get it up and going. Other states that have, as I understand it, who have done marketing have had much improved uptake. I think it was Connecticut that didn't have very much uptake, and then they started doing some marketing, and then the uptake happened. At the moment we're accounting for it in the budget, it would go with the bill, but we would be accounting for it in the budget, if we have to cover all the money. So that was the plan. Any questions on that?

[John Kascenska (Member)]: One question, but my understanding was there were other cards available that did the same thing.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: There were what?

[John Kascenska (Member)]: Other similar cards that would also are doing that.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: I think you have to have an arrangement with the state and the pharmacies, which we don't have any idea. So maybe this is the one that we picked over, know, the Ford or the Chevy. We picked the Ford, I don't know.

[John Kascenska (Member)]: Just bringing that back up because I recall this from testimony to anybody just so in chief. Do you have any comments on that or thoughts?

[David Yacovone (Member)]: Lynn? Some of those other cards are done privately. They're not necessarily they don't use state money. They're not state sponsored. I don't know if familiar enough with it to tell you what they're

[John Kascenska (Member)]: how

[David Yacovone (Member)]: many are they do. I Right. Get one in the mail that says do this.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Oh yeah, yeah. I mean, I think, I imagine there are some that are shady. There may be some other very legitimate ones, but I'm imagining there are some that are maybe not so much. And so this is one that's been vetted that other states are using. Oh, okay, the bill is starting. Okay.

[John Kascenska (Member)]: I've got two in a row.

[David Yacovone (Member)]: You have

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: two in a row? Three in a row? Okay, we'll have a clerk.

[David Yacovone (Member)]: See you tonight.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: It's been a week has been. Anyway, so but any other conversations we need to have about this bill before it gets started I guess like

[Trevor Squirrell (Clerk)]: that's quite important we leave the $50,000

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: in the bill We would account for it in the budget so that we don't do double spend. So the money goes with the bill. In this case we try as often as we can now, which is not what we used to do, is to have the money and the bill go together for us to account for it. There'll be a section of the budget. And I have to say, Rep. Donaghy was so happy we changed it last year. Oh, think it's one year thing. Yes. That may not happen with one of the other ones we're going to talk about, but that's that one. So we might be able to get that's a will of counsel. And we have it counted for it in this draft. Entertain a motion to approve H. 77. So moved. Thank you Dave. So down below. Yep. Dave is there a second? Second. I'll second.

[David Yacovone (Member)]: Okay.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: So can you get that? Yep. Okay, it's $8.21. And whose bill is this? Oh, it's treasurer. Okay, Lynn, this one's yours? Yes. It'd be pretty easy. So let me just mark them. Thank you. The next is the Dam Safety Bill, H778. We heard that a while ago. It seemed to be one that we all agreed we needed to do, And again, the money would go with the bill, but we have accounted for the money, and we talked about it before, everybody liked it, and as I've talked to all of you today, everybody still wants to keep the money in it. You're dancing. Any other comments or questions about that one? Dave, you look like you're thinking about it. I'll tell you later. Okay. Is it related to the joke? It is. It's like, let's eat grandma and let's eat grandma without the comment. I'd say this

[David Yacovone (Member)]: is a must do bill. Yes.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Yeah. When we heard about it, I think I saw heads nodding all over the table about that. So is there a motion to approve that Dampson Bill Arraignton, was the number on this one? 778. 778. And this will probably be Trevor's of where it is. And so since we all seem to be

[David Yacovone (Member)]: in agreement if the court would probably yes. Rep.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Laroche, yes. Rep. Dickinson? Yes. Rep. Feltus? Yes. Rep. Kascenska?

[John Kascenska (Member)]: Yes. Rep.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Okay, and H915 is the next one, which is the act relating to establishing an extended producer responsibility program. This is the one that money is coming from the Clean Water Fund for the Solid Waste Management Funds. There's no general fund involved. And as I mentioned this morning, I learned yesterday that the administration supports it, ANR supports it, businesses support it. So that's the line of Despite all those people liking it, I know. Okay. You can throw it away from home.

[John Kascenska (Member)]: It takes money from the clean water farm. The Lake Champlain is cleaned up properly. It serves our life. And also, I believe that if it's going to cost those distributors money to build a system, they're going to pass it on to us.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Oh, I actually have it in front here. The fiscal impact would be up to $1,000,000 could be transferred in fiscal years 3031, so a few years out from the Clean Water Fund with solid waste, and then up to $750,000 it could be transferred in years '32 and '33. So that's what's coming out of the Clean Water Fund into this.

[David Yacovone (Member)]: Yeah, it took us long and hard work to get the Clean Water Fund funded, and I had a bunch of bills that represent Saint Almas, the Champlain. A fellow over here represents Franklin, who's Lake Carmine. Right? I mean, this is a and I David Yacovone.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: I remember the lake in crisis, Phil.

[David Yacovone (Member)]: We were all in. It took us, I think, three or four or five years before we got the mic. I put in bills to go and take 1% or 2% of the houses of conservation piece from property transfer tax for twenty years or something to build up whatever the amount of. Never went anywhere. It was really resistant. But eventually, the HCB got the governor to go over and added a surcharge to the property tax, what's up to percent. And that funds it. And I just think that we haven't cleaned up the water yet. We still have another twenty years of work to do, at least. And I just hesitate to take it out

[John Kascenska (Member)]: of it.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: I can understand. The sheet stuff,

[John Kascenska (Member)]: my understanding is if this works, that it would be less, because my understanding is some of the money,

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: what do they call it, the sheets? The sheets, well I have the actual and projected as sheet revenue. In 2024, the actual was 3,384,000. In 2025, the actual was $4,000,003.56.

[John Kascenska (Member)]: So, said if this works well, I mean, sheets would have to

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: be less.

[John Kascenska (Member)]: There would be less money going into the clean

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: water fund if it were Well, Essex also go There would be more going into the

[Trevor Squirrell (Clerk)]: Isn't that what you just said?

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: I just read what Well, that's what's going in. Those were actual projected as cheap revenue. They've actually projected, now this thing doesn't go into effect until 2030, so we have no idea what that is. '26 and '27 are 3,700,000.0 and 3,800,000.0 projected to '26 and '27 because I'm just reading from the results that we all have. That's okay Marty, go ahead.

[Trevor Squirrell (Clerk)]: I would just clarify that there are more sources of income than the clean water funds besides the receipts from Right, yes. I looked at clean water fund very carefully when

[John Kascenska (Member)]: I was on the corporations before, so it

[Trevor Squirrell (Clerk)]: was part of A and R, there are several sources of income, part of it is the property transfer tax surcharge and then these are sheets, and then there's another section that comes from, I believe there's a designated portion of Right, the meals and meals and rooms. And I think there's a portion that comes from VHCPS as well.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: The property transfer tax. The, yeah, the clean water fund receives revenue from the 0.22% clean water surcharge of the property transfer tax, 6% of the meals and rooms tax, and interest income in addition to receipt revenue. Various theme water projects also receive funding from the capital bill. So you've seen that in corrections. In total, the draft fiscal year twenty twenty seven theme water fund budget estimates that the four revenue sources will generate $31,000,000

[John Kascenska (Member)]: Into the fund?

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Into the Clean Water Fund. The capital bill will add an estimated additional $10,000,000 in funding, so that's up to 41,000,000. With one time funding largely comprised of pandemic era funds that have not yet been spent down, the total draft Clean Water Fund budget for fiscal year twenty twenty seven is $45,200,000 This amount below the annual goal of 50 to 60,000,000 until water quality goals 10 BSA are met. So those are the revenues that they and then there's a charge that shows that. So that they get it, you're right, from a bunch of different places. So the $1,000,000 would be dedicated to Up to $1,000,000 I've gone through a

[John Kascenska (Member)]: lot of stuff, I'm just trying to remember.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Right. So according to this, up to 1,000,000 permit the Secretary of Administration to transfer money from the Clean Water Fund to the Solid Waste Management Assistance account in over four years, 'thirty, 'thirty one, 'thirty two, 'thirty three. So the first two years, up to $1,000,000 could be transferred in fiscal years 'thirty and 'thirty one, so up to $1,000,000 and then up to $750,000 in 'thirty two and 'thirty three, and that's it. So those are the fund transfers. I'd actually thought it was a lot more. Couldn't remember Bill Wells on it Do for reviewing we need to have anybody else come in and talk to us about this again? Everything's We're okay. We could pause on this for the moment. We can pause on this. Is that okay? I just want go back and kind of take a look at my notes and take a look Yes, at the sheet read this if we need to get Ed Barnett to come in, let me know and we can do that. I want to do this when we're ready and I understand. I've been called upstairs I apologize. While you're talking, while you're getting up I'll just tell you that the they're just lining you all up the other thing we I had suggested that we do at least to the Legislative Council Joint Fiscal is the Vermont Labor Relations Board we all agreed that we needed to add a mediator position rather than amend the bill I would like to just put the mediator position in the budget and just not and just leave the bill on the wall is that okay all right so that's what we'll do. Is that going be substantive? No, the bill was about adding positions and you're only adding one position. It doesn't make sense to go in all that as you list against Bill number was 548 thank you it's the Vermont Labor Relations Board so we'll just add a disclosure if we had all agreed on doing that anyway yes I think you're after David Okay. And we have people here in present field. Let's see. Are you going up to present too? Yes. Already? They're moving right through these, think. That's the plan. These are pretty similar Since I've lost four people, let's go live. I'll chat

[David Yacovone (Member)]: with you guys up here, and I

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: think what How are you guys on time?