Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: We are in the Ways and Means Committee room. This is the Ways and Means Committee, and we are working on H95. It is April 10 at 01:25. I'm sorry for the longer break than I had originally described. I hope everyone did get lunch in the

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: middle of all that. Yes?

[James Masland (Member)]: You just saw me.

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Good. I did. You got some lunch. That's it. Peanut butter cups count as lunch, especially on a Friday. We have some final edits that John will

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: take us through, and then we'll ideally vote so

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: that the appropriations committee can begin their work on this.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Would you like

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: to share

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: your screen, John Gray?

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Sure would. I am John Gray with the Office of Landsat Council, and we are in section 27 b. These are Beth's sections, and we're gonna be at the very end of this section. This is your school transportation grant support from AOE through the end of this year. What we're looking at is a report showing recommendations regarding We have at the very bottom of page 24, I believe this is the update, how to ensure a student who attends a CTE center other than the assigned regional CTE center, either enrollment, trades, program availability, some other barrier, has access to transportation to the same extent that's attending site CT seminar and the costs associated with any such recommendations. Yes. Next, we can go to page 92. And it's something you can't see. Now, sorry for me to notice these because they're not there. But there used to be a final paragraph starting on line eight, And there were issues with this was the paragraph that stated estimated ongoing annual supplemental spending of a particular figure. And based on some of the assumptions that would go into that, assuming level debt service payments each year, that has been striking. And the last piece I have

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: Yeah, sorry, Representative Ode. The one thing I want to say about this, I agree with Stripe, but I do want to say that moving forward, I did at one point understand that it might help district if they had even pigments over the body of body. So, I would just like to have us take some money, and whoever's on the speaker, take testimony about how that would work. Guess we could have something like this language. I

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: think so much more work will need to be

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: done in school construction next year. I think that's going to be this committee, whoever is in it, understanding a lot more about how bonding works is gonna be a very important piece of that testimony, including the idea of multi, how payments happen. Thank you.

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: There's a third and final change, and it relates to the Ed Fund Advisory Committee membership. That section itself begins on page 96. And as we talked about earlier today, the membership is restricted. You have your set of six members with expertise in net financing appointed by the speaker, the committee on committees and the governor. And the new piece that you have added on page 97, slides seven through nine. One representative from the Vermont School Boards Association with extradition net financing selected by the executive director of the Vermont School Boards Association. Thank you. Thank you. That is it.

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Thank you, Jean Grey.

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Scrap four point two. 12PM today.

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Can you remove that highlighting, please? Not right now, but

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: I can send a clean.

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Madam Chair, I would move that we find version 4.2 favorable. Of the amendment before the committee? Favorable. Of what? Nine fifty five. Sorry. Just 4.2 to H nine fifty five favorable.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Thank you. Representative Kimbell moves

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: that we find H-nine 55 favorable. Can I have a second? Representative Ode.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Thank you. What? She's asking me to second. Can you second? You can't second. I'm not gonna second. Thank you, representative Higley. Any discussion?

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Representative Mass.

[James Masland (Member)]: Little trouble.

[James Masland (Member)]: Several provisions of the bill as you may have

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Can you

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: use a slightly louder voice, please? Sorry. Yeah.

[James Masland (Member)]: Should get provisions in when we come out. Did you stroke?

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: I think I said this yesterday, but I do want to say again, doing multi year work in a bi annual legislature that is five months a year is very, very hard. And I think it takes a lot of faith and a lot of work in between to know that we are moving pieces of things forward and that more will have to be done in the future and not knowing what that is. And it's it's very uncomfortable. And doing this very complex work across committees is also very uncomfortable because we can't own and see the whole picture, and we can't own and see all the testimony. The House Education Committee took a great deal of testimony about how we sort of the life of each other came to us. And I think we've wrapped around that as best we could to find a path forward that should lower costs for districts and provide more educational opportunities and stabilize and even lower homestead property taxes. But it's a multiyear process, and we're going to have a lot more to do next year. And I think it's going keep on being hard. And we each have these very small districts that have very specific needs. Yeah.

[James Masland (Member)]: I appreciate that it's a multi year process, and I also appreciate how far the bill has come from beginning of the session, both in concept and in word. And I look forward, hope, being here to participate and be a part of the next steps because clearly we're not done. This is not by a long term. This is a multi year process. So I my sub primary constituents certainly want me to vote no. I'm gonna vote yes on the prospect that we can continue to move forward and get stuff done. I might not be here next year for just that reason, and and we'll see where we end up. But it's the it's the moment momentum in in progress and the and the distance that we have traveled that is the motivating factor, knowing very well it's not done. There's a lot of imperfections. And then in some constituents in my a lot of people in Windsor Orange too are gonna be upset in any event and upset the extent

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: of the paper. Extra problem.

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: Yep, representative Holcombe.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Yesterday, tried

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: really hard to feel like I could support the conversation like I did last year, and yesterday is actually the day that made it possible for me to support it, in part because I had now seen this past Act 123 and failing Act 127, which is serious errors that are still not being addressed. We are dropping mental health on school districts. We have not addressed any of the major drivers of costs. And I'm worried that we're now replacing two formulas before we finish implementing another formula, which also feels very undeveloped. And I just really worry about our school districts. I found some of the comments actually very disrespectful of Edwards. We managed very complex systems in a very unstable time. And what we're asking people to do is take a huge leap of confidence, despite the fact that we have obvious inability to implement, and are not demonstrably willing to try to work to address erasuras, and it just makes it super hard to take that leap of faith right now. These are other people's children, and I feel like the duty of care for other people's children is very, high. I also feel there are things we can do to address some of the flaws that would bring relief to some of the public's real concerns about whether their kids are being very transparent.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Let's see if anyone else wants to take them.

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Yeah. Represent Bertrand.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: My concerns haven't changed since yesterday regarding the potential implementation of foundation formula with no governance change. I am deeply uncomfortable with that and a couple of aspects in this bill. I feel like I've done as much as I can to make it as palatable as I can. I'm confident in the fact that we got our year back to continue the work in a way that hopefully will bring about a good result.

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: That's all I had to say.

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Well, I'm excited about the work that we've done on tax policy here. Yeah, nothing's perfect, but tax policy, regional assessment districts, tax classifications, all that work that we've done, school construction, trying to provide some kind of program that we've just not been able to stand up, those are very, very important steps, that's why we're happy to support it.

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: Thank you. Representative Mussel?

[James Masland (Member)]: Yeah, and I would add to many ways to compliment what Rebecca and what representative Holcombe said. The fact that we're ending up with Caesars instead of forced mergers. Gives me hope that it's gonna be the seasons or successes that are gonna that are gonna go forward with the cost drivers because they have the capability to do that. I think whereas I find source images and those emergencies would be a long time before they get around that, tell you the truth. Because drivers are driving us all crazy. We know that.

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: I think the various perspectives on how districts come together, on how soon we implement the foundation formula, on what is included in the foundation formula is well represented around this table, and we're going to keep on wrestling with it. And I know that everyone on this committee cares so deeply about the kids in their district and cares so deeply about the taxpayers in their district and the overall community that is created by a really strong education system and a really fair tax system. So I'm grateful for all the work we've all done to get here as hard as it's been and as hard as it will be.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Clerk could please call the vote. Representative Branagan? No. I'll vote yes as representative Burkhardt. Representative Higley?

[Mark Higley (Member)]: No. Representative Holcombe? No. Representative Kimbell? Yes.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Masland?

[James Masland (Member)]: Yep.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Ode? Yes. Representative Page? No. Representative Waszazak?

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Yeah.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Yes. Canfield? No. Representative Orneiser? Yes. We have voted the bill favorable as amended by our committee. It's six-five-zero. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Can I just take a separate vote on the bill to bill

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: itself? Oh gosh, thanks.

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Yes. Good

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: to follow-up with the amendment. Okay. We're also doing how does that work for you? I just have instances of amendment. It's the amendment then. Oh, okay. Thank you. And a motion on the bill?

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Yes. Madam chair, I would find that as committee, we find age nine fifty five favorable.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: As amended.

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: As amended.

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Thank you. Yes.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Again. Thank you. Represent Higley seconded. Representative Kimbell firsted. Sorry. I didn't say it backwards. Representative Burkhardt? And if the clerk could please call the roll? Representative Branagan? No. Vote yes as representative Burkhardt. Representative Higley? No. Representative Holcombe? No. Representative Kimbell?

[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Yes.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Masland?

[John Gray (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Yep.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Ode? Yes. Representative Page? No. Representative Blazak?

[Edward "Teddy" Waszazak (Member)]: Yes.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Canfield?

[William Canfield (Vice Chair)]: No.

[Bridget Burkhardt (Clerk)]: Representative Kornheiser? Yes. So now we have voted the bill favorable as amended. Six five zero. Thank you, everyone. Thank you for that procedural help, and hope everyone has a really restful weekend. See you on

[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Tuesday when

[Rebecca Holcombe (Member)]: we might talk about something else. Thanks.