Bonjour, members — Things are picking up steam in Montpelier. Let's recap.

 

Wednesday started off strong in the Statehouse cafeteria, where AGC-VT's government affairs committee held the first of our revived in-person legislative coffee hours in Montpelier. The goal of these monthly Statehouse gatherings is for our members to casually discuss important issues with lawmakers, face-to-face over a cup of coffee. This week, our members discussed housing: the regulatory burdens to overcome and costs paid to build it, and the downstream impacts on employers whose workers can't find affordable housing. We sat down with some of the key players working on these issues this year: Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Rep. Emilie Krasnow of South Burlington (the ranking member of the House's housing committee), and Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck. Lawmakers were eager to hear our members' firsthand experiences, and were receptive to our message that the state has a long way to go to fix its chronic housing shortage. March's coffee hour will likely focus on transportation issues. Reach out if you're interested in joining.

 

Later that morning, Vermont lawmakers were paid a visit by our neighbors to the north. (Hence the French flair at the top of this email. See what I did there!) Canada's Consul General in New England, Bernadette Jordan, came to the Statehouse to meet lawmakers from border communities, as well as the House's economic development committee. In committee, the conversation turned to, of course, the looming threat of tariffs on Canadian imports. According to VTDigger, the diplomat remained optimistic that the U.S. and Canada's longstanding allyship would prevail, saying, "We have so many ties." AGC-VT also connected with the consul general and her office while they were in Montpelier. You can watch the committee hearing here.

But wait, there's more! Also on Wednesday, the governor held his weekly Statehouse press conference, where he, Secretary of Commerce Lindsay Kurrle and Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell unequivocally said the state can't afford to wait to make big housing reforms. You can watch the press conference here. I've told you before about the administration's housing proposals this year — and we're now starting to see the rough outlines of the Legislature's counters. The House General and Housing Committee has begun sketching out an omnibus housing bill, which includes some provisions from the administration's proposal. Particularly exciting for our members, the bill takes a crack at speeding up the long, arduous appeals process that can beleaguer projects — even those desperately wanted by most community members. Here's a copy of the draft, which is still in progress, for your perusal. Have thoughts? Shoot me a note. The Senate's economic development committee is still working up its own housing bill, which is expected to drop sometime next week. AGC-VT is keeping a close eye on both chambers.

 

Our lobbying team is working on more issues than just housing. We're, of course, keeping a close eye on transportation legislation, including the annual transportation budget (which will likely heat up in the coming weeks). We are also strong advocates in the building for workforce development and CTE, so Vermont can train the next generation of workers. Stay tuned on these subjects — more to come soon.

 

I'll leave you this week with a video from Senate Economic Development this morning, where Peter Kahn, owner of Sienna Construction, delivered some really fantastic testimony on the realities of home-building in Vermont. He's not an AGC-VT member, but I wanted to pass along this clip because I think he summed up the issues so clearly and articulately. I was particularly struck when he spoke of a neighborhood in Chittenden County that used to be filled with vibrant young families and kids — who have since been priced out. He begins at the 19:20 mark here. I recommend the listen.

 

One final programming note: Next week is the final week lawmakers are in the Statehouse before their mid-ish-session break for Town Meeting Week. Please attend your local Town Meeting Day on Tuesday, March 4 and make your voices heard on local issues. You may even run into your local legislator and have an opportunity to chat with them about their work so far this session.

 

As always, please reach out anytime with questions, comments, concerns, feedback, hopes and dreams.