On Tuesday, the Senate Economic Development Committee was paid a visit by none other than Richard Wobby, who offered passionate testimony on an amendment to S.125, the committee's labor bill. The amendment, should it pass into law (it still has a way to go), would require contractors doing business with the state on construction projects exceeding $100,000 to submit certified payroll records on a weekly basis with the state agency or department with which they're contracting — similar to the process mandated by Davis-Bacon on federally funded projects. We've been steadfastly making the case that this amendment will only make it more arduous and cumbersome for contractors — particularly smaller operations — to do business with the state. While the amendment was approved by the committee by a 3-2 vote and will head to the floor, we were successful in an important goal of ours: to remove language from the bill that would have opened up these payroll records for inspection by the Attorney General at any time, without cause or warrant. This amendment still faces a Senate floor vote, then scrutiny on the House side, and we will continue working on it.

 

Friday marked the Legislature's second major "crossover" deadline this year — this one for money-related bills to get their blessings from the appropriations and taxing committees. Notably for our members, some of these bills include important investments and financing mechanisms for housing development — from state dollars dedicated to brownfields remediation and programs like VHIP, to a revolving loan fund for infrastructure development, to a reimagined project-based TIF proposal.

 

Also a major priority for us, of course, is this year's Transportation Bill. It was greenlit this week by House committees and will face a House floor vote next week, though it faces quite a bit more drafting work on the Senate side. AGC-VT has been actively communicating with the respective transportation committees in order to advocate for the most robust T Bill possible, and much of that work will pick up steam in the coming weeks.

 

Speaking of the T Bill: AGC-VT members were in the building this week for our second in-person legislative coffee hour. This week's theme was transportation and the future of the T Fund. Members got valuable face time with major leaders working on transportation legislation, including Secretary of Transportation Joe Flynn, AOT Highway Division Director Jeremy Reed, and House Transportation Chair Rep. Matt Walker. (We also happened to catch Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell while he was in the cafeteria, which was a great coincidence.) Big thanks to the members who attended; I hear often from lawmakers that it's so valuable when you show up and bring them your direct perspectives from the field.

And outside of the Statehouse, congratulations are in order for our member Kevin Moyer of Vermont Frames and Foam Laminates. Kevin this week was honored by the Small Business Administration as the 2025 VT and New England SBA Veteran Owned Business of the Year. Kevin served on active duty for six years with the Marine Corps, and was deployed to Afghanistan, Japan and South Korea. Huge congratulations for the well-deserved recognition!

 

As always, reach out anytime. Talk soon,