Legislative Update 1/23/25

The 2025 legislative session is underway, and while off to a bit of a slow start as new and returning members (re)orient and step into new leadership positions, activity is starting to pick up. Committees have spent most of their time so far getting up to speed in their areas of jurisdiction and having policy leaders in for introductions, but are now starting to take bills “off the wall”.

Common Good is excited to be back at the State House advocating on behalf of the nonprofit sector and will share regular updates on issues we are closely monitoring including state grants and contracts, workforce related topics including housing and health care, and community safety.

We also invite members to join us for our first Member Advocacy Roundtable on 2/19 at 2 pm. This is an opportunity to connect with other organizations around their advocacy efforts, engage with Common Good Vermont’s policy work, and share information and resources.

For those who like to keep up with the session in real time, here are some resources to help you monitor and learn about the issues you care about:

  • Vermont Legislature Website – track bills, find your legislators, and watch committee meetings
  • GoldenDomeVT.com – AI transcriptions of committee meetings (a work in progress, transcriptions are not perfect, but a helpful tool!)
  • VTDigger – subscribe to Final Reading and other news updates
  • Vermont Public – subscribe to the weekly Capitol Recap

Read on for updates on the following:

Executive Orders Affecting Charitable Nonprofits

While this is a “Legislative Update,” we would be amiss to pass over the significant policy changes at the federal level initiated by President Trump this week following his inauguration. There are a slew of executive orders impacting nonprofits directly and indirectly including the rescinding of DEI programs and a federal hiring freeze that have already been issued (though some may not take effect immediately or will be challenged in court). The hiring freeze may be felt by organizations with federal grants and contracts. The National Council of Nonprofits has broken these policy changes down and will continue to update the PDF linked below as more information becomes available:

Resources for Immigration Actions:

Improving State Grants and Contracts

Update

Improving public-nonprofit partnerships through State grant and contract reform remains Common Good Vermont’s top priority this year. We are working to address key challenges identified by nonprofits to support timely contract execution, prompt payments, upfront funding, fair funding levels and indirect rates, and streamlined processes. These improvements will make grant and contracting systems and processes more efficient, predicable, and viable and will ensure nonprofits serving our communities on behalf of the state are able to do so effectively, now and into the future.

Legislation will be introduced soon but Common Good Vermont was already in the House Government Operations and Military Affairs committee last week to introduce members to our work and Vermont’s nonprofit sector, as well our priorities for the sector.

In the House Human Services Committee this week, Chair Theresa Wood asked testifying nonprofits providing updates on their programs about any challenges they had with state grants and if things have been improving. Representatives from Easter Seals, Spectrum and Lund did indicate that there were improvements but that it was a mixed bag, and late payments and reimbursement grants can present cash flow challenges, though the impact is greater on smaller organizations.

How can you help? Please report any challenges your organization has, or has had, with State grants and contracts by filling out this confidential form. Thank you to all who have already shared!

State Grant Management Issue Report Form

Help Common Good Vermont document issues Vermont nonprofits encounter when managing state grants and contracts as we work to improve systems and processes.

To receive updates and action alerts related to grant and contract reform, please email [email protected].

Submit Public Comments to the Agency of Human Services

Vermont’s Agency of Human Services (AHS) is accepting public comments from external partners and the public at large as mandated by Act 119:

Act 119 of 2024 requires the Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) to assess and collect feedback to understand how well we are serving the public. And more importantly, to explore how we can do better to provide important services to Vermont communities. The goal of Act 119 is to:
 
“Create a meaningful process through which the Agency, its departments, and the individuals and organizations with whom they engage most can collaborate to identify opportunities to build on past successes and to make improvements for the future.” (Act 119, Sec. 1 (b))

The specific requirement of the Act is that the Agency conduct a review of how we do our work, identify potential ways we can improve, and provide a report with any recommendations and a potential implementation plan to the legislature by November 1, 2025.”

AHS Act 119: Re-envisioning the Agency of Human Services Website

Common Good Vermont plans to submit comments on behalf of nonprofits focused on grant and contracting procedures. We strongly encourage all organizations, especially those that are funded by or work directly with AHS, to submit their own comments as well. Learn more HERE and complete this anonymous form to submit comments:

Act 119: Re-envisioning the Agency of Human Services Public Comment Form

Complete this form to let AHS know what’s working, what’s not, and your recommendations for improvement.

Community Safety

Nonprofit Community Safety Convening & Raising Nonprofit Voices

On 1/13, Common Good Vermont convened over 75 nonprofit leaders from across the state for a Nonprofit Community Safety Convening. We heard from Ruben Garza, executive director of United Way of Windham County, about how Brattleboro has been navigating these challenges and from Shabnam Nolan, executive director of King Street Center, about how her organization has been impacted. In small group discussions facilitated by Tom Cheney, executive director of Advance Vermont, we explored the impact of community safety concerns on nonprofits, what is needed, and how these concerns should be approached.

As both employers and frontline service providers, nonprofits hold critical insights into both how community safety is impacting our communities and the sources of impact. Organizations have had to take precautions and invest in security measures to ensure the safety of their staff, guests, and clients. This includes pairing staff up for site visits, hiring security guards, and securing their buildings with cameras and locks which takes time and resources away from their core services. They also recognize the significant systemic barriers to housing, mental health services, and substance use treatment that are contributing to these challenges. There is a need for investment in these areas, as well as for a thorough review of our systems of care and institutional responses.

Thank you to all who participated in the Convening. Your insights are directly informing our engagement and elevating nonprofit voices on this issue. We’ve already started to carry this work forward:

  • Read our recent op-ed that shares insights from nonprofits and calls for a collaborative and just response to community safety challenges.
  • Common Good shared key takeaways from the Convening with the House Government Operations committee last week in our introductory testimony.

Action Item: Please complete this short survey to help us quantify the impact of community safety challenges on nonprofits:

Nonprofit Community Safety Survey

Please complete this short survey to help us quantify the impact of community safety challenges on nonprofits!

In the first part of the survey, we are collecting anonymous data to measure the impact of community safety concerns on all nonprofits, whether you attended the Convening or not. Please have only one person from your organization respond to this part of the survey. In the second part of the survey, we ask all of those who attended the Convening to share additional thoughts. Thank you for taking the time to respond!

Governor’s Public Safety Proposal

Community (or public) safety is top of mind under the golden dome as well. At a press conference last week, Governor Scott previewed an omnibus public safety bill he will be introducing. The bill would:

  • Repeal “Raise the Age” for 19 year-old offenders and reform youthful offender procedures.
  • Seek to address repeat offender concerns through measures including:
    • revising current law on revoking bail
    • changing expungement laws
    • limiting the ability of the court to suspend criminal sentences for repeat offenders
    • redefining recidivism
  • Enhance substance use treatment and recovery services through the criminal justice process

The House Judiciary Committee has started to take testimony on the Raise the Age issue and will dive deeper into the Governor’s proposal on Thursday. You can watch committee meetings and view their agenda here.

Nonprofit Workforce

Housing

Housing updates by Jemma Hoko, Common Good Vermont Policy Intern

Attention turned towards Vermont’s affordable housing crisis this week, with a new bill submitted to the House and Governor Scott advocating for the demographic problem behind Vermont’s housing crisis and the need to build homes at a much faster rate. Pro-housing policy and creative solutions to the problem are called into the forefront of the discussion. 

H. 50

On Tuesday, January 21, bill H. 50, an act relating to identifying State real property suitable for conversion into affordable housing, was introduced, read, and referred to the House Committee on General and Housing. The bill proposes to task the Department of Buildings and General Services with the responsibility of studying and reporting whether any State-owned property may be suitable for conversion into housing annually, upon each new legislative biennium. This piece of legislation exemplifies the broader community of Vermont’s need for more affordable housing solutions, fast, and the communities growing efforts to come up with creative solutions to accommodate for such. 

Governor’s Housing Proposal

In his inaugural address, Governor Phil Scott emphasized the need to build more housing at a much faster rate. Rather than continuing to focus on funding for the housing crisis — which Governor Scott remarked is too expensive and ineffective at solving Vermont’s problem — he wants to refocus our attention on an underlying structural issue: demographics, specifically the declining number of Vermont’s working class and students. The proposed solution is relatively simple: build more. He referenced a new Regional Housing Target Assessment that has found that in order for Vermont to address its root demographic concern, we need 41,000 new rental and owner-occupied residences by 2030, or about 8,200 new homes each year for the next 5 years. However, as Governor Scott stated, our current rate is 2,300 housing units per year (view the Housing Development Dashboard here). The idea is that following this track will both create more affordable housing and increase the workforce. However, pro-housing legislation and innovative solutions to encourage more developments will be needed to meet these target goals. 

Governor Scott called for further legislation focused on strategies such as expanding the TIF program to aid in infrastructure for housing and flood recovery, continuing to convert dilapidated houses into homes, growing programs like VHIP helping people invest in and revitalize the workforce, and addressing the appeals process to strengthen the criteria for when a neighbor can challenge a proposed housing development in court. Furthermore, Scott called for the expansion of Act 250 exemptions, building on regulatory reforms made in last year’s land use bill. More details about the Governor’s proposed housing initiatives can be found here.  Essentially, administration officials aim to reduce obstacles to new housing developments by making it more difficult for opponents to block projects, especially in areas where local and state land-use policies are focusing on promoting housing expansion. These proposals will soon be released in an omnibus housing bill outlined by Vermont Department of Housing Commissioner Alex Farrell at a press conference this week that is expected to:

  • Provide new tools for financing and funding infrastructure to support homebuilding, including the new Strategic Projects for Advancing Rural Communities program, or SPARK
  • Reinvigorate rural downtowns and mobile home parks
  • Expand the bench of small-scale developers and make that profession more accessible
  • Break down procedural barriers

Let’s Build Homes Coalition

The greater community of Vermont has rallied around a call for more homes in our state. Let’s Build Homes is a growing coalition driving support for impactful state, regional, and local action to work towards the ultimate goal of building 30,000 new homes in the next 5 years, closely mirroring the goals from the new target assessment tool. Their approach revolves around creating a strong community base, advocating for pro-housing legislation, engaging local governments, supporting property owners and builders, and fostering a positive vision of Vermont as a welcoming place of growth and community.

Alongside many other nonprofits, businesses, and individuals, Common Good Vermont has signed on to the Let’s Build Homes campaign. We invite other organizations to join us to ensure our employees, clients, and communities have access to affordable housing so they can continue to live, work, and play in the state we call home.

Unpaid Leave

On Wednesday, the House Committee on General and Housing walked through H. 33, An act relating to expanding employee access to unpaid leave.

“This bill proposes to expand access to unpaid family and medical leave and provide job-protected leave from employment for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, bereavement, and a qualifying exigency. This bill also proposes to eliminate barriers for LGBTQ+ families in accessing caregiving leave and to establish reporting requirements to track the impact of expanded access.”

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce provided testimony that can be watched here.


Common Good Vermont welcomes your input and engagement on these and any other issues impacting Vermont’s nonprofit sector. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions, thoughts, or concerns.