Lachlan Francis chairs the Windham County Democratic Committee.
WESTMINSTER-Democrats in the state Legislature scored some significant wins for Vermonters this year - despite a political and budget climate turned upside down by Donald Trump's return to the White House.
And unlike what we see all too often in Washington, nearly all of it was accomplished in a bipartisan manner, with common sense winning out over bitter party politics.
With rising costs for working families top of mind, the Legislature delivered a historic middle-class tax-relief package that extends the state Child Tax Credit through age 6, expands the Earned Income Tax Credit, exempts a larger share of Social Security benefits from the income tax, and ends the practice of taxing of most veterans and military widower benefits.
These reforms will put over $15 million back in Vermonters pockets every year, delivering tax relief to those who need it most.
Legislators also took on property taxes, buying down this year's rate increase to just 1% while pursuing longer-term reforms to lessen the property tax burden.
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On the pressing issue of health care, the Legislature took action to eliminate all private medical debt held by Vermonters, and at no cost to taxpayers. They also passed a bill to rein in outrageous prescription drug markups in hospitals, which had been found to reach as high as 500% over the national average price per drug at the University of Vermont Medical Center. That move alone is expected to reduce insurance premium increases by 4%, though more work will be needed as our health care system teeters on the brink of insolvency.
The Legislature also took action on housing - the biggest driver of both family budgets and aggregate costs in the economy - with several initiatives.
The Omnibus Housing Bill, H.479, reforms the broken housing appeals process that was allowing frivolous litigation to block needed community housing. It also directs tens of millions of dollars in funding to build out the infrastructure to get projects off the ground, such as water, sewer, and septic. It invests in rehabilitating apartment buildings that have fallen into disrepair, the most efficient way to increase rental housing stock.
And the Legislature also established the Community Housing Infrastructure Program, which will unlock up to $2 billion in tax increment financing to support housing development across the state, especially in rural, smaller communities.
That last point is vital - 35% of Vermonters live in towns with fewer than 3,000 residents, yet those communities have received only 13% of the state's housing tax credits, and dozens of towns have never received a single dollar in affordable housing funding from the state, per the Vermont Housing Finance Agency.
The Legislature took decisive action to protect our kids in light of what we are learning about the societal cancers in our pockets: smartphones and social media. They enacted an age-appropriate design code, which will prevent social media companies from delivering addictive app design elements to children. Vermont also joined a rash of states across the country in banning smartphones from schools so that our kids can get back to learning.
And finally, in light of relentless affronts to Vermont values coming out of Washington, Democrats in the Legislature stood up for what's right.
In a sign of our bizarre times, that included doing what they can to protect our relationship with Canada, Vermont's single-largest economic partner. It also meant picking up the tab for a program eliminated by Trump that puts local farmers to work to feed kids in hunger, a win-win that passed unanimously this session.
And, of course, it included standing up to the relentless, unconstitutional, and cruel attacks on immigrant families - including the deportation of Vermont farm workers and their school-age children, none of whom had broken the law.
The Legislature enacted a suite of reforms to ensure that Vermont law enforcement is focused on keeping Vermonters safe, rather than aiding and abetting Trump's deportation machine.
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As with anything requiring compromise, this session wasn't perfect, and there remains more work to make Vermont an affordable and welcoming place to start a family or a business.
But these efforts mark a significant step in the right direction.
Thank you to the legislators, advocates, and public servants who made it possible. Here in Windham County, it should be noted that every single law mentioned above was sponsored by a Windham County Democrat. We are fortunate to have representatives and senators who so ably bring our values to work in Montpelier.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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