Vermont legislators will return to Montpelier on Tuesday to determine whether they will override or sustain the vetoes issued by the governor.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, vetoed a number bills this session. Among the first was the Affordable Heat Act, which the legislature quickly overrode during its regular session.
The remainder will be considered during the veto session. The bills include measures to increase wages and benefits for state legislators; a child care funding bill, charter changes that would allow Brattleboro to lower the voting age, and Burlington to allow all-resident voting.
The governor also refused to sign the state budget, writing in his veto message “I cannot support a budget that relies on new and regressive taxes and fees, combined with the overall increase in base spending that is far beyond our ability to sustain...”
Vermont Senate Pro Tem Democrat/Progressive Phil Baruth says the bulk of the vetoes will first be considered by the House.
“The way the veto process works is any bill that started in the Senate and got vetoed comes to the Senate first. Any bill that started in the House goes to the House first. So on day one we plan to try to override the Governor on all the Senate produced bills, hoping that the House will do their part on their side and then we’ll switch those. And the rest of the first day and the second day we’ll probably accomplish most of those overrides. There are a couple that are in doubt but for the most part the things the governor has vetoed have more than two-thirds support.”
Middlebury College Political Science Professor Bert Johnson says the large number of vetoes shows a classic clash of values with the governor trying to hold the line on taxes and spending and the legislature trying to expand benefits.
“The key issues are going to be number one, the budget and on a related issue the child care bill. And so I would expect the legislature to focus a lot of time and attention on those two measures which I said are related because there are elements of the budget that touch on the child care bill.”
Baruth expects an easy override of the child care veto based on initial passage in the Senate on a 24 to 6 vote and a House vote of 118 to 32.
“Child care is a massive problem. In Vermont people cannot find spots for their kids. If they do manage to win the lottery and hit a child care slot, they can’t afford it because it’s more than their mortgage. So this bill is an historic level of funding for child care and it makes child care providers whole in terms of paying them a dignified wage and it makes parents whole in terms of allowing them to afford child care as a percentage of their income. So it’s a big deal. The governor’s pretty much the only one that’s not in favor.”
The other primary focus of the override session is the budget veto. A complicating factor is funding for a hotel-motel voucher program that is ending. Johnson says that budget item will impact how leadership tries to build a coalition to override the veto.
“In the initial budget they lost some members on the left because they felt like the money that was set aside to transition people to new housing was not sufficient. So we‘re going to see some negotiations on the Democratic side in terms of how much money to include and how to placate those people who are upset that it’s not enough.”
Caucus leader Emma Mulvaney-Stanek says House Progressives and several Democratic colleagues have been working since the legislature adjourned in mid-May to develop funding policies for the hotel-motel program.
“If it comes to it we’re prepared to sustain the veto in order to fix it through the budget bill. We could put this policy fix into any other bill frankly that’s moving forward. And at this point, about a week out, we’re actively talking with House leadership. We support 99.9% of what’s in the state budget. There’s critical policy in there related to child care and climate change and universal school meals. All issues that we really all very much support and we would not want to hold the budget up if we can find another path forward for the GA (General Assistance) Emergency Housing Program.”
Baruth says there is a companion bill planned to address concerns about the housing program.
“We’re going to have a companion bill that will deal with what we call the motel program which was a pandemic-era program that moved homeless folks from the street into motel rooms. And the state budget can’t afford that massive price tag. It looks as though what we’re going to do is extend it for the most vulnerable into the spring. So I expect there to be some debate over that bill. But the budget override itself I think shouldn’t be that complicated assuming people will go along with this companion bill.”
The Vermont Legislature’s veto session begins on Tuesday.
