Current News

The Northeastern Vermont Development Association has officially been granted approval to expand its Foreign Trade Zone service area to include all of Lamoille County.NVDA first received its FTZ designation from the US Department of Commerce in March, 2013. NVDA has since worked with the Lamoille Economic Development Corporation to make the FTZ program available to a greater number of Vermont businesses.

Businesses and industries within Lamoille, Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans Counties that import foreign goods or components into the region are now eligible to apply for reductions or eliminations in tariffs, duties and custom fees.

by Public Assets Institute The Vermont Legislature is pushing ahead with school consolidation on the promise that it will produce better educational opportunities for Vermont children and lower costs for taxpayers. But if consolidation is such a good idea, why won’t lawmakers—to borrow a well-worn phrase—put a little skin in the game and invest General Fund dollars in the reform effort?

The education reform bill approved by the Senate Education Committee offers inducements—either tax breaks or direct payments—to get school districts to consolidate. The cost of these inducements, however, won’t come out of the General Fund. They will come from the Education Fund, which means school districts that don’t consolidate, including those that aren’t required to merge, will pay higher property taxes for the Legislature’s sweeteners.

Consolidation will become another cost shift, not unlike the cost shifts the Legislature says it wants to eliminate.

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) joined with a bipartisan group of senators Wednesday to introduce legislation to protect Vermont businesses and innovators who too often become the victims of so-called “patent trolls.” The introduction comes after 18 months of negotiations led by Leahy and other Senate members to craft a comprehensive bill that deters abusive conduct while preserving the strength of America’s patent system.

Patent trolls misuse the patent system for their own financial gain by sending vague demand letters and threatening to sue unknowing customers. The PATENT Act introduced by Leahy, Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and other leading members of the Judiciary Committee aims to cut down on this abuse and bring needed transparency to the patent system.

Satellite television providers are urging the Vermont Senate to reject a recently resurfaced proposal by some senators to impose an additional 5 percent excise tax on satellite television subscribers. This tax would be an addition to the 6 percent tax already paid by Vermonters making the total tax 11 percent - among the highest in the nation, according to a national trade group. The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said in a statement that this tax hike would hit nearly 100,000 Vermonters who depend on satellite television for news, emergency information and entertainment, costing them millions of dollars.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org Money bills were greenlighted by Senate panels late Tuesday night, and now lawmakers are buckled into the end of session roller coaster ride. The tax and budget bills will be on the Senate floor on Thursday and Friday and conference committees will be held next week, ensuring a mid-May adjournment.

Senate Appropriations unanimously approved a $1.5 billion general fund budget that represents a 4.8 percent increase over the fiscal year 2015 budget. The Big Bill is a mirror image of the House Appropriations legislation with a few exceptions, namely: The Senate restores funding for the judiciary, Windsor prison and an inmate education program. The Judicial Branch will increase fees to cover the cost of filling judge vacancies.

A silent, forty-second video message began airing recently on Vermont PBS, informing viewers of budget cuts being considered by the Vermont legislature and what could be at risk for the station as a result. Vermont PBS is the state’s only public television station and serves nearly every Vermonter with free, non-partisan, non-commercial programming. The station offers highly rated educational children’s programming viewed each day by approximately 18,000 Vermont children ages 2-11. The station also supports more than 2,000 teachers, homeschoolers and day care providers who rely on educational programs and online resources to ensure that Vermont’s children enter school ready to learn.

The Vermont Housing Finance Agency Board of Commissioners committed $2.55 million in federal low-income housing tax credits and $432,500 in state housing tax credits to expand Vermont’s stock of affordable, energy-efficient housing. The tax credits will generate approximately $23.5 million in upfront equity for the construction and rehabilitation of 452 primarily rental homes across the state, guaranteed to remain affordable for at least 30 years.

by John McClaughry On April 15 the Democratic/Progressive chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Tim Ashe, lamented the difficult time the legislature is having trying to fill a $113 million General Fund budget gap. Some believe that the state is spending beyond its taxpayers’ means, but Ashe sees it differently. There’s not enough revenue! And there won’t be enough revenue for the next two fiscal years either!

But wait! There’s a nifty solution! Just extend the retail sales and use tax to services!

RELATED: Budget, sales and income tax proposals pass committees

The Brattleboro Retreat’s Board of Trustees has announced that Dr Robert E Simpson has decided not to renew his contract offer and will step down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer on December 31. In his announcement to the Board, Simpson said, “It has been a privilege to lead the transformation of the Brattleboro Retreat over the past eight years. I have focused on being a good steward in my efforts to put the Retreat in a position of real strength, and I have been inspired by the quality of the Medical Staff, the Executive team, the Board, and the nearly 900 employees whose courage and commitment mirror the courage of our patients.”

CSWD's Materials Recovery Facility on Avenue C in Williston was closed Tuesday afternoon due to the release of what is presumed to be a household pesticide from an aerosol can that had been deposited in a recycling container and brought to the MRF. CSWD is awaiting tests to confirm the substance type. The substance was determined to be pepper spray.

Vermont Business Magazine Along with the clearly good news that American Airlines was adding a direct flight to its second largest hub in Charlotte, NC, the message from the dignitaries gathered at Burlington International Airport Tuesday afternoon was, "Use it."

Mayor Miro Weinberger and Aviation Director Gene Richards, joined by Secretary of Vermont Agency of Transportation Sue Minter, and other airport officials and stakeholders, announced that American Airlines will be adding new, non-stop air service from BTV to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). The new service between BTV and CLT will launch on August 18, 2015, and flights became available for purchase this past Saturday. The Charlotte flight will be operated with an American Airlines 80-seat Embraer E-175 aircraft, featuring First Class and Main Cabin seating, as well as in-flight Wi-Fi service.

Vermont and New England are expected to have enough electric generation and demand-response resources available to serve forecasted peak demand this summer, according to ISO New England Inc, the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets. This summer, under normal weather conditions of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (°F), electricity demand is forecasted to peak at 26,710 megawatts (MW). Extreme summer weather, such as an extended heat wave of about 94°F, could push demand up to 29,060 MW. These forecasts take into account the demand-reducing effect of 1,685 MW of energy-efficiency (EE) measures acquired through the Forward Capacity Market (FCM). Vermont's peak demand is about 1,000 megawatts.