Leonine: Legislature aims to adjourn on Friday

On Friday the House Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee advanced S.10, the UI bill, after attaching it to S.62, a bill that proposes to create a program to encourage workers to move to Vermont. Before approving the bill they added a $25 supplemental benefit for recipients of UI. The bill removes 2020 from the UI rate schedule formula, includes language pegging the maximum weekly benefit (MWB) to 57 percent of the state average weekly wages, and clarifies that in no event may the MWB decrease. The bill includes employer experience-rating relief for the 2020 calendar year and directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to study and report on changes made to the UI Trust Fund since 2000 and to compare Vermont’s UI benefits and dependent benefits to other states. It also directs the DOL to study and report on UI fraud.

The Senate Finance Committee got a first look at the House proposal of amendment to S.53, a bill originally intended to exempt feminine hygiene products from the sales tax. The House took S.53, and - in the words of Senate President Becca Balint (D-Windham) - turned it into a “tax Christmas tree adorned with many baubles.” S.53 now includes an overhaul of the corporate income tax and the application of the sales tax to cloud-based software and services, including software as a service (SaaS), platforms as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). The cloud tax would raise $14 million by FY2025. Senate Finance Chair Ann Cummings (D-Washington) made it clear that she thinks it is unlikely her committee will have the time, with just over a week left in the session, to get up to speed on the changes proposed by the House. Last week the Finance Committee added the feminine hygiene products language to H.436, the Miscellaneous Tax Bill, enabling that language to get to the governor’s desk and giving the committee time to consider the other proposals when they return in 2022.

On Friday, the House passed S.47, the bill that proposes to require a “non-franchised zero-emission motor vehicle manufacturer,” like Tesla, to become a registered dealer with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in order to sell vehicles directly to Vermonters and directly own and operate a warranty and service center in Vermont. The bill also contains provisions that strengthen the dealer franchise law to prevent franchised manufacturers from competing against their franchised dealers. The House adopted an amendment that delays for one year provisions in the bill that prohibit a franchised manufacturer from selling parts at retail or offering subscription programs directly to consumers. The one year delay will give the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee time next year to more carefully consider and act on the issue. Finally, the bill states that the General Assembly intends to consider additional amendments to the motor vehicle franchise law in 2022, and sets up a process whereby any person interested in proposing amendments to the franchise law may file them with DMV by December 1, 2021. DMV will then compile the proposals in a report to lawmakers. The bill now goes back to the Senate for their review of the House amendments.