My statement on the Housing Bill and Legislative Process

Today, the House is voting on a comprehensive housing bill that I have worked tirelessly on, alongside colleagues from the Senate, the House Committee on General and Housing, and the Committee on Economic and Community Development. This bill represents months of collaboration, negotiation, and broad consensus on how to address one of the most urgent issues facing Vermonters.

Unfortunately, that consensus was upended when the bill passed through the House Ways & Means Committee — a committee whose jurisdiction is finance, not policy. Instead of limiting their jurisdictional purview to fiscal matters, they made significant policy changes. This move not only strayed from their role but also deeply disrespected the work of the policy committees that crafted this bill with care and intention.

Understanding that this amendment did not have the support of many members of the House. This forced a “compromise amendment,” which we have had to vote on. I want to be clear, this is not a compromise, this is a maneuver to pass a flawed bill to appease a handful.

Once again, we see a troubling pattern: a handful of individuals altering the course of a bill late in the process, disregarding the rules, and undermining months of deliberative work, by the committees of jurisdiction. It puts legislators like me in an impossible position — to vote yes on a bill whose original intent has been compromised, or to vote no on a bill I helped shape and believe in at its core.

This amendment. This bill. They now do nothing for rural Vermont, I would even argue this would make it more difficult for rural Vermont to develop and grow. We are once again turning our backs on our most rural towns. 

Despite my deep frustration, I will vote yes today, because I, in good conscience, cannot vote against a housing bill -- one that I worked so hard on and showed a willingness to compromise. Vermonters need housing solutions now, and my hope is that the conference committee can correct the course and restore the integrity of the original vision and intent. But I do not stand here quietly. I am dismayed by this process — or rather, the lack of it — and I will be increasingly vocal when committees, particularly General & Housing, are disrespected and sidelined in this way.

We must do better. The people of Vermont deserve a legislative process they can trust—one that is transparent, consistent, and grounded in respect for the work of every committee.

You may hear members say this is the closest we’ve ever been to implementing project-specific TIF. But let me share something I truly believe: Progress must not only be measured by how far we’ve come, but by whether our actions rise to meet the urgency of the moment.