Business vitality is crucial to the well-being of all Vermonters. This is why we are optimistic that legislative priorities and business needs can align during the 2024 legislative session. The Senate will start the year focused on flood recovery and resiliency, while House leadership will concentrate on housing and land use modernization.

We were proud to host the statewide Vermont Chamber of Commerce advocacy team earlier this month to present the 2024 legislative priorities for businesses. They have been meeting with the Senate Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House, and other legislative leaders to share priorities and policy solutions rooted in the economic reality of Vermont, and their time in Hyde Park with us was vital to further inform their work.

Below are the top headlines that you should know:

Workforce housing, business success, and recovery and resiliency are the three key pillars of the data-driven and cost-conscious 2024 legislative priorities.

 - Workforce housing: Collectively, our state land use regulations and programs must be modernized to reflect the needs of Vermonters today and in the next 20 years.

 - Business success: To give businesses time to implement pre-existing financial obligations, such as the first-ever payroll tax that was established last session, we are advocating for tax proposals to undergo rigorous assessment in comparison to both existing and forthcoming cost burdens.

 - Recovery and resiliency: Looking ahead, it’s not a matter of if, but when, a severe weather event will hit Vermont again. By implementing mitigation strategies, we can reduce the downtime of operations and revenue loss following future disasters.

 - The New York Times shed light on Vermont’s workforce crisis and the great lengths businesses are going to attract and retain employees. While our demographic woes have been well documented in Vermont, we're now capturing national attention as “a likely glimpse of the country’s future.”

Opportunity for public comments on several milestone reports on land use policy. Reach out to Megan Sullivan to join a virtual meeting tomorrow, November 21 at 11:00 AM and learn everything you need to know about two draft reports by the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies and the soon-to-be-released draft report on necessary updates to Act 250.

State testimony set the stage for another session centered on housing. State officials testified that “we cannot buy our way out of this crisis,” and legislative leaders agreed.

A voluntary paid family and medical leave insurance webinar was recorded to ensure businesses have an opportunity to hear from The Hartford well in advance of open enrollment in July of 2024. Watch to learn more.