Development

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Committee on Appropriations - Walkthrough of H.657 Modernize Vermont’s Communications Taxes and Fees 03/18/2024

Walkthrough of H.657 a bill meant to modernize Vermont's communications taxes and fees at the House Committee on Appropriations.

On Monday, House Appropriations had a walkthrough of H.657. Representative Scheu was shocked the state has not collected the right of way fee since 2007. Chair Lanpher said the committee would “park this for now” - no final decisions were made.

H.657: As Introduced:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Appropriations/Bills/H.657/H.657~Maria%20Royle~As%20Introduced~3-18-2024.pdf

Senator Bernie Sanders: Sanders, Welch, and Balint Announce Millions in Federal Funding for Vermont Communities 03/18/2024

From the Office of Senator Bernie Sanders:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and a representative from the office of Congresswoman Becca Balint (Vt.-AL) hold a press conference to announce millions in federal funding that the Vermont Congressional Delegation secured on behalf of Vermont projects to address critical needs across the state.

The funding for the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) projects was included in the first package of Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills that passed the U.S. Senate and was signed into law by President Biden. The $460 billion package was passed in time to avoid a government shutdown of many key federal agencies.

Education and Enrichment for Everyone: The Underwater Archaeology of Lake Champlain 03/15/2024

Presented by Chris Sabick, Executive Director at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

For more information visit: eeevermont.org

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations - Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law 03/14/2024

Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law at the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

On Thursday, the Appropriations Committee amended the bill to remove the $50k appropriation for per diems pending the finalization of the FY25 budget. This is standard procedure for the Appropriations Committee when considering bills that include appropriations, when the budget is not yet final. The Committee voted favorably on the bill with the amendment.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Testimony of S. 181 Community Media Public Benefit Bill 03/14/2024

Testimony of the Community Media Public Benefit Bill S.181 at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Thursday, Senate Finance heard from Clare Buckley, Lobbyist for CTIA, the wireless industry association. Buckley presented an amendment to S.181 that CTIA requested to ensure that wireless providers would not be subject to the gross receipts tax on streaming providers. Later, Leg Counsel Kirby Keeton clarified that the definitions and language in draft 2.2 of S.181 should be sufficient to address the CTIA’s concerns. The Committee discussed voting on the bill, but decided to continue considering it until Friday.

S.181 Draft 2.2:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Finance/Bills/S.181/Drafts,%20Amendments,%20and%20Legal%20Documents/S.181~Kirby%20Keeton~Draft%202.2,%203-13-2024~3-14-2024.pdf

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations - Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law 03/13/2024

Discussion of S.55 Update to Open Meeting Law at the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

On Wednesday (and Tuesday), Senator Hardy presented S.55 presented to Senate Appropriations - the bill includes $50k for per diems. Chair Kitchel said Senate Appropriations would need to amend the bill to remove per diems before holding a vote.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont House Committee on Ways and Means - Testimony of Gross Receipts Draft VAN Long Term Funding 03/13/2024

Testimony of Gross Receipts Draft VAN Long Term Funding at the House Committee on Ways and Means.

On Wednesday, the House Ways & Means Committee took testimony on the HWM Committee Bill that would institute a 5% Gross Receipts Tax on internet streaming and satellite services to generate revenue for the Community Media Benefit Fund, that would then be appropriated annually to AMOs.

Kirby Keeton, legislative counsel, provided an update on two changes that were made in the current version of the bill (Draft 1.1). The version removes a specified penalty for those subject to the late filing or failing to file, instead leaving the penalty to the default under existing statute. Another change was to add a $1.1 million appropriation for the Department of Taxes to cover the cost of implementing a brand new tax. Jim Horwood, an attorney and one of the authors of the New York law on which the Committee bill is based, testified about what’s in the NY bill and why, and how that state’s context differs from Vermont. Lauren-Glenn Davitian provided testimony on the history of AMOs and the cable franchise fee in Vermont; on the revenue shortfall in the cable franchise fee system; and why the pole attachment tax is preferable to the gross receipts tax currently being considered. Committee questions focused on coverage - how to ensure communities not currently covered by cable districts can access PEG content equitably - and on the scale and extent of the revenue shortfall. Nancy Werner provided brief testimony on why the pole attachment tax is clean, legal, vetted, and easy to administer. She also noted the gross receipts tax in the current committee bill might run afoul of federal telecommunications law. Damon Stewart, Attorney with Dish Network and DIRECTV, testified in opposition to the bill on the basis that satellite providers do not access physical public infrastructure in the same way as cable companies, and also have their own PEG-like commitments under federal law, so a gross receipts tax would be discriminatory.

Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Finance - Testimony of S. 181 Community Media Public Benefit Bill 03/13/2024

Testimony of the Community Media Public Benefit Bill S.181 at the Senate Committee on Finance.

On Wednesday, Senate Finance took testimony from Damon Stewart, Attorney with Dish Network and DIRECTV, and Nick Sherman, Leonine Public Affairs on behalf of Netflix, on industry opposition to the gross receipts tax. Stewart noted that his clients objected to the inclusion of satellite, and Sen. Cummings responded that the inclusion of satellite services had been a drafting error and was being corrected. Sherman cited two questions about the law. First, what if people are paying for a streaming service in Vermont but a family member is using it out of state? Second, there might be constitutional questions about the provision in the law that would theoretically prohibit companies from telling customers in billing statements that rates are increasing due to taxation.

Governor Phil Scott: Press Conference - H.719 Housing Development and Unit Rehabilitation 03/13/2024

From the Office of Governor Scott:

Governor Phil Scott and Administration officials will hold their weekly press conference.

Burlington Airport Commission 03/13/2024

For more information on the Burlington Airport Commission and their current procedures and meeting dates, please reference the meeting agendas at btv.aero/about-btv/airport-commission.

Featured Story

Summer Video Production Internship - Applications Open

Town Meeting TV is hiring two paid interns to join our production team for the summer! The program will run from Monday, June 24th until Friday, August 16th (8 weeks). $17 an hour, approximately 8 hours per week. We are looking for folks who have basic or intermediate experience with video recording and editing on Adobe Premiere. Interns will work with the Town Meeting TV Co-Directors to pick stories or events that they would like to cover in our community, practice outreach skills, then shoot and edit video that will be broadcasted on Town Meeting TV's YouTube and cable channels. Interested applicants should send their resume and cover letter (including why they are interested in this position and any relevant experience) to Jordan at jmitchell@cctv.org. Applications close Friday, May 24th at 5:00PM. For more information, please contact outreach@cctv.org or call 802-862-3966.