Vermont

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.

Press Conference - Possible Loss of Shelter for Hundreds of Vermont Households 03/13/2024

From ORCA Media:

Press Conference - Possible Loss of Shelter for Hundreds of Vermont Households

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.

All Brains Belong VT - Brain Club: Authentic Systems Change - A Conversation with Dr. Winnie Looby 03/12/2024

Recorded on March 12, 2024.

Stephanie Yu, Public Assets Institute State of Working Vermont Report 2023 03/12/2024

CCTV's Bobby Lussier interviews Stephanie Yu, Executive Director of Public Assets Institute about the State of Working Vermont Report from 2023.

From the report: "As in previous years, this report uses data from the U.S. Census—primarily one-year estimates from the American Community Survey—as indicators of Vermonters’ well-being. It also relies on data from the Vermont Department of Labor, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and other sources. With Census indicators, we compare data from 2019, the most recent year unaffected by the Covid pandemic, with 2022 data, the most recent available. Where 2023 data are available from other sources, we have included them. The American Community Survey did not publish state-level estimates for 2020. And labor market statistics were hard to interpret as businesses closed and reopened. But by 2022 the data appear to reflect real trends rather than short-term, anomalous changes. This report also looks at how Vermont has been doing relative to other states. Where comparisons are useful, the report provides Vermont’s national rankings. A ranking of 1 is the best, with 50 being the worst."

Stop The Genocide International Working Women's Day Rally 03/08/2024

People gather in Winooski on International Working Women's Day to ask for a stop to the genocide in Gaza.

Featured Story

CCTV Receives NEH Grant to Support Community Archives

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is pleased to announce receipt of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant alongside 32 peer archival institutions across the country. This $49,927 grant award will support efforts to preserve and expand access to audio/visual community history materials in the CCTV Archives. Read more about this opportunity here!