2023 Legislative Session Report

Top Stories: Short Updates on the Key News of the Session

May 26, 2023

Protecting Your Healthcare: Winning on Medicare Advantage

Your union, the VSEA achieved a massive and resounding victory in preventing Governor Scott or any future Administration from forcing thousands of retired and active Medicare-eligible state employees off the State Employees’ Health Plan and onto risky, privatized Medicare Advantage plans. ——. This will become effective as soon as the Budget passes.

Saving the State College Libraries: Winning for VTSU

Your union successfully led a massive statewide campaign, both inside and outside of the State House, to force the administration of what will soon be Vermont State University to reverse course on its disastrous proposal to remove most of the books from the University’s libraries and to institute a reduction in force that would have seen seven of our members lose their jobs.

Fighting for Competent Courthouse Security

Over the objection of the Court Administrator’s Office, VSEA added language to S. 17, a bill focusing on Vermont’s sheriffs, requiring the Judiciary to complete a report on providing security to Vermont’s courthouses deploying new state-paid deputy positions.

Standing up for Corrections

VSEA DOC members from both the field and the facilities were a regular presence at the State House this session. Legislative Chair Leona Watt was just one of many members from DOC who came to share their perspectives on the staffing crisis and issue a call to action to legislators on this and other issues affecting Corrections. A large group of members and staff attended a meeting with the Governor where they presented a list of action items that would improve conditions in DOC immediately.

Significant progress was made on VSEA’s goal of air conditioning Vermont’s corrections facilities, with $1,000,000 given in the Capital Bill toward the project.

One of the results of VSEA member testimony on the need for more stronger support for corrections staff is the shift to confidential discussions for staff using the peer support programs; that change will be rolled out soon.

Fighting for Members in the Family Services Division

Members from the Family Services Divisions testified in front of multiple committees in both chambers of the Legislature about the crisis in Vermont’s high-end system of care for youth and the danger it places our members in. VSEA members met with the Governor and implored him to take action to address the crisis and to ensure their safety on the job. For a description of the Legislature’s latest steps to address this crisis, please read the budget update below.

The Creation of a Forensic Facility

S. 89, a bill passed by the Legislature and delivered to the Governor’s desk, announces the intent of the Legislature to establish a forensic facility in the nine-bed wing of the current Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital by July 1, 2024. The wing will be relicensed as a therapeutic community residence. This facility is designed to house those accused of a crime but found not competent to stand trial but who do not need to be hospitalized.

Before February 1, 2024, will make a presentation on the facility to the House Committees on Corrections and Institutions, on Health Care, on Human Services, and on Judiciary and to the Senate Committees on Health and Welfare, on Institutions, and on Judiciary.

The bill also sets up a “Working Group on Policies Pertaining to Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Who Are Criminal-Justice Involved,” with many stakeholders including The President of VSEA or designee.

Bills Fighting for You, on Tap for the Session to Come

VSEA drafted and partnered with legislative allies to introduce, multiple bills fighting for your job security, your working conditions, and your benefits. Here is a short list of bills VSEA will be fighting for in the session to come:

An Anti-Privatization Bill (H. 308 and S. 96) that would make it harder for the State to privatize your job.
A Temporary Worker Bill (H. 287 and S. 78) that would give temps basic employment rights.
“Lara’s Law,” (H, 147) a bill to protect state office buildings and courthouses with effective, trained law enforcement officers
Retirement Bills (H. 443, H. 52) strengthening Group G retirement, protecting your pension with the full force of contract law, removing spiking penalties for mandatory overtime and giving former temporary workers retirement credit for the time they worked as temps.
A billgiving you the right to strike (H. 338).
A Defensive Weapons Bill (H. 315 and S. 85) that would allow our probation and parole officers to carry defensive weapons while on duty.
Workers’ Compensation Bills (H. 297 and H. 292) that would give State employees a presumption that their post-traumatic stress disorder was caused by their work

Budget Update

The Vermont House and Senate have passed the FY24 budget, H.494, and have adjourned until a veto session beginning around June 21. The budget passed by the General Assembly shares many of priorities of the Governor’s budget proposal in January, such as significant increases in childcare subsidies, funds for housing development, and expanded Medicaid reimbursements for dentists. The budget also includes some of the Legislature’s own priorities such as increased reimbursement rates for designated agencies, increased staffing in state government, and language to block Medicare Advantage. This budget will likely be vetoed over disagreements related to childcare spending, transportation fees and the overall size of the budget. We will discuss the potential veto showdown later, but first let’s address areas of concern specific to VSEA members.

Below are legislative issues important to VSEA members that are addressed in the budget:

H. 494 as proposed has fully funded the ADEC (actuarially defined employer contribution) for state employees and teachers, totaling $444 million.
Medicare Advantage cannot be implemented for Medicare eligible-retirees without the consent of VSEA, the Vermont Trooper’s Association, and the Vermont Retired State Employees Association. This language will prevent state retirees from ever being forced into a Medicare Advantage Plan, while also preventing third parties from interfering in VSEA collective bargaining agreements.
The budget includes the Governor’s recommended $2.5 million base funding increase for the Vermont State Colleges (VSC), in addition to funding the VSC’s bridge funding request for FY24. Additionally, the budget provides one-time funding for the creation of a restorative justice degree program and a 3-D printing certificate program.
The budget funds a request for proposal (RFP) to support crisis-staffing for justice-involved youth.
The budget fully funds the FY24 Pay Act, as recommended in the Governor’s budget.
H.494 creates 68 positions in the executive branch: primarily in DCF to support the new childcare initiative but also includes a new position in the Agency of Agriculture, 3 more DMV Inspectors, 9 positions in DAIL (including 5 Quality Control Specialists, and business office positions across state government.
In the Judiciary, the budget creates 5 more judicial assistants, along with a new judge and law clerk to help address the judicial backlog.
The Department of States Attorneys will see an infusion of new positions; including five new permanent Deputy State’s Attorneys, two permanent Legal Assistants and a permanent victim’s advocates. Additionally, the department will receive 22 limited services positions comprised of six Deputy State’s Attorneys, six Legal Assistants, four Secretaries and four victims advocates.
H.494 converts 49 limited-service positions, primarily in DVHA and AOT, into permanent classified positions.
The budget directs DCF, in consultation with BGS, to establish a working group which shall develop a plan to establish a temporary stabilization facility to justice involved youth. This plan must be submitted to the legislature in January of 2024, and was funded in the FY23 Budget-Adjustment.
The budget implements a Dispatch Task Force to take inventory of all emergency dispatch centers statewide, as well as implementing a pilot program which may award funds up to $4.5 million in funds to expand or build new dispatch centers that the Dispatch Task Force determines are shovel-ready and in a geographic area of need. VSEA continues to monitor the dispatch discussion in the State House to ensure the remaining PSAPS remain operational and sufficiently staffed.
The budget includes $500,000 for hiring bonuses to recruit Vermont Troopers (Represented by the Vermont Troopers’ Association) and PSAP dispatchers (Represented by VSEA).

The budget totals $8.45 billion in unduplicated funds. $2.4 billion of the total are state General Funds. The overall spending will decline by over $100 million from the FY23 budget, reflecting the impending exhaustion of state ARPA (American Recovery Plan Act) funds. However, the state’s General Fund has increased by over $200 million from FY23. Additionally, unexpectedly high revenues provided budget writers with $231 million in one-time funds to be used for short-term investments.

The Administration does not support H.494 for a few reasons, leading to an anticipated veto fight which will culminate at the veto session. First, the Administration objects to the slightly increased size of the FY24 budget; the legislature’s budget included new spending of 13.3% General Fund (including one-time funds) over the Governor’s proposal of 10.3% increased spending. The primary difference here is the expanded funding of designated agencies, increased childcare funding over the Governor’s budget proposal and less one-time money reserved for future use than the Governor’s budget. The Governor objects to the use of a payroll tax (or any new taxes) to fund increased childcare subsidies and reimbursements. H.494 relies on a 0.44% payroll tax (75% of which is paid by employers) to fund their childcare expansion. Furthermore, the Governor relied on one-time General Funds to be used as matching funds for Federal transportation dollars, while the Legislature’s budget relies on an inflation adjustment to DMV fees that haven’t been adjusted since 2017 to help mitigate the raiding of General Funds for transportation fund expenditures.

VSEA will continue to monitor the veto session and provide updates as necessary to VSEA members through the course of the veto session. Obviously, State Government will need a budget passed into law by July 1 to allow for continued operations of the public services that Vermonters rely upon.

Solidarity Issue Roundup: Updates on other Legislation Affecting Working Vermonters from our Working Vermont Lobbyists

Child Care and Family Leave

Going into the session, the legislature made it clear they wanted to prioritize paid family leave and childcare this year. The legislature passed childcare language by attaching it to a labor bill, H.217. The bill invests over $120 million annually into

Vermont’s childcare system and provides access to child care for families based on income. It will also raise pay for childcare workers to help grow and retain the childcare workforce. The House also worked hard to pass a paid family and medical leave bill, H.66, but it did not make it through the Senate this session. It’s likely the legislature will continue working on this bill next year.

H.217—Workers’ Compensation

Below is summary of the Workers’ Compensation sections of H.217, which passed the House and Senate. The law provides updates to Vermont’s Workers’ Compensation statutes that improve the system for workers by making the process fairer; increasing benefits; and codifying current DOL practices and rules.

Sec. 26: Sets the rate of contribution for the funding of the workers’ compensation administration.

Sec. 27: Provides that absent the setting of the WC fund rate each year, the rate will default to the previous year’s rate.

Sec. 28: Discontinuance of Benefits: Allows injured worker up to 14 additional days to gather evidence and respond to a carrier’s attempt to discontinue some particular benefit(s). The additional 14 days has been available to injured workers for several years, though it was due to sunset this year. Sec. 21 makes this effective on passage.

Sec. 29: Request for Pre-authorization: Pre-authorization process provides clarity to injured workers and medical providers to know ahead of time whether a particular medical treatment will be paid by the WC carrier. This amendment ensures all medical benefits available in the WC system (i.e. equipment such as wheelchairs) can be subject to the pre-authorization process.

Sec. 30: Clarifies when a WC carrier can require an injured worker to look for work while the injured worker is recovering from a work injury (assuming the worker has been given some sort of work release). Also directs the carrier can require 3 work searches per week, which is consistent with UI requirements.

Sec. 31: Amends the calculation for Temporary Partial Disability to ensure lower and middle income wage-earners are not disincentivized from returning to work while recovering from their injury (i.e. no one should get more money for being out of work as compared to working while recovering from work injury). The section also ensures dependency benefits and cost of living adjustments are paid on Temporary Partial Disability benefits, just as they are on Temporary Total Disability benefits.

Sec. 32: Repeals dependency benefit in Sec. 6 in 5 years.

Sec. 33: Increases dependency benefits from $10.00 to $20.00 per child per week on temporary total disability benefits. This benefit has not been increased in 40+ years.

Sec. 34: Lowers dependency benefit back to $10.00 in 5 years.

Sec. 35: Creates a study to look at the impact of the increased dependent benefit.

Sec. 36: Codifies DOL memorandum regarding cost of living adjustments due on permanency benefits.

Sec. 36: Clarifies costs may be awarded at the Informal level at DOL.

Sec. 37: Rules for Sec. 30-35 and 37-38 must be adopted by Commissioner by July 1, 2024.

S.103 An act relating to amending the prohibitions against discrimination

This bill updates language to Vermont’s discrimination law. The key provision of the law is changing the standard for sexual harassment from the current “Severe and Pervasive” standards which is a high bar to meet to a totality of the circumstances standard. Importantly the standard now allows for a single incident of harassment to be actionable if the incident is severe enough under the circumstances. Most of the rest of the bill is language cleanup that is consistent with current court cases and practices. This bill was supported strongly by the Attorney General’s office and workers advocates and passed the House and Senate.

S.102 An act relating to expanding employment protections and collective bargaining rights

S.102 is an important labor bill that would make significant advances for labor rights. It passed the Senate with a strong vote and is awaiting in the House General Committee.

The bill has three key provisions:

Sec. 1: This section bans captive audience meetings by employers. Vermont would joint Oregon and Connecticut as the only other states that have banned such meetings.

Sec. 2: This section allows for agricultural workers to be organized under Vermont’s labor statutes.

Secs. 3-7: Better known as “Card Check” or “Majority Sign Up” these sections allow for a union election to occur through the card check process where labor unions must get a majority of the cards signed and, if they do, can avoid a contested election at the Vermont Labor Board.

S.73 An act relating to workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters with cancer

S.73 strengthens workers’ commendation coverage for all firefighters by expanding the types of cancer presumed to be a result of on-duty exposures. The bill passed the House and Senate and has been delivered to the Governor. The bill has three main provisions:

Sec 1: Amends the definition of who is eligible for coverage and expands coverage to include breast cancer, lung cancer, reproductive system cancer, and thyroid cancer.

Sec. 2: The Director of the Division of Fire and Safety shall submit a written report to the legislature by January 15, 2024, on projected costs and potential opportunities to reduce the cost for fire departments to provide screenings and replacement of

personal protective equipment.

Sec. 3: The Commissioners of Labor and of Financial Regulation, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Fire Safety, shall submit a report to the legislature regarding the potential impacts on workers’ compensation claims, premiums, and loss costs of amending or repealing the provisions that bar a firefighter from the presumption that the firefighter’s cancer resulted from work-related exposure, the potential impacts if the list of cancers is expanded, and potential methods for apportioning liability for workers’ compensation in the instance where a firefighter has been employed by more than one fire department.

Proposal 3: A Constitutional Amendment on Collective Bargaining

A tri-partisan group of 20 Senators introduced a constitutional amendment to establish the right to organize, collectively bargain, and to be free from right-to-work legislation. The amendment was introduced toward the end of the session and will be considered in the Senate Economic Development Committee’s next session.

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