The Vermont Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill that would allow employees as many as 12 weeks of paid parental or family leave.
The paid leave bill, H.196, which won preliminary approval on a voice vote, would allow employees to be paid 70 percent of their wages for a maximum of 12 weeks of combined parental leave, or six weeks of family leave. The state-administered program would be funded by the employees themselves, with an increase in the payroll tax of 0.136 percent.
Paid family leave has been a cornerstone of the Democrats’ legislative agenda, along with S.40, a bill raising the state minimum wage, which was approved by the House on Tuesday.
If enacted, Vermont would become the sixth state to have a paid family leave program, and it would have the highest wage replacement rate. But the chances of the bill becoming law remain slim.
The House passed the bill last year, but Gov. Phil Scott has vowed to veto the legislation because the program is paid for with a 0.141 percent payroll tax on employees. Scott has said he will not sign off on any legislation that increases taxes or fees.
Democrats in the House of Representatives do not have the votes to override a governor’s veto.
Support for the bill in the Senate was notable for the lack of enthusiasm of some members, including Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, who said she could not support the bill because of the “overly regressive” payroll tax.
In a 10-minute speech, Kitchel said that the tax would take money out of pockets of low-wage earners without offering them any benefit in return.
“What road are we setting ourselves on?” she said, citing a study on the Rhode Island paid family leave program — also funded through a payroll tax — that found low-wage earners were less likely to participate than those making higher wages.
Kitchel said she feared the bill would place the “most vulnerable Vermonters at risk,” without addressing underfunding to existing programs. Instead, Kitchel said funds should be channeled towards initiatives that can more directly benefit women, children and working families — such as improvements in the child care system.
“For me, the list goes on and on, it weighs me down … $17 million in tax revenue — that is not an inconsequential amount,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint spoke in support of the bill, saying that the program, if implemented effectively, would be beneficial to all.
Sen. Carolyn Branagan, R-Franklin, said she “could not find anything wrong,” with the bill, but questioned the economic details.
If the bill were to become law, the state would collect $15.9 million annually for the paid leave benefit, and the program would cost $1.2 million a year to administer. The program would take 15 months to accrue enough funds to begin offering paid leave to workers.
