[T]he House tax panel advanced a version of paid leave Friday that accepts a key element of Gov. Phil Scott’s proposal — the use of a third party, private administrator for the insurance program.
The paid family leave program would be funded by a mandatory payroll tax of 0.55 percent — and it would be up to employers to determine whether their companies or workers would pay the tax.
The new House Ways and Means plan moderates the benefits package and brings the proposal more in line with other statewide paid leave systems. The original proposal would have made Vermont’s paid leave program the most generous in the nation.
Employees would receive 12 weeks of parental leave or eight weeks of medical leave. While on leave, workers would receive 90 percent of their weekly wages if they earn at or below the Vermont livable wage — currently $13.34 an hour. Workers who earn more than $13.34 an hour would receive 50 percent of their wages for that period. Benefits would be capped at 2.5 times the livable wage rate.
Democratic lawmakers say the proposal is more business friendly.
But the main sticking point hasn’t changed: Legislators want paid leave to be mandatory; the governor says the program should be voluntary.
The House proposal will be on the floor next week.
Other bills that made crossover
Friday marked the end of a two week frenzy to meet the crossover deadline for moving all bills from the House to the Senate and vice versa.
Here are a few of the highlights from yesterday:
— The 24-hour waiting period for handguns legislation moved out of the Senate with two changes: one administrative amendment, and another that would allow legally purchased high capacity magazines to be gifted through an individual’s last will and testament. Click here to see a roll call of how each senator voted.
— Senate Health and Welfare voted 5-0 to advance the constitutional amendment, Prop 5, that would enshrine reproductive rights, including access to abortion, in the state’s founding document out of committee.
— A tax penalty for Vermonters who don’t carry health insurance was nixed by House Ways and Means. Without a penalty, Vermont will have no means to enforce its mandatory insurance law.
— The Senate also took care of business with S.141, which would ban restaurants from offering soda as the default drink with kids’ meals. However, lawmakers added a tweak to the language around what drinks would be acceptable alternatives and replaced the words “nondairy milk alternative” — referring to almond and coconut drinks — with “nut-based or plant based beverage.”
— The 2019 budget adjustment is heading back to the Senate after the House passed the bill including a total of $2.5 million in funding for schools to test drinking water for lead. The House had stripped this funding twice before, but the Senate had made it clear it would not pass the measure without the lead funds.
— In an attempt to support the state’s timber industry, the House gave preliminary approval to H.82, which would make skidders, chippers, tire chains and other timber harvesting equipment and accessories exempt from sales and use tax. This exemption would decrease the general fund by $25,000 in coming years.
— The tax bill from the House Ways and Means Committee removes a town and nonprofit exemption for a state fuel surcharge. The legislation also doubles the tax on heating fuel oil from 2 cents to 4 cents per gallon, pushes up the excise tax on natural gas from 0.75 to 1 percent, and increases the tax on coal to 1.5 percent. Matt Cota, the executive director of Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, said eliminating all exemptions will add $850,000 to state revenue. The package raises $4.5 million for weatherizing homes owned by low-income Vermonters.
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