Gov. Phil Scott signed a key workforce and economic development bill into law on Wednesday, investing $84.5 million into what have been perennial focal points of his agenda.
The bill, S.11, allocates both state funds and federal Covid relief dollars to bolster Vermont’s economic future by funding business growth and supporting fields like health care and the trades.
“This bill makes historic investments to help solve some of our [state’s] biggest challenges. It is an opportunity to change our course for the better, to grow our workforce and support our communities in their continued recovery and revitalization,” Scott said in a press release.
S.11 was a subject of tense negotiation in the final weeks of the legislative session. In late April, lawmakers combined separate workforce and economic development proposals into a single package, using a previously stalled bill on preventing robocalls as a vehicle. Two days before adjournment, a conference committee resolved differences between the House and Senate proposals while trying to skirt a potential veto from Scott.
The signed version of the legislation provides money to subsidize training for thousands of Vermonters as they change careers or enter new ones, including $10 million aimed specifically at health care workers. It also allocates $15 million to a Covid relief fund, requested by business owners after the Omicron wave in January, to help businesses keep employees on the payroll if another Covid wave hits the state.
At $40 million, the Community Recovery and Revitalization Grant Program is one of the largest line items. Formerly called the Capital Investment Program, the effort will support projects to maintain or expand businesses and nonprofit organizations, attract new businesses or nonprofits and create jobs. Towns with stagnant or shrinking tax bases will receive priority for funding.
“These investments in our workforce come at (a) time when Vermont employers are in desperate need of talent,” said Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said in the release.
The new law provides funding to expand the department’s regional support and outreach.
Workforce development was a centerpiece of Scott’s State of the State address in January. The governor has in the past sought to incentivize workers to come to Vermont by paying for their moving expenses — the economic impact of which has been questioned. That program received $3 million rather than Scott’s desired $6 million. And the newly signed bill does not include $4 million Scott had proposed to market Vermont to out-of-state workers.
The governor signaled throughout the session that his economic proposals were a top priority, stating in early May that restoring funding to some proposed cuts — including to the Capital Investment Program — were “a line in the sand” during budget negotiations.
However, with the funds in S.11, and another $30 million allocated for workforce and economic development in the budget bill, H.740, the governor received the majority of his overall funding request.
