Vermonters for Economic Health

Hat tip to the Vermont Chamber of Commerce for this update.

Senate Economic Development Votes Out Jobs Bill 

The Senate Economic Development Committee completed its work late yesterday (Thursday, Feb 11, 2010) on a Jobs Bill that allocates $8.6 million in federal stimulus funds.
The Committee, led by Senator Vince Illuzzi (R-Essex/Orleans), voted 5-0 in favor of the newly revised bill.

The bill as it now stands contains two provisions that are priorities for the Vermont Chamber. First, the Senate Economic Development Committee has devoted $300,000 to the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM), to supplement near-term media campaigns to bring visitors to the Green Mountain State. The Vermont Chamber will continue to work with the Legislature to increase VDTM's allocation in the Jobs Bill to $500,000 as recommended by the Governor in ecember.

 Second, the Committee has specified that $1 million be used to bolster the Vermont Training Program, providing funds for the training of employees in new and existing businesses in the sectors of manufacturing, information technology, health care, telecommunications, and environmental engineering. [Bravo! VEH supports job training for workers. A healthy economy = good jobs for skilled, motivated workers able to perform at higher skill levels required by today's and tomorrow's jobs. See our Legislative Priorities position paper at the bottom of the VEH home page.]

Other provisions of the bill include, but are not limited to, funds for seed capital, and money for farmers in crisis.

Earlier drafts of the bill included the Governor's proposal to repeal the capital gains tax increases that were passed last year; the Senate Economic Development Committee ultimately decided to drop that provision from this bill and consider it separately [editor: Humbug! VEH favors repeal of those taxes.].

The Jobs Bill will be considered by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees in the coming weeks.