State House Update - Legislative Action Picks Up

The Senate and House are having short in-person sessions this week to vote on a COVID-19 response package.

Some House and Senate Committees are meeting to discuss essential business, prioritizing COVID-19 responses and “money bills” (the state budget and capital bill). For the foreseeable future, all meetings will be held over phone or video conference. The meeting schedule is very limited, due to technology limitations and the focus on essential bills.

You can find the weekly schedule and ways to access the meetings on the Legislature’s webpage. As always, note this schedule changes often.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant financial challenges for state government, reducing revenue and increasing needs. We expect more discussions about revised revenue estimates and budget adjustments this week. Concrete proposals may not be developed until next week.

We are grateful for the early childhood community members who are working on the front lines to keep Vermont’s young children healthy and safe. Alliance staff are working with our partners to monitor these legislative discussions and support advocacy during this uncertain time. Please let us know what we can do to help you stay involved in events at the State House, even as emergency direct services remain top priority.

Alliance COVID-19 Resource Page

The Alliance is supporting Vermont’s early childhood community in different ways during this crisis – through advocacy, information sharing, and communications support.

With that in mind, the Alliance has launched a COVID-19 Resource Page, with links to information on health and safety, food security, economic security and housing, early care and education, and small business issues.

This resource page will be updated frequently. If there is a resource you would like to include, please email Amy Russo-Perler at amy@vecaa.org.