 All right, welcome back. We are changing gears to hear a bill introduction on age 232. And with us is Representative Catherine Sims and Catherine I'm guessing Craftsbury, is that right? Good guess. Okay, so welcome to General Housing Military Affairs. And this is a bill introduction so you don't need to feel pressure to give us a line by line. We'll do that with an attorney. When the attorneys, when we take this up further, if we take this off the wall further for an explanation, but just tell us why this bill, why now? Great, thank you so much. Yeah, Catherine Sims, here for Craftsbury. And thank you Chair Stevens and the committee for your interest in age 232 and opportunity to provide a very high level overview. So this bill, I would say its core is about equity in access to land and home ownership. All Vermonters deserve access to housing, well-paying jobs, a healthy environment and access to land. Unfortunately, as we all know, part of our history as a nation and as a state is a legacy of policies that have cut off Black, Indigenous and people of color, BIPOC, from land and home ownership. The stewardship of Vermont lands was removed from the Abinackey when Europeans made Vermont a state in 1791 and housing and lending discrimination through restrictive covenants, redlining and other lending practices have prevented many Black and brown folks from owning land or homes. In fact, here in Vermont, we have one of the widest home ownership gaps between Black and white residents in the country with 72% of white households and just 21% of Black households owning their homes. Fortunately though, here in Vermont, we have the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board which does really incredible work to increase access to affordable housing, farmland, jobs and recreation assets for Vermonters. In FY19 and 20, with a state investment of 31 million, VHCB leveraged 162 million in funding for affordable housing and land conservation. VHCB granting and capacity building programs have supported many diversity related activities over the years including things like founding a multicultural center in Burlington's Old North End, the preservation of the Daisy Turner Homestead part of the African American Heritage Trail in Grafton, grant writing assistance of the Clemens Farm and providing housing for BIPOC households and really so many more incredible projects. And this really important work addresses inequities in access and VHCB is really well positioned to further enhance BIPOC access to homes and lands as well as support the education capacity of other organizations seeking to do the same. And so this bill seeks to recognize the work that VHCB is doing by codifying their commitment to BIPOC land and home ownership access in their authorizing language and empowering the organization and its partners to continue to do more of this really vital work. And so the bill would do four key things. In stating the purposes of the act, the bill would add expanding access to land and home ownership to Vermonters who have historically suffered discrimination or an equal access to benefits and services including black, indigenous and people of color to VHCB's allocation priorities and eligible activities to codify VHC's commitment to this work. Second, the bill would also give greater voice to BIPOC Vermonters by creating two new seats on VHCB's board. In this bill, we propose sort of one way to add those seats based on our conversations with VHCB and others. It is certainly not written in stone that this is the only way to do this and we hope you'll take testimony from them and others about how to ensure that we get the right voices at the table. Third, the bill provides access to conserved land for Vermont recognized tribes to gather medicines, natural food and ceremonial materials. This is a small but I think important step towards recognizing traditional land rights and builds on agreements that the Ebenaki have developed with Fish and Game and others. And lastly, the bill builds into VHCB's annual report some mechanisms to reflect and report on this work including adding metrics to monitor progress in these areas. The bill language has been developed in consultation with VHCB, Vermont tribes and others. I find the phrase nothing about us without us a really helpful reminder that policy decisions should be made with a full and direct participation of people affected by those decisions. And I hope that the committee can take the time to hear from a diverse range of witnesses that bring forward additional ideas and solutions about the work that is going on and yield a bill that has support from those who are trying to impact with this work. I would note that there's some precedent for these kind of changes. In 2011, two changes were made to VHCB's eligible activities, one adding forest land and another adding conservation for multiple purposes including water quality. These changes helped guide future investment that led to positive impacts. And so, you know, overall again in sort of summary this bill helps support and empower VHCB to continue the really important work that it's doing to promote land and a home ownership access and economic opportunities for Vermonters who have historically suffered discrimination or unequal access. Basically this bill helps people in real time build wealth. I also think it's important to note that these changes would be impactful beyond VHCB. The language makes clear to VHCB's network of partners across the state that this is important work around expanding access and it's something that all might be working towards. I know that your committee has a bunch of other bills, important bills in the works like the eugenics apology and the Truth Room Reconciliation process. And I see this bill as a compliment to that work and something that could easily be implemented right now to address racial equity. I know that all of our committees are really busy right now and I appreciate you taking the time to get this introduction and I look forward to following your conversations and discussions and seeing how you might refine this bill. And thanks so much, I'll stop there and happy to answer any questions about the bill from the committee. Is that of Kalecki? Thank you. Hello, Representative Sims and welcome. The governor and his budget proposal did allocate resources for a similar thing for home ownership, for community. So does this compliment that or is this on a parallel track or how do you see those two initiatives together or are they just completely separate? Yeah, I think this is all hopefully a part of an effort to kind of codify and to bake in a commitment to BIPOC access to important land and home ownership resources that help build wealth. And I think what's really important about this bill is baking that in into the allocation priorities and eligible activities. So it's not something that we do just once. It's not something that we can do more of less of over time. It's stating because of the historical and the current and persistent challenges around land and home ownership access for BIPOC for monitors that it is baked in as a core commitment, core part of our mission of how this organization which plays a critical role as our housing and conservation hub across the state that it's that commitment is codified in language. And I think it aligns and supports the initiative that you just spoke to and has a ripple effect into the future. So it's not just a one time thing that we do. It's a part of how we operate. Okay, thank you. All right. No, thank you for presenting this bill. There's a lot packed into it. And we look forward to a time when we will unpack it without trying to just throw it over our shoulders. But this is, I mean, I think that a little bit to John's point to represent Khlaki's point, VHCB has always been an organization that has been addresses social needs perhaps before some of the other agencies do because they see it from the lowest level from the demographic stage. And so working with this to try to emphasize this program we'll take testimony from them certainly and see how that fits in with their current statutory mission. Representative Blumlee. Thank you, Chair. Full disclosure, I'm a co-sponsor of this bill. So I'm kind of throwing you a softball representative Sims to just, because I think it would be helpful for all of us to hear why, if VHCB is doing these things then why is this bill necessary? Yeah, I think again, sort of as I said to Representative Khlaki, they are stepping into this work and listed a number of the really terrific projects that they're doing. I don't know if folks know about the Pine Island Community Farm. There's some really innovative efforts to increase access to land and home ownership that VHCB and its partners make possible. And they would like to do more. And I think authorizing land use plays such an important role in again, codifying that commitment, authorizing the organization to prioritize this work, not just as an aside or an add-on or something to do more of one year and do less of another, but say this is a port of our core principles. Words matter and baking this language into the mission along with its commitment to low-income Vermonters, along with its commitment to conservation of land and public access to recreation opportunities that ensuring that those who have experienced discrimination have access to these programs, I think is vital and naming that and building it into their allocation priorities so that funding decisions can flow from that, I think is essential and helps this organization feel empowered to do more of the great work that it's really doing. And I just would add that one of the things that we talked about is the fact that, I mean, leadership can change and government and administrative priorities can change and this secures that commitment as enduring among its commitments. Well said, thank you. All right, anything further for Representative Sims at this time? All right, not seeing any representative Sims. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Welcome to our committee. Yeah, I can't wait until I can climb the stairs and see your room in real life someday. But the commute was pretty easy today, so. Good, that's good. And knowing what with this, just being a simple little walk, a simple little bill introduction, we've kept our curiosity caps on tight for right now, but we'll have questions if and when we take this up soon after crossover. Okay, and please know I'm here and available in whatever way I can be useful as the conversations unfold and thanks again for your time. Great, thank you. All right, let's move. I have a hard stop at like 415 myself. If that seems long for people and you need to go to another meeting, just wave your hand or let me know in the chat, but let's go to Representative China who's I presume is still here. There he is. And Representative China is presenting age 273, which is, I guess it's related to a degree. Not directly, but it's related to a degree to age 232 in subject matter, which will be land access of sorts. But let me just pass the microphone over to Representative China for this bill introduction. Welcome back. Thank you. It's strange to not be sneaking down the hallway and instead to be sneaking between a phone and a computer. So thanks for letting me present today. So I'm gonna share a screen and I like audio-visual combinations. So I like doing little slideshows for people. So it should be about seven minutes and then there'll be a little time for questions. I don't plan to keep you till 415, but let's get this started now. I wanna make sure I share the right screen. It's always my fear that you're gonna see my to-do list. So that should be working. So that is not your to-do list. Well, it's one of the many things on the list, but so we have age 273, an act relating to promoting racial and social equity in land access and property ownership. And so I just, this is not a walkthrough. It's sort of like a summary high level of what the bill does. So we've got a legislative intent section. I am gonna read this though, because this is sort of a pitch, the reason for the bill. Equal opportunity is a fundamental principle of American democracy. However, structural racism defined as the laws, policies, institutional practices, cultural representations and other societal norms that work together to deny equal opportunity. Structural racism has resulted in wealth disparities among Vermonters. Wealth disparities are a function of not only access to income, but also the ability to have access to the land and to property ownership. The foundation of our current economic system was built on land that was taken from Abinaki and other indigenous persons. And the structures of our economic system were constructed with the labor of enslaved persons. The legacy of settler colonialism and shadow slavery has been systemic racism and discrimination embedded into many aspects of our modern way of life on this land. The relationship between all persons in the land has been used to oppress persons over the past several centuries. The laws and policies of our state and nation severed indigenous persons from their land while denying them black persons and other persons of color from having the opportunity to access and to own land. In order to offer repair for the systemic discrimination faced by many persons throughout the state over the past four centuries, the state of Vermont must engage in a just transition to an economic system that systemically undoes racism instead of reinforcing it. Efforts to remedy wealth disparity in the United States have traditionally looked to the free market economy for solutions to the very problem that that economy has created. However, there has been increased recognition that improving access to land and property ownership will require broader approaches. In order to rectify this history of inequity, we must create opportunities for permanent land access in every town in Vermont through collective and individual land ownership options using new systems that empower and center Vermonters who have historically suffered from discrimination. And something else that's in our intense section that's not in the presentation that I think is relevant is it says that this isn't enough, that we actually need to go further and we need to engage in processes of truth and reconciliation. And I say that because what this bill seeks to do is create a pathway for people to have the opportunity that others have had in the existing system, but it doesn't address what led to the existing system. It doesn't address the underlying wounds. And we, this is an important step in the right direction, but giving indigenous people grants to buy houses doesn't address the fact that indigenous land was taken and unceded. And that those, the actions of colonization have harmed people in more ways than just depriving them to own a home. And so I have more to say on that issue that I'm not gonna get into now, but it is this bill does mention that it's legislative intent. So I'm not gonna review the findings with you today because they're extensive. I'm just gonna show you citations for the findings. And you can go look into these on your own if you wish, or you take up the bill, we can have some people come in to testify. We do have a written finding section that you can also read, but this is the source of the findings. You can see there's extensive findings backing why this is a problem, ranging from various articles, various state reports, studies, actions of the state, like there's a Burlington city resolution in here. So you can see, just take a look at that digest it for a second that there's a lot of information backing the problem here. There's a lot of data supporting that there's a problem here. And we need to do something about it. So the purpose of the act is to invest in individual and collective land access and property ownership as a way to move towards greater racial and social equity in wealth distribution. And we do this by creating a Vermont land access and opportunity fund in the state treasury, which will consist of money appropriated by the General Assembly and any other funds provided by public or private sources. And this fund will be administered by the Vermont Land Access and Opportunity Board. This is the membership of the board. I'm not gonna read you the whole bill and all the details about the housekeeping stuff about a board. All that stuff is in there, but this is just the membership to get you an idea. And this is important because I developed this bill in partnership with a group called Seeding Power Vermont. And Seeding Power Vermont is interested in doing sort of transformative work. And one of the pieces is that too often the decisions are made not by those who are impacted. So we wanted the state to say there was gonna be a board with some independence to decide where this money should go. And so you can see here the membership of the board reflects that because you have some people appointed by state agencies. For example, we have the Racial Equity Director or Designee, we have someone with financial expertise by commerce and community development, someone with real estate expertise, you can see, or farming expertise by a state agency. But then you see external groups being given the power to appoint members who represent different populations who have been historically impacted by the legacy of colonization and slavery. And you also see LGBTQ, an organization with LGBTQ people. So just sharing that because a big sort of thing that distinct piece of this bill is this idea that we are empowering as the legislature, we are giving power to an independent board to make financial decisions for the communities they represent. And that's different than giving money to another state agency that's most likely gonna be predominantly white making those decisions for BIPOC. So the powers and duties are important and there's a bunch and I'm not gonna read word for word but giving grants for purchasing a primary residence, giving grants for purchasing a farm or land deemed suitable for regenerative practices, awarding grants for land access and stewardship programs, funding financial education and wealth management programs, retaining financial advisors to assist the board and its grantees so that they can manage their, the investment, manage that property, manage that investment that the state is making. The grants to anti-racist mutual aid networks. And the reason we have this is that black, indigenous and other people of color can't always rely on the support networks of society that grew out of white supremacy. And if you heard testimony from some BIPOC who come from different parts of the state, you would hear a wide range of stories about the support that people get from their community institutions such as the police. And so if we're gonna give people money to buy a home in a community where they aren't gonna have equal access to support, we should also be funding mutual aid networks to sort of spring up to support people in alternative ways. And really, it's an important piece to have anti-racist mutual aid helping people to help each other. Grants to groups who wanna share land or create commons or have collective ownership. Also, we have grant funds to the Everytown project. If you'd like, we can have Everytown come in and talk about the work they're doing. This is not the Everytown with the gun control. This is Everytown, a Vermont-based group that is looking at how to create land access and stewardship in Everytown and Vermont for black, indigenous, and other people of color. The board shall also work with the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to explore ways to use grants to mortgage subsidies and other ways to overcome barriers to obtaining a mortgage. So really looking at what are some of the issues that have prevented BIPOC from getting mortgages in the past. And this could include redlining or algorithmic systems that are being used these days to make decisions. And last but not least, working with the Vermont Department of Taxes to look at tax incentives or breaks for those properties to help people succeed. It talks about eligibility in the bill. I think this is important that that board will have the authority to adopt rules concerning eligibility. And these shall include income guidelines, limits on the amount of grants, rules governing the transfer of these properties, generational poverty, inheritance. Just looking at these pieces and adopting rules. And then the board shall allocate grants to achieve a balanced, healthy mix of both private and collective ownership. So the intent is that all the money won't go to one kind of thing, but that it's being spread out. And we're experimenting with different types of access and ownership. We put a proposed appropriation that's pretty large considering our financial situation. You could think of it as a placeholder, wishful thinking, that $10 million if the state put $10 million in a fund and let this board invest that money over the next few years, it would make a significant dent in wealth disparity. And so we put a meaningful number, but we are also understanding that there are limits. And so the committee would probably want to take some testimony on what's a more realistic appropriation. And then you'd probably send the bill to appropriations and they would change that anyway. And then last but not least, we have the effective date. So I tried to do that in seven minutes. It was a little longer, but I sent you all the presentation. I'm happy to take any questions at this point. All right, questions for Representative Cina. Thank you for coming in. I think it's an audacious bill in a good way. I mean, it's really challenging us through its findings to address some of the many things that are being covered in conversation or through policy throughout the committees. I have yet to read the whole series of findings, but I appreciate you sending us these slides, but that really won't take the place of reading through the findings. And as we've said with the previous bill, we will get a walkthrough in due course, though you just did a great introduction to it. So I feel like there's more to be heard, but then this was pretty thorough. One thing I will say is that I can't emphasize enough that this bill was created in partnership with black and indigenous leaders, and that we've spent hours and hours over the last few months trying to think of the best way to take action to address this problem, and that I could not do justice to their story. And so if there was an opportunity to bring the core group in and give them some time to present their rationale for this work and just some of the work they do as individuals in the community and the different groups they're part of in the community, it would be helpful even if this bill wasn't ultimately something you acted on, it may influence your other decisions. So I just would like to put that out there that I think I can't emphasize enough that this is a collaboration with a larger group of impacted people, and that their voices are important in this discussion, and that as much as I am the lead sponsor that my voice could not substitute for theirs. So I just want to emphasize that. Thank you. No, and we'll contact you for those contacts, or you can simply provide them to Ron to keep on, to keep on his computer. Thank you. All right. Anything else for Representative Cina? Well, thank you for being in our committee all afternoon. Oh, Representative Kalaki. But Brian, thank you for being in our committee. It's, I hope it was a small respite from your usual easygoing health insurance, care, work. I was listening to both at once, actually. And you're still here. That's amazing. It's like they're right there on the phone, like I could show you, but I'm not listening to them now, but I was listening to both. So it wasn't really a respite, it was actually like this stressful attempt at multitasking, but we got through it. I'm not sure a respite is anything but a code word for boy, I wish I was on an island someplace that's not in between your phone and your computer, right? Just that's, I'm not sure when we'll get a respite. Representative Kalaki. Well, thank you Representative Cina for being here and for this bill. But I also would love to invite you to send any feedback you have on the other bill because you were co-sponsored for us to create this task force for the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the structure that is our beginning structure from last session is what we're gonna be starting with. And so if you could, any input from newer reactions would be very welcome. If I would like to benefit from the work you do and because this is a very important thing for the legislature to move forward and I want to take this very seriously. Well, I'm happy to share those thoughts. I don't think now is a great time to get into it because we're, the other witnesses aren't here, but I do have some very specific suggestions and ideas around that. So I'm happy to talk with committee members offline or to come back another day for five minutes and just say, hey, I've been working on this for a while and here's what I'm hearing from people. So I would, that would be great. Thank you. Okay. All right. Well, thank you, Representative Sheen. I appreciate it. We are burned out from a very long day of testimonialism, but this is, I'm glad to get this in, get this introduction in and I guess they'll do that classic thing and just say we'll be in touch, but we'll let you know when we're able to follow up. All right. Thank you. And committee, that was a long day. A lot of information today. We started off with, we started off with a rental housing and safety bill. That seems like yesterday already. So let's call it a day and we will be back at it tomorrow morning. We have another long list of testimony on JRH2 and probably pick up some more testimony on H96 as well in the morning, but we'll see how that goes. And then we have some time after the results of the votes for some pallet cleansing bill introductions on liquor. It'll be a spirited conversation. Ooh, remind me to draft you for my pun team. All right. That's,