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Legislature Reaches Halfway Point and VTTA Partners on a New Podcast
With the cross-over dates passed for bills to make it out of committees, the Vermont Legislature moves into the second half of the legislative session. Several new taxes and fees have been proposed. Not counting the Cloud Tax these include a 3% hike in the top marginal tax rate, a doubling of the property transfer tax, an increase in corporate taxes from 8.5% to 10% (which would be the highest in the country), and a surcharge on streaming services like Netflix.
Here is an update on some of the legislation we’ve been following:
Cloud Tax
The Cloud Tax is under serious consideration by the Senate Finance Committee as an option to address education funding needs against a backdrop of skyrocketing property taxes. The Cloud Tax would apply the 6% sales tax to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
The committee is looking at any opportunity to find new tax revenue to alleviate about $230 million spending increases in school budgets this year. A Cloud Tax is projected to generate $22 million annually, representing roughly 10% of the increased spending. The Committee is likely to take up the tax later in the session. The VTTA will once again raise concerns about the impact on Vermont businesses, particularly tech-focused businesses, and that a B2B exemption should be considered if the tax is added.
Data Privacy
The House passed H.121, the data privacy bill that came out of the Commerce and Economic Development Committee. The data privacy bill includes the provision of a Private Right of Action, despite testimony by the VTTA and others. The concern is for the potential risk of lawsuits against Vermont businesses based on inadvertent mistakes made in complying with the many requirements in the 81-page bill. In testimony to the committee, I asked that PRA not be included or that the Legislators wait to see how businesses responded before adding it. We will look to raise our concerns in the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs.
VEGI
The House and the Senate moved two different versions of legislation on the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive Program (VEGI). The House passed H.10, which extends the sunset of the program by two years and includes a study committee to look at incentive programs. Meanwhile the Senate Committee on Economic Development, in S.247 included a forgivable loan option and no sunset. The forgivable loan would be available for businesses with 50 or fewer employees, which could provide opportunities to smaller tech businesses.
AI
Two AI bills we were watching were not taken up by the House Commerce Committee and will not move ahead this year.
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Rural Tech Podcast
The Vermont Technology Alliance is partnering with Scott Graves, of SMGraves Associates, host of the “Are We Here Yet” podcast in creating a new Podcast discussing topics and issues important to Vermont’s rural tech community. Joined by co-hosts Will Jeffries, and Ryan Munn, the team will seek to tell the stories of Vermont’s growing ecosystem to offer listeners solutions and ideas for their own business or emerging startup communities.
In the first episode, the team’s focus isn’t tech per se, but relationships: mixing business and personal relationships in business, and opportunities to build networking connections in a small state like Vermont.
Find it here.
Jeff Couture
Executive Director
Vermont Technology Alliance
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Medical Innovation from the Clinician & Health System Perspective
(March 28, 2024 – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center)
The MedTech Collaborative presents a panel discussion focused on Medical Innovation from the perspective of clinicians and those working in a healthcare system. Panelists include Edward J Merrens, Chief Clinical Officer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, other clinicians at Dartmouth, and independent physicians.
Find more here.
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LaunchVT ’24 Cohort Kick Off Mixer
(April 3, 2024 – Zero Gravity Brewery)
LaunchVT‘s accelerator cohort kicks off at Zero Gravity for its first learning session in the afternoon. When the Beer Garden opens at 4, friends from LaunchVT community of stakeholders are encouraged to drop by and meet the new cohort of founders.
Find more here.
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Invention 2 Venture Conference
(April 18, 2024 – UVM)
The 19th annual Invention 2 Venture (I2V) Conference presented by UVM Innovations, pulls together dynamic experts, academic researchers, students, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across Vermont and New England to talk about how to protect, develop and finance your ideas. They share resources, what’s worked for them… and what can work for you. The event is part of UVM’s Research Week, April 15-April 19.
Find more here.
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Southern Vermont Economy Summit
(May 21, 2024 – Mount Snow)
The annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit brings together community, municipal, and business leaders across Southern Vermont to think big, learn something new, ask questions, and connect. The keynote speaker is Chris Estes, Co-Executive Director – Community Strategies Group of the Aspen Institute. Chris will address “A National Perspective on Strategies for Rural.”
Find more here.
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MindEdge & VTTA Professional Development Offering | |
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Agile Project Management
Learn the principles of Agile Project Management: an iterative, skinnied-down
approach to project management for teams that move quickly.
Why Agile Project Management Training?
In today’s job market, an edge can be one that counts, and one such edge is Agile Project Management. Agile adds incredible value to an organization with early and continuous delivery of projects, frequent review of requirements and plans, increased project control, and reduced risks.
Beginning with an introduction to the core philosophy of Agile and the basic structure of an Agile project, our courses address specific challenges that may be encountered by teams using Agile, best practices for integrating Agile methods into Waterfall environments, and the principles of Scrum – one of several specialized Agile methods.
See Course List
VTTA members receive 10% off all courses
See more about VTTA & MindEdge Offerings
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Beta Hiring Workers to Build Next-Generation Aircraft
(March 21, 2024 – WCAX-TV)
Beta Technologies wants to be the first company to have an FAA-certified electric aircraft in the world. To get there, the company is ramping up production at its new facility and seeks to hire hundreds of new workers.
WCAX-TV visited Beta’s production floor and talked to company representatives about the plans.
See the report here.
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Survey: Vermont Businesses More Optimistic for U.S. Economy Than VT Economy; Rank Finding Employees and Property Taxes Top Concerns
(March 18, 2024 – Davis & Hodgdon)
Nearly 100 Vermont businesses from various industries completed the 2024 annual economic survey assessing the outlook of Vermont’s small- to medium-sized businesses. The survey, presented by VTTA member Davis and Hodgdon CPAs and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, revealed that business owners are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they are about the Vermont economy. This is the opposite of survey results from the same timeframe in 2023.
When asked to identify and rank the top issues facing their business in 2024, owners ranked “finding qualified employees” as their biggest issue (37%) and property taxes second (17%). The biggest factors for those that identified staffing as a challenge, included the lack of candidates, lack of housing within the state, and their inability to offer competitive wages due to limited profitability.
Read more here.
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GE Aerospace to Invest Nearly $25 Million in Rutland facility
(March 12, 2024 – VTDigger)
The aircraft engine manufacturer GE Aerospace announced that it plans to invest $24.9 million in its Rutland facility, which specializes in military and commercial hardware.
The funding will go to new equipment, machines, and tooling to support the company’s production of aircraft, military, and fighter jet engines.
“These investments expand Rutland’s capacity to produce critical parts used on nearly every military or commercial engine,” Juan Milian, the plant leader for GE Aerospace Rutland, said in a written statement, adding that the money would help the company “build a strong future in the state.”
The investment is part of a $650 million plan to boost production capacity nationwide as GE Aerospace’s parent company, General Electric, completes a lengthy restructuring, resulting in three separate entities focused on aviation, health care and energy.
Read more here.
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Vermont Department of Labor Awards $225,000 Grant to VMEC to Expand Apprenticeships in Manufacturing
(March 8, 2024 – VMEC)
The Vermont Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Division announced a new partnership with VTTA member VMEC to increase Registered Apprenticeships in manufacturing.
This partnership, funded by a $225,000 grant from DOL, aims to strengthen Vermont’s workforce development and expansion efforts by fostering connections between employers, service providers, and partners to build a sustainable talent pipeline.
VMEC will take on the responsibility of serving as Vermont's designated Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Center for the manufacturing sector.
Read more here.
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‘Vermont Kids Code’ Would Ban Big Tech from Collecting Children’s Data in Harmful Ways
(March 3, 2024 – VermontBiz)
A new Senate bill aims to protect Vermont’s kids from predatory data collection and online content designed to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.
Colloquially called the Vermont Kid’s Code, the bill, S.289 would ban big tech companies from collecting kids’ data, or designing their products, in ways that would create a reasonable risk of material physical harm, severe emotional distress, financial harm, a highly offensive intrusion to the expectation of privacy — or in any way that would discriminate based on a protected class.
The ban would apply to people or companies that collect people’s data, or have it collected; operate in Vermont; and meet at least one of three criteria: having more than $25 million in gross annual revenue; annually buying, receiving, selling, or sharing data of more than 50,000 households, devices, or people; and deriving more than 50% of annual revenues from user data sales.
The bill passed the Senate and goes to the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development
Read more here.
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Vermont Officials Gather in Essex Jct. to Toast GlobalFoundries’ Future
(March 1, 2024 – WCAX-TV)
State and local officials gathered in Essex Junction to celebrate the next generation of microchips to be produced in Vermont. The Biden administration last month announced millions in grants and loans to GlobalFoundries for upgrades that officials say will be vital in keeping the state’s largest employer at the cutting edge of semiconductor production.
The sprawling Fab 9 campus in Essex Junction is expected to receive $125 million from the CHIPS Act to help build out the next generation of high-tech gallium-nitride computer chips. The semiconductors are more energy efficient and able to handle more computing power, paving the way for the future of electric vehicles, cell phones, artificial intelligence, and new technology for the Department of Defense.
The investment in tech is expected to be a boon for the workforce and the economy. Governor Phil Scott says Fab 9 is expected to bring around 400 jobs to the region in high-tech, manufacturing, and other support capacities. “Places like GlobalFoundries and all of the employees that are here and adding to our economy -- that’s our lifeblood,” Scott said.
Read more here.
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NOMAD Transportable Power Systems Brings American-Made, Towable Electricity
(February 27, 2024 – Nomad Power)
NOMAD Transportable Power Systems), a VTTA member, has released the NOMAD PATHFINDER, a 200 kW/220 kWh mobile power system that brings unrivaled flexibility and application opportunities in the transportable power sector.
“There are countless needs of both grid-connected and off-grid applications for mobile battery systems that can be moved by heavy-duty trucks,” said Paul Coombs, NOMAD’s CEO. “Whether at commercial or industrial facilities, in emergency response, for field operations in energy, mining, agriculture and forestry, or supporting utility services, the PATHFINDER makes it a snap to deliver pollution-free, reliable power.”
Coombs said the production of the PATHFINDER would immediately ramp up. Orders for the new units are already in place.
Read more here.
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Featured Member – NeverTechLate | |
Useful Information & Links | |
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SBA’s Small Business Strategic Growth Planning Program is Open for Applications
Applications are being accepted for the Small Business Administration’s free strategic growth planning program for small businesses called SBA THRIVE. This is a national SBA program and Vermont has its own cohort starting in June 2024.
THRIVE is an executive-level training series intended to give ambitious small business leaders a challenging opportunity to accelerate their growth through targeted training led by motivating leaders in small business development.
THRIVE is a hybrid in-person and online program. The in-person sessions will be led by a local business coach and take place in the Williston area. The program requires 8 in-person sessions of 3 hours, once a month, from June-December. In between, the participants complete online business modules.
The program is open to small business owners who have annual revenues of at least $250,000, have been in business for at least three years and have at least one employee.
The deadline to apply is April 28. Interested business can apply at sbathrive.com.
The Vermont SBA Office is holding webinars to explain the program:
March 28, 9am-10am
April 4, 9am-10am
April 11, 9am-10am
All can be accessed through this link.
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Accelerate Strategic Growth with the Fuel Platform
The Vermont Technology Alliance has partnered with York IE, a strategic growth and investment firm, to offer their online Fuel platform.
Fuel takes the same operational expertise that York IE provides to its startup clients and portfolio companies and makes it available on-demand in a strategic growth platform. Fuel users can access expert startup advice, in-depth market data, tailored playbooks, and cutting-edge AI tools. Through the partnership, the VTTA is offering its network a 25% discount to access this one-stop-shop platform.
Find more here.
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VTTA Career Center
Vermont Technology Alliance member companies are hiring, and when you visit the Career Center on the Vermont Technology Alliance website you can browse and search for these job openings and subscribe to updates. The Career Center on average features 200+ tech and non-tech jobs with Vermont Technology Alliance member businesses. Jobs available from VTTA members are listed at no charge in the Career Center as a member benefit.
Find the Career Center here.
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Find the Software Development Staff with Recruiting Services from VTTA and ScaleTech
The Vermont Technology Alliance has partnered with tech talent solution firm ScaleTech to offer talent solution services to help Vermont businesses find the software developers and engineers. they need to sustain and grow their businesses. ScaleTech focuses on developing a working partnership with businesses between 5 to 200 employees, and offers discounted rates for VTTA members.
Find more here.
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The VTTA Thanks Its Member/Sponsors
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