Community Media Public Benefit Bill: H.575 and S.181: Vermont Senate Committee on Appropriations - Discussion of S. 181 Community Media Public Benefit Bill

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Discussion of the Community Media Public Benefit Bill S.181 at the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

S.181 passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee today with a 5-2 vote (Sears and Westman voted no). And they did talk about creating a line item in the Secretary of State’s budget, which is one of our goals – Senator Kitchel committed to doing that on the record. There will a base appropriation for VAN in the Senate version of the budget. The amount is still to be determined, and we likely won’t know the amount until late in the legislative session, but they understand clearly that we are aiming for a $3m/year appropriation. Senator Kitchel confirmed that there would be a line item in the Secretary of State’s office for VAN, but the appropriation will run separately in the budget bill. Senator Kitchel said she was not sure of the amount at this time because they have to consider it in the overall context of the budget, but she understands what the request is.

S.181 Senate Finance version of the bill:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/Senate%20Appropriations/Bills/S.181/S.181~Kirby%20Keeton~As%20Recommended%20By%20the%20Senate%20Committee%20on%20Finance~3-20-2024.pdf