The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 10 : Conservation and Development

Chapter 012 : Vermont Economic Development Authority

Subchapter 010 : VERMONT JOBS FUND

• § 280b. The Vermont sustainable jobs strategy

  (a)(1) Before issuing any funds to an eligible facility or eligible project under section 280a of this title, the Authority shall make a determination that the facility or project materially supports one of the following objectives:

  (A) creating or sustaining employment opportunities for Vermonters in proportion to the amount of financial assistance requested;

  (B) providing quality employment at wage and benefit levels sufficient to permit a reasonable standard of living by community standards, and at levels that may contribute to bringing Vermont’s average wage up to or above 100 percent of the national average wage rate;

  (C) promoting employment opportunities in economically disadvantaged areas and communities in the State;

  (D) advancing the overall growth of wealth in the Vermont economy by promoting the production and sale of goods and services with a substantial Vermont content and those that utilize Vermont’s unique human and natural resource base to markets outside of the State and nation, including visitors to, and travelers through, the State;

  (E) assisting the development of a business infrastructure that will contribute to sustainable economic development, to include the provision of necessary services, including shipping, warehousing, communications, repair and maintenance, technical services, distribution, and dependent care, particularly when intrastate capability in these areas can replace services currently provided by out-of-state suppliers;

  (F) encouraging economic development projects that reduce, mitigate, or eliminate the effects of climate change, the pollution of land, air, or water, or those that will interdict material within the State that, having served its intended purpose, would otherwise enter the solid waste disposal stream and that will cause the diversion of such material to useful purposes, or that will reuse or recycle any such postconsumer material;

  (G) encouraging commercial activity in the traditional downtown areas of the State and promoting through appropriate commercial adaptation the preservation of suitable buildings or structures that are historically or aesthetically significant;

  (H) encouraging economic development projects that are consistent with and sensitive to the needs of the communities in which such projects are located;

  (I) promoting entrepreneurial activity, recognizing that some of those that are the small businesses of today will be the large employers of tomorrow; and

  (J) aiding in the achievement of the economic development and business growth strategies adopted by the Vermont Economic Progress Council and the Vermont Department of Economic Development, wherever possible providing assistance to those categories of enterprise that may be designated as especially desirable for Vermont.

  (2) All determinations and findings made by the Authority pursuant to this section shall be conclusive.

  (b) The Authority may adopt such policies and procedures necessary to define further any term or criterion used in this section or to set specific standards by which to measure the extent to which any proposed project meets the requirements of this section.

  (c) In deciding whether to provide financial assistance to an applicant, the Authority, after determining that a project meets its credit underwriting standards, shall take into account the criteria outlined in this section, the overall benefits of the project to the State and to the community in which it is proposed to be located, the amount of assistance requested, and the availability of Authority resources to fund the request. (Added 1995, No. 46, § 14, eff. April 20, 1995; amended 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(b); 2025, No. 26, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)