By Habib Sabet, VT Digger online, December 19, 2023
BURLINGTON — Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak is promoting legislation that would create a state baby bonds program, an initiative that would set aside money for Vermont children who are on Medicaid at birth and allow them to access that money when they turn 18.
The policy would invest $3,200 for each Vermont child born on Medicaid into a state trust fund managed by the State Treasurer’s office. Those children could later access the bond money between the ages of 18 and 30, provided that they are residents of Vermont and use the money for wealth-building activities, which include buying a home in Vermont, starting a business, or pursuing higher education.
Pieciak unveiled the proposal at a press conference Tuesday at the Spectrum Youth & Family Services Center in Burlington, addressing a room of lawmakers and community members alongside bill sponsors Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast, and Rep. Dan Noyes, D-Wolcott, as well as nationally recognized experts on the baby bonds concept.
