Vermont Statutes Title 2. Legislature, § 526. Basic needs budget and livable wage; report

(a) For the purposes of this section:

(b) On or before January 15 of each new legislative biennium, beginning in 2009, the Joint Fiscal Office shall report the calculated basic needs budgets of various representative household configurations and the calculated livable wage for the previous year. This calculation may serve as an additional indicator of wage and other economic conditions in the State and shall not be considered official State guidance on wages or other forms of compensation.

(c) The methodology for calculating basic needs budgets shall be built on methodology described in the November 9, 1999 Livable Income Study Committee report, modified as appropriate by any statutory changes made by the General Assembly and subsequent modifications adopted by the Joint Fiscal Committee under subsection (d) of this section.

(d) The Joint Fiscal Committee may adopt modifications to the methodology used to determine the basic needs budget calculations under subsection (c) of this section to account for public policy changes, data availability, or any other factors that have had an impact on any aspects of the methodology. Changes or revisions in methodology adopted by the Committee shall be effective no later than November in the year preceding the release of the report.