Chaotic

End-of-session is usually a bit chaotic, particularly if it is also the end of the biennium. The last week is the last chance to get a bill out of the General Assembly and over to the Governor. 

I know the perception is that because Democrats have a supermajority in the Vermont House, we can do whatever we want and "ram legislation down the throats of resistant Republicans." That's true to some extent, but there are several ways that legislation can get hung up and then die completely when the biennium is over.

In the waning days of the session, bills are sometimes held up in the House or the Senate as committee chairs and leadership apply pressure to get their priority bills out of committee, to the floor for a vote, and then over to either the House or the Senate. As a result, the last several days of the session are busy.

One way to speed things up is to suspend the rules that require bills to sit for a day between the two bodies, or that require a bill's vote to be notified for a day. During the last days of the session votes to suspend those rules are frequent, but such a rule suspension requires a three-quarters vote of approval. That's more than a supermajority. If the minority really wants to hold things up, they can refuse to agree to a rule suspension that might be necessary to get a bill through the legislative process by the end of the session.

If the Governor vetoes a bill then it takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to override that veto. 

The result of all this is that there's a lot of politics during the end-of-session.

If a bill passes both the House and Senate, it is then sent to the Governor. He has five days (not including Sunday) to either sign the bill into law or return it to the General Assembly (GA) without his signature (that's the veto). If a bill is returned to the GA without his signature (vetoed) then a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate can cause the bill to become law anyway. There's an additional quirk in the Vermont Constitution that says that if the GA adjourns within three days of having sent a bill to the Governor such that there is no GA to which he can return the bill, then the bill will not become law unless he signs it.

The Must-Pass Bills Passed - but not easily

All those questions of timing and politics make the passage of the Budget and the Yield bill particularly important. They are must-pass bills. The State has to have a budget and the State has to know what property taxes rates for each town will be.

The Big Bill (H.883) is the budget. The 222 page, 8.2 billion-dollar bill had been in conference committee since April 26th. Agreement within the committee was reached early in the last week of the session. But it still required approval by both the House and Senate before the Friday target end-of-session. It came out of committee for a vote in the Senate on Friday morning and passed with a 24 to 2 roll-call vote. It was immediately sent over to the House (rule suspension). The House, after little debate, agreed by a voice vote. H.883 was signed by the Governor on May 23rd. Done!

The "Yield Bill" (H.887) which sets the numbers used in calculating Education Property Taxes throughout the state, did not fare so easily. It passed the House with a party-line 101 to 39 roll-call vote on April 24th and was sent over to the Senate. The Senate Finance committee and Senate Appropriations took it up and proposed changes. It came to the Senate floor on Wednesday the 8th, was amended, and sent back to the House. 

The House Ways & Means committee didn't like the Senate's changes. Amendments were proposed and accepted by the full House Friday morning. It went back to the Senate. The Senate took it up immediately and passed the new version with a 19 to 8 roll-call vote. 

Finally Done?

H.887, having passed both the House and Senate should next go to the Governor. It has not yet been sent to him. When it is, the five-day clock will start ticking.

The Governor has already vetoed several bills, so the GA will be called back on June 17th and 18th to consider a veto override of those bills. If the GA does not send the Yield Bill to the Governor until just before those two days, and then adjourns, he will be unable to return it to the GA and the bill will die. Unless he signs the bill into law, the State will not have a way to raise revenue for public education, in which case he may need to call a Special Session to resolve the issues. It can get messy.

Housing

H.678, along with the budget, reinforced and expanded Vermont's commitment to housing needs. It has passed both the House and Senate, but has not yet been sent to the Governor.

H.666 creates more flexibility in residential building project financing through changes to how escrow deposits can be used for those projects. This bill makes it possible for a developer to use deposits put on a residential unit by the future owner in the actual building projects, instead of staying in an individual escrow account. It has been signed into law.

Public Safety - The budget that has been approved by the Governor includes $8 million of new positions within the Judiciary, State Attorneys, Defender General, Department of Corrections  and Crime Victim services to handle the back log of cases in the courts and get Vermont criminal justice system back to running effectively.

H.563 prohibits a person from entering another person’s car without consent. This bill is designed to encompass incidences of rummaging through someone’s car. It has been signed into law.

H.534  establishes increasingly severe penalties for repeat offenses of retail theft. It has been signed into law.

Public Health and Health Care

S.98 gave the Green Mountain Care Board resources to tackle and regulate prescription drug prices. H.233 strengthened oversight of pharmacy benefit managers. H.861 ensured reimbursement parity to telemedicine, which should help seniors check in without needing to drive. Those three bills have all been signed by the Governor. H.622, having to do with Emergency Medical Service providers was sent to the governor on May 31st but has not yet been signed

S.18 was a controversial bill banning flavored tobaccos products. The House passed it, but has been vetoed bu the Governor.

Data Privacy

H.121 is a controversial bill pertaining to data privacy, making it harder for business to sell personal data. It passed both the House and Senate but has not yet been sent to the Governor.

Skilled Workforce

H.707 creates a new system to improve statewide workforce training. The newly established Office of Workforce Strategy and Development will be led by an executive director who serves on the Governor’s cabinet. This bill was sent to the Governor on May 28th and has not yet been signed into law.

Corrections

H.876 addresses various aspects of our correctional system. The bill ensures continuity of healthcare for formerly incarcerated individuals, providing them with necessary medication upon release until they can secure a new prescription. This bill was delivered to the Governor on May 31st.

Education

H.871 as a next step towards restarting Vermont’s state-level school construction program. It creates a legislative working group to prepare draft legislation for January 2025 that designs a new state construction aid program. It was delivered to the Governor on May 28th.

H.630 allows school districts to establish Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) to collaborate on common needs such as specialized student services, joint supply procurement, professional development, or regional busing contracts. It has not yet been sent to the Governor.

Act 250

H.687 includes a switch to a new location-based (rather than project-based) permitting process and improves board governance. Towns will work with their regional planning commissions on a future land use map to identify areas for growth and conservation. It has not yet been sent to the Governor.

Flood Safety

S.213, the Flood Safety Act, builds on existing programs to bring more state resources to towns for managing development in river corridors and floodplains. Since naturally spongy areas (wetlands) provide effective, low-cost flood prevention, the Act also expands wetlands protections in the state.

The Flood Safety Act funds more state engineering staff to inspect dams, updates the Unsafe Dam Revolving Loan Fund to finance more dam removal and repair, and brings dam oversight under one agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation. This bill became law without the Governor's signature.

Renewable Energy Standard

H.289 updates the Renewable Energy Standard by raising electric utility requirements for renewable energy to 100% by 2030 for most utilities with a longer timeframe (2035) for smaller utilities. The bill doubles the amount of new renewable energy built in the state. The bill also includes a study on current and needed programs for affordable housing developments and customers with lower incomes. This bill was vetoed by the Governor and may be subject to an override vote in the House and Senate during the veto session.

Open Meeting Law

S.55 is an update to open meeting law that reflects changes that came about suddenly during the pandemic. With widespread availability to hold meetings remotely, but acknowledging the challenges with broadband, staff, and equipment that smaller towns face. The bill requires state-level bodies to hold their meetings in a hybrid fashion as well as provide a physical location for meetings.

Local bodies with non-decision-making abilities (like a Conservation Commission or Cemetery Board) can meet fully remotely, but decision-making and quasi-judicial local bodies (City Council, Selectboard, Development Review Board, for example) are required to hold meetings with a physical location but provide some form of access, even if by landline, for those who give notice and can’t attend a physical meeting. This bill has been signed by the Governor.

Animal Welfare

H.626 creates a Division of Animal Welfare within the Department of Public Safety. The Governor has not yet received this bill.

H.706 - Protecting Pollinators - This ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides passed both the House and Senate, but has been vetoed by the Governor. It may be brought up for a veto override vote during the veto session.

Health Care

H.766 will eliminate the time-consuming practice known as “prior authorization” for all of our primary care providers. When your primary care provider decides that you need a test or referral, you’ll no longer need to wait for your health insurer to take a second look at their decisions.  This bill has been signed by the Governor.

Human Services

H.72 establishes an overdose prevention center (OPC) in Vermont to help address the growing opioid crisis. This bill has been vetoed by the Governor.

S.186 addresses the certification of recovery residences that provide a safe place to live, free from drugs and alcohol, for those recovering from substance abuse. They are not treatment centers or medical facilities. S.186 was delivered to the Governor on May 31st.

PFAS chemicals

S.25 addresses some of the gaps in protecting Vermonters from harmful chemicals in cosmetics, personal care products, menstrual products, textiles, clothing, apparel, artificial turf, cookware, and products marketed to kids. S.25 has been signed by the Governor.

Ghost Guns

S.209 prohibits possession, sale, or transfer of firearms without a serial number. These guns can be assembled from parts (often sold in a kit) or printed using a 3D printer. S.209 stipulates that a person can still make a firearm on their own, but must bring it to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) to be serialized. They would also undergo a background check before the gun is returned to them. The bill has become law without the Governor's signature.

A Vermont Constitutional Amendment

Proposition 4 is a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal right for all Vermonters. The amendment makes clear that all Vermonters shall be treated equally and that discrimination based on traits including race, sex, gender identity, and ethnicity is prohibited. If the proposed amendment passes both the House and Senate again next year, it will reach Vermont voters in November 2026. 

Municipal Tax Sales

H.629 seeks to reduce the chances of a municipality have a tax sale by prohibiting tax sales within a year of the initial delinquency. It makes changes to Vermont’s property tax abatement by allowing municipalities to hold a single abatement hearing for a class of properties. This bill is now law.

Making Big Oil Pay

S.259 was mentioned in a previous posting. It's a long shot bid to get big oil companies to pay for the damage climate change has done. The Governor has let it become law without his signature.  It will take years for this to work its way through the courts.

And many more

Many other bills have worked their way through the process. I can't cover them all.

In order to run for office in Vermont a candidate must submit a petition to the town clerk. The number of signatures required varies by office, but they all had to be submitted by May 30th. That date has passed. The data as to who has submitted petitions is sent to the Secretary of State's office. You can find a list of those that have submitted petitions here. The list may not be complete if a town clerk has not yet uploaded the information.

CHI-20 Colchester Village - Two Representatives

Both Seth Chase and I (Curt Taylor) are not running again. At this time Doug Bishop and Gayle Pezzo have submitted petitions for our slots as Democrats. Doug Wood is running as a Republican.

CHI-19 The Bay Side - Two Representatives

Pat Brennan (Republican) has decided to run for the Senate, so he is not running for the House. Sarita Austin (Democrat) is running again. Leland Gazo has submitted a petition to run as a Republican and Wendy Critchlow will be running as a Democrat.

The Colchester Grand Isle Senate District - One Senator

Pat Brennan is the Republican candidate and Andy Julow is the  Democratic candidate for the Colchester - Grand Isle Senate district.

So far, the Governor has vetoed four bills this session. The House and Senate will meet on June 17th and 18th to consider them and any others that might be vetoed between now and ten. If it is unlikely that a veto can be overridden, there may not be a vote. If all goes well, we will officially end the biennium on the 18th of June and not meet again until January of 2025.

I have served in the Vermont legislature for 8 years. That's probably enough. There are several other interests I would like to pursue.

I have really enjoyed my work in the legislature and though it can be frustrating, I understand that things take time. I met, and got to know, many other legislators that are sincerely trying to do their best for the State of Vermont. I have learned a lot and helped to craft some good legislation. I am confident that the voters of Colchester will elect Representatives that will serve them well.

Thank you all for giving me this opportunity.