38 other bills passed on last day of 2024 Legislature
By Guy Page
The Legislature adjourned Saturday morning at about 2 AM, after passing a slew of bills, including the $8.6 billion state budget, a 13.8% average statewide property tax increase, and an Act 250 reform bill exempting some urban housing from Act 250 review but tightening restrictions on rural home building.
S.220, which allows a library to withhold information from parents about their 12-year-old child’s library and computer use, also passed, as did a retail theft reform bill.
The scheduled June 17 veto session is likely to see action on the following bills passed by the Legislature:
H.72 (Safe Injection Sites). Scott said Vermont should stick with its current drug treatment and recovery programs, not decriminalize use of drugs in so-called safe injection sites.
H.887 (the property tax and education funding bill), which sets an average SW property tax at 13.8%, adds new taxes on online services and short-term rentals, draws down on ‘rainy day’ funding, and promises school spending reform study but no specific spending cuts.
S.213 (river corridor and floodplain regulation) – mostly because it spends too little on the VHIP program to rehab old housing, which he says is a prompt, cost-effective solution to Vermont’s housing crisis.
S.289 (the Renewable Energy Standard bill). Scott said his plan to buy power from existing regional, carbon-free sources (nuclear, hydro) would help reach carbon reduction goals faster at a fraction of the cost of S.289’s reliance on instate renewable power (mostly solar and wind).
S.259 (Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund). Pushed by lobby groups for the renewable power industry, this bill seeks to retroactively recover climate-related damages from Big Oil. Scott and others say it costs money up front, is unlikely to recover any actual damages, and exposes Vermont to an industry counter-suit.
Scott has already vetoed S.18, banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids.
Besides H.887, the Legislature passed 38 other bills on Friday, May 10, the final day. In the coming weeks, VDC will report on the details of most of these and other bills passed by the Legislature.
| H.882 | capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment |
| H.883 | making appropriations for the support of government |
| H.885 | approval of an amendment to the charter of the Town of Berlin |
| S.192 | forensic facility admissions criteria and processes |
| S.195 | how a defendant’s criminal record is considered in imposing conditions of release |
| S.183 | reenvisioning the Agency of Human Services |
| S.159 | the County and Regional Governance Study Committee |
| S.55 | authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law |
| S.58 | public safety |
| S.253 | building energy codes |
| S.254 | including rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products under the State battery stewardship program |
| S.259 | climate change cost recovery |
| S.204 | supporting Vermont’s young readers through evidence-based literacy instruction |
| S.206 | designating Juneteenth as a legal holiday |
| S.220 | Vermont’s public libraries |
| S.30 | creating a Sister State Program |
| S.302 | public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk |
| S.305 | miscellaneous changes related to the Public Utility Commission |
| S.309 | miscellaneous changes to laws related to the Department of Motor Vehicles, motor vehicles, and vessels |
| H.233 | licensure and regulation of pharmacy benefit managers |
| H.121 | enhancing consumer privacy |
| H.10 | amending the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive Program |
| H.868 | the fiscal year 2025 Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation |
| H.875 | the State Ethics Commission and the State Code of Ethics |
| H.876 | miscellaneous amendments to the corrections laws |
| H.877 | miscellaneous agricultural subjects |
| H.870 | professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation |
| H.687 | community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use |
| H.780 | judicial nominations and appointments |
| H.563 | criminal motor vehicle offenses involving unlawful trespass, theft, or unauthorized operation |
| H.546 | administrative and policy changes to tax laws |
| H.534 | retail theft |
| H.655 | qualifying offenses for sealing criminal history records and access to sealed criminal history records |
| H.645 | the expansion of approaches to restorative justice |
| H.612 | miscellaneous cannabis amendments |
| H.622 | emergency medical services |
| H.626 | animal welfare |