By Sam Douglass

Two energy-related bills are among the many facing Crossover Week scrutiny in the Vermont House this week. Another bill would allow people held pre-trial in prison to be issued a free State of Vermont non-driver ID card. 

This week is the last opportunity for new bills to pass between chambers, so this means that time is limited and committees often work long hours with few breaks. However, this excludes “must-pass” bills, like the budgets, which are given extra time. 

H.718, sponsored by Rep. Scott Campbell (D-St. Johnsbury), would “direct the Division of Fire Safety to adopt a residential building code, establish a task force on improving the contractor registry, require contractors to disclose their criminal record, update the energy education requirements for regulated professionals, and grant municipalities the authority to administer and enforce the Residential Building Energy Standards and the Commercial Building Energy Standards.

H.753, sponsored by Rep. Dara Torre (D-Moretown), would “require the Public Utility Commission to adopt by rule enhanced residential ratepayer protections with respect to involuntary utility service disconnections.” Utilities could not disconnect if the ratepayer is ill, or during a time of extreme heat. (Utilities already may not discontinue during times of extreme cold.) Also the utilities must devise a plan to limit disconnections to the lowest number possible. 

H.549, sponsored by Rep. Troy Headrick (I-Burlington), would “permit an individual who has been detained pre-adjudication in a correctional facility for six months or more to obtain a State-issued nondriver identification card for no fee.”

While agendas can change last minute, here is a current breakdown of several committees and what bills they have scheduled for votes this week. VDC will publish more on upcoming crossover bills later today, tomorrow and all week. 

House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry 

H. 403 –  fair labor standards and housing standards for agricultural workers 

H. 537 –  the right to grow vegetable gardens 

H. 868 –  prohibiting the use of ultra-processed foods in school food programs 

House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development 

H. 674 –  the creation of the Vermont Sister State Program 

H. 512 –  the regulation of the event ticketing market 

H. 733 –  the regulation of franchise agreements (listed as “possible vote”) 

H. 385 –  remedies and protections for victims of coerced debt 

H. 650 –  educational technology products (listed as “possible vote”) 

H. 211 –  data brokers and personal information (listed as “possible vote”) 

House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure 

H. 727 –  sustainable data center deployment 

H. 718 –  building energy efficiency 

H. 753 –  utility service disconnections and ratepayer protections 

26-0781 –  miscellaneous public utility subjects (Note: The heading on this bill is not an “H” or “S”, this is a bill sponsored by the committee itself) 

House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs 

26-0780 –  technical corrections for the 2026 legislative session (listed as “possible vote”)

H. 519 –  authorizing officers of the Town of Randolph Police Department to enroll in Group 

C of the Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System 

House Committee on Ways and Means 

H. 549 –  eligibility of detainees to obtain a State-issued nondriver identification card 

H. 841 –  miscellaneous animal welfare procedures 

H. 775 –  creating tools for housing production (listed as “possible vote”) H. 917.

Again, please note, there are bills that could be voted on this week that are not yet scheduled for votes. Things shift around a lot on crossover week.