By Guy Page
Bills introduced on the first day of the Vermont Legislature last week would:
- Prohibit utilities from charging customers for metering work required for home EV-chargers
- Require pet stores selling cats, dogs and ‘wolf-hybrids’ to operate shelters and/or adoption services, and
- Create a new retail theft category that allows prosecutors to combine the total value of repeated retail thefts until they reach the $900 threshold for felony retail theft.
Current state law makes retail theft of merchandise worth $900 or less a misdemeanor, a frequent crime often unenforced by many Vermont police and prosecutors. H579 would ‘aggregate’ the value of the merchandise – but also reduces the maximum penalty from 10 years to five years. The sponsor is Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington), who as chair of House Judiciary can ensure that the bill gets to the House floor.
The three bills cited above are included below, in Part 3 of VDC’s ongoing review of new bills facing the Legislature. See Parts 1 & 2 here:
New Bills, Part I: Create logging fraud crime, ban no-cause eviction, ease cannabis restrictions
New bills, Part II: Semi-auto ‘assault’ firearm ban, Flood Fund proposed
| H.580 | Clarifies types of evidence permitted in weight of the evidence hearings. Ensure that “weight of the evidence” hearings proceed in the same manner and with the same evidence that is permitted in other bail hearings. Specifically, this bill proposes to permit evidence through sworn oral or recorded statements that can be used in addition to live testimony. Sibilia (I-Dover). |
| H.579 | Creates new definitions and penalties for organized retail theft, aggravated retail theft, and retail theft with the intent to resell. Creates felony crime of ‘aggregated’ retail theft, reduces maximum sentence. |
| H.578 | Refines State of Vermont step pay plans of certain law enforcement officers and firefighters. Brennan (R-Colchester). |
| H.577 | Dept. of Public Safety to provide legal assistance to the Access Board, which deals with accessibility standards for public buildings and construction standards. Emmons (D-Springfield). |
| H.576 | Study supplemental funding for the Unemployment Insurance Program, to provide a reserve for the UI Trust Fund during periods of high unemployment support information technology improvements. No dollar figure cited. Williams (D-Barre City). |
| H.575 | Create Community Media (local cable access TV) Fund to support the operational costs of Vermont’s 24 access management organizations. Revenue to be generated by an annual utility pole attachment charge imposed on communications service providers. Patt (D-Worcester). |
| H.574 | No charge for car-charger meter service. The ‘residential service upgrades for beneficial electrification’ bill ensures residential customers can receive service to the meter enabling them to upgrade their service, including managed level 2 charging capability for electric vehicles, without incurring additional customer-specific charges from their electric utility. Coffey (D-Vernon). |
| H.573 | Creates Rare Disease Advisory Council to help individuals living with rare diseases in Vermont. Stone (D-Burlington). |
| H.572 | Enact Physician Assistant Licensure Compact, allowing out-of-state PAs to practice in VT without undergoing state licensure process. Hango (R-Berkshire). |
| H.571 | Streamlines license reinstatement following DUI conviction (reduces financial barriers, increases interlock use). Dolan (D-Waitsfield). |
| H.570 | Awarding attorney’s fees in civil actions. Requires court to award costs and attorney’s fees to the defendant in a civil action if judgment is granted to the defendant or if the case is dismissed for failure to state claim upon which relief can be granted. Anthony (D-Barre). |
| H.569 | Gives State of Vermont administrative use controls at hazardous waste contaminated sites. Dolan (D-Waitsfield). |
| H.568 | Renaming grant fund to include climate resilience. Rename the Municipal Planning Grant Program the Municipal Planning and Resilience Grant Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities and regional planning commissions in the identification and implementation of climate resilience projects. |
| H.567 | Prohibit sale of dogs, cats, and wolf-hybrids by pet shops unless the pet shop is providing space to an animal shelter or a rescue organization offering dogs, cats, or wolf-hybrids to the public for adoption for an adoption fee |
| H.566 | Sentencing and community impact. Allows State to present, and directs the court to consider, information regarding the impact of the defendant’s offense on family, neighbors, employers, and the community at the sentencing hearing. LaLonde (D-South Burlington). |
Part II (Published Friday)
| H.603 | Poultry slaughter exception to inspection. Repeals “whole bird” requirement that small farms can sell only the whole slaughtered bird to restaurants, farmers’ markets, and farm stands. Suprenant (D/P-Barnard). |
| H.602 | Prohibits the construction or operation of any new facility that uses plastic in a regulated technology, such as energy generation, pyrolysis, or combustion. The bill also would ban any State incentive for a regulated technology that uses plastics. Satkowitz (D-Randolph). |
| H.601 | Prohibits toxic chemicals in plastic packaging, including PFAs, polystyrene, and polycarbonate. Satkowitz. |
| H.600 | Nondiscrimination concerning a parent with a disability. Prohibits using an individual’s disability as a reason to deny or restrict the rights and responsibilities of a parent, prospective parent, foster parent, or guardian unless doing so is in the best interests of the child. Conor Casey (D-Montpelier). |
| H.599 | Retroactively reinstating 10 V.S.A. § 6081(b). This original Act 250 subsection was repealed. It provides a ‘grandfather’ Act 250 review exemption for projects begun before 1970. Sheldon (D-Middlebury). |
| H.598 | Holding local hearings on hospital budgets. Requires Green Mountain Care Board to hold hearings on hospital budgets in the communities where the hospitals are located. Marcotte (R-Coventry). |
| H.597 | Collection, sale, and possession of wildlife. Authorizes Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife to regulate the sale or possession of reptiles and amphibians in the State. The bill also would amend provisions related to the sale of bear parts. Brennan (R-Colchester). |
| H.596 | Eligibility of reserve forestland for use value appraisal. Cuts in half the percentage of reserve forestland that must be composed of significant and sensitive conditions. Stebbins (D-Burlington). |
| H.595 | Repeals Department of Fish and Wildlife requirement to reimburse farmers for damage to crops from deer or bear. Brennan. |
| H.594 | Exempts Social Security income from Vermont income tax. Charles Wilson (R-Lyndon). |
| H.593 | Creates refundable $500 tax credit for volunteer emergency responders. Harrison (R-Chittenden). |
| H.592 | Tax benefits for school sports officiating. Excludes from taxable income the income received for officiating school sporting events and creates a sales tax exemption for tangible personal property used by officials in school sporting events. |
| H.591 | Examination of State funding that supports public safety and correctional programs. Creates study to shift more police, prison funding to General Fund. Squirrel (D-Underhill). |
| H.590 | Provides insurance protections and leave from employment for living donors. Noyes (D-Wolcott). |
| H.589 | Aquatic nuisance control. Creates a state policy of using pesticides as a measure of last resort in aquatic nuisance control after other nonchemical methods have failed. Bongartz. |
| H.588 | Tightens language regarding the taking of threatened or endangered species. Brennan. |
| H.587 | Tightens language regarding enforcement of fish and wildlife violations. Brennan. |
| H.586 | Flood protection and climate resilience infrastructure and financing. Creates Climate Infrastructure and Resilience Fund, including a board and staff. Funded by 2.5% of state’s cash balance plus gifts from private or private sources. Dolan (D-Waitsfield). |
| H.585 | Amending the pension system for sheriffs and certain deputy sheriffs. Offers sheriffs and qualified deputy sheriffs an opportunity to join Group G of the Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System. Mrowicki (D-Putney). |
| H.584 | Jurisdiction in juvenile proceedings. Extends implementation date for the Raise the Age juvenile justice initiative from July 1, 2024 to the date that the Secretary of Human Services provides. Requires proceedings against persons ages 14–21 charged with serious crimes originate in criminal court. Goslant (R-Northfield). |
| H.583 | Donor Intent Protection Act. Provides legal recourse to individual charitable donors when their giving restrictions are not followed by a recipient charitable organization according to an endowment agreement. Burditt (R-W. Rutland). |
| H.582 | Prohibits possession of semiautomatic assault weapons. The bill defines this weapon as a semiautomatic rifle that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following features: “a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon” and several other features. Mrowicki (D-Putney) |
| H.581 | Bail and violations of conditions of release. Increases amount of bail that may be imposed. Sibilia (I-Dorset). |
Part 1 (Published last Thursday):
| H.625 | Study Committee on Dam Emergency Action Planning. Moves emergency planning responsibility from municipalities to regional organizations. Lead sponsor: Mihaly (D-Calais). |
| H.624 | Providing financial assistance to the forest economy. Pays loggers to implement water quality protection and climate adaptation practices. Sims (D-Craftsbury). |
| H.623 | Access to public transit in rural Vermont. Provides sufficient public transit service to rural Vermonters in a manner sustainable by rural public transit providers. Carpenter (D-Hyde Park). |
| H.622 | Emergency medical services. Expands Medicaid payment for more ambulance services, pays for training, creates statewide ambulance planning infrastructure. Sims. |
| H.621 | Health insurance coverage for diagnostic breast imaging. Requires health insurance plans to cover diagnostic breast imaging services without cost sharing. Sibilia (I-Dover). |
| H.620 | Health insurance coverage for diagnostic tests used for screening purposes. Similar to H621. Carpenter. |
| H.619 | Creating reciprocal rights to landlord-tenant attorney’s fees and expenses. If lease says landlord is entitled to recovering legal fees, tenant must have same coverage. Andriano (D-Orwell). |
| H.618 | Expands definition of a mobile home park to include a community of mobile home owners who own their own lots. Arsenault (D-Williston). |
| H.617 | Residential rental application fees. Defines “application fees,” which existing law prohibits residential landlords from charging to prospective renters. Stevens (D-Waterbury). |
| H.616 | Bans no-cause eviction of residential tenants and defines just cause for eviction. Stevens. |
| H.615 | Transfers safety jurisdiction over certain hydroelectric dams from Public Utilities Commission to VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation. Mihaly. |
| H.614 | Land improvement fraud and timber trespass. Creates the crime of land improvement fraud, including forestry operations. Requires posting a surety bond or letter of credit with the Attorney General for a person who commits multiple violations of land improvement fraud. Mihaly. |
| H.613 | Disclosure of a sexually explicit depiction without consent. Establish a private civil right action if a person creates or discloses a digitized depiction of another person in sexually explicit material without that person’s consent. Burrows (D-Windsor). |
| H.612 | Miscellaneous cannabis amendments. Redefine some hemp products as cannabis products depending on the product’s intoxicating effect, eliminates THC caps on cannabis flower and solid and liquid concentrates, reduces cannabis production and retail fees and regulations. McCarthy (D-St. Albans). |
| H.611 | Creates study committee for the uniform sales and use tax revenue for all municipalities. Beck (R-St. Johnsbury). |
| H.610 | Creates personal tax credit for home modifications for safety and livability. Stone (P-Burlington). |
| H.609 | Repeal the Motorboat Registration Fund and establish the Lake Protection and Access Pass, which owners or operators of motorboats and nonmotorized vessels would be required to annually obtain and affix to vessels in order to operate on state waters. Stebbins (P-Burlington). |
| H.608 | Nonresidential property tax surcharge. Allows municipalities to create a nonresidential property tax surcharge to support the rehab of blighted property and fund public safety. Howard (D-Rutland). |
| H.607 | Business owner transparency. Helps consumers more easily determine if a business is owned and operated by a person in Vermont or by an outside entity. Pearl (D-Danville). |
| H.606 | Professional licensure and immigration status. Enables individuals who meet the requirements for professional licenses to be granted those licenses regardless of their immigration status or lack thereof. Cole (D-White River Junction). |
| H.605 | Prostitution. Eliminate offenses related to the location of prostitution while retaining the offenses of aiding or abetting, engaging in, or procuring or soliciting prostitution. Casey (D-Montpelier). |
| H.604 | Statewide grid resilience plan. Requires Vermont Climate Action Office, in consultation with the Department of Public Service, to study the costs and benefits of implementing a statewide grid resilience plan applicable to all Vermont electric utilities that would reduce impacts due to extreme weather and natural disasters. Sibilia. |
| Yet to be reviewed by VDC….. | |
| H.565 | technical amendments to the child support statutes |
| H.564 | entering a vehicle without legal authority or consent |
| H.563 | attempted auto theft |
| H.562 | the temporary use of automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE) systems |
| H.561 | prohibiting firearms at polling places and requiring that lost or stolen firearms be reported to a law enforcement agency |
| H.560 | making technical corrections to workers’ compensation rulemaking requirements |
| H.559 | a voluntary license to purchase firearms |
| H.558 | operating a motor vehicle without consent of the owner |
| H.557 | monitoring the homeowners insurance market in Vermont and protecting consumers |
| H.556 | requiring mobile home park flood risk disclosure |
| H.555 | enclosing the Vermont State Hospital cemetery |
| H.554 | approval of the adoption of the charter of the Town of South Hero |
| H.553 | the right of entry following a tax sale |
| H.552 | statements made by a child victim of an offense involving serious bodily injury |
| H.551 | wakesports zones on State waters |
| H.550 | expanding eligibility under the local foods grant program |
| H.549 | the siting of outdoor cannabis cultivation |
| H.548 | the landfill disposal of solid waste |
| H.547 | the repeal of the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system statutes and the enactment of laws allowing for the use of automated law enforcement |
| H.546 | administrative and policy changes to tax laws |
| H.545 | utility property valuation |
| H.544 | regulating products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances |
| H.543 | Vermont’s adoption of the Social Work Licensure Compact |
| H.542 | speed limits in State-designated centers |
| H.541 | State education property taxes and flood-related damage |
| H.540 | the siting of tiny houses |
| H.539 | amending Vermont’s disorderly conduct statutes |
| H.538 | student application of sunscreen and car seat safety |
| H.537 | access to employee restrooms for individuals living with an inflammatory bowel disease |
| H.536 | homeowners’ insurance and dog breed discrimination |
| H.535 | public health outreach programs regarding dementia risk |
| H.534 | retail theft |
| H.533 | enhancing food allergen awareness in food service establishments |
| H.532 | health insurance coverage for biomarker testing |
| H.531 | criminal penalties for burglary |
| H.530 | increasing the property tax credit housesite value exclusion |
| H.529 | publishing storage unit availability during a state of emergency |
| H.528 | the historical review and study of burial grounds |
| H.527 | requiring retail businesses to accept cash |
| H.526 | the redesign of Bridge 9 in Barre City |
| H.525 | ordinances governing the possession of firearms in a municipal building |
| H.524 | prohibiting cosmetic animal tests |
Contribute to Vermont Daily Chronicle via Stripe.com – quick, easy, confidential
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Legislation
Remember, Vermonters. Whenever you read any of the words “Prohibit,” Require,” or “Create” BEND OVER – YOUR BILLS ARE ABOUT TO GO UP.
…and your rights diminished.
Thank you for this very helpful list, Guy!
mr. lalonde just cant stand firearms, apparently. H.559 is a blatantly obvious attempt to institute a state registry for gun owners or those that wish to own, with the “carrot” being an exemption from the 72 hr. waiting period imposed in last years session. The “stick” is unspecified agencies would have the duty to determine mental fitness of a prospective licensee: “(6) would, if the applicant possessed a firearm, pose a risk of causing harm to themselves, to another person, or to the public.” This vague clause along with a whole lot of red tape and $35 would get you the “right” to buy a firearm.
No thanks, mr. lalonde. You have proven your distaste and disregard for The Vermont Constitution and your oath of office, Vermont can tolerate no more of your ideas or ideals.
In regard to the entire cornucopia of leftist legislation being proposed, perhaps Thos. Sowell summed it up best:
“The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.”
Indeed! Unfortunately, these “intellectuals” have leaked out into the real world and are causing absolute mayhem!
Keep up the fantastic work and continue to inspire us all!
When I am, it is bedtime and I fear if I read this list first, I’ll have a sleepless night…so tomorrow is another day,God willing and the river don’t rise.Thank you for the list Guy.Well done.