New House bills eliminate vax parental consent, allow silencers on hunting rifles, change Town Meeting voting

By Guy Page

Legislation introduced in the Vermont House today include bills to:

• Eliminate parental consent for age 16-18 vaccination
• Change Town Meeting voting law re: pandemic
• Fund mental health workers for police departments
• Require universal home visits for families with newborns
• Eliminate conflicts of interest among Climate Council members
• Tax candy and sugared drinks
• Provide free breakfast and lunch for all public school students
• Allow hunters to use noise suppressors on their firearms

The following bills were introduced and assigned to committees of oversight:

H.50	pharmacists providing information on the proper disposal of unused regulated drugs
H.49	including psychological abuse as the basis for obtaining a civil abuse protection order
H.48	authorizing alternative procedures for 2021 annual municipal meetings in response to COVID-19
H.47	employment rights for members of the Reserve and National Guard
H.46	miscellaneous provisions of mental health law
H.45	the provision of grants for mental health providers working in collaboration with municipal police departments
H.44	universal home visiting and parenting classes
H.43	allowing individuals who have attained 16 years of age to consent to the administration of vaccinations
H.42	including the amount expended by an employer for health insurance in the determination of the minimum wage
H.41	family leave and insurance protections for organ donors
H.40	whistleblower protections for law enforcement officers
H.39	the Vermont Climate Council and conflicts of interest
H.38	the imposition of sales tax on candy
H.37	the imposition of an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
H.36	primary enforcement of the adult safety belt law
H.35	eliminating eligible school construction costs from a school district’s excess spending
H.34	the use of debt proceeds in tax increment financing districts
H.33	auto rental contracts
H.32	universal school breakfast and lunch for all public school student:
H.31	extending merger benefits to school districts that were involuntarily merged under the State Board of Education’s Act 46 merger order
H.30	the study and design of a long-term care trust fund
H.29	notifying prospective employees of ineligibility for unemployment insurance benefits
H.28	the basic needs budget and livable wage
H.27	health and safety warnings on consumer products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances
H.26	restrictions on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other chemicals of concern in consumer products
H.25	evaluating the sale of Long-Term Care Partnership policies
H.24	coverage for complementary and alternative health care services
H.23	administering stem cell products not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
H.22	requiring that at least one member of the Green Mountain Care Board be a health care professional
H.21	prohibiting licensed midwives from performing home births after cesarean delivery
H.20	pretrial risk assessments and pretrial services
H.19	competency to stand trial
H.18	sexual exploitation of children
H.17	physician expert witnesses in medical malpractice actions
H.16	the sale and use of fireworks
H.15	the use of pesticide chlorpyrifos and the herbicides glyphosate and atrazine
H.14	the effectiveness of the beverage container redemption system
H.13	shared parental rights and responsibilities and equal parent-child contact
H.12	the implementation of an electronic roll-call system in the Vermont House of Representatives
H.11	the removal of the pilings of Bridge 308
H.10	permitted candidate expenditures
H.9	the definition of agricultural land for the purposes of use value appraisals
H.8	establishing a maximum speed limit of not more than 55 miles per hour on limited access facilities
H.7	the Forensic Mental Health Working Group
H.6	group net metering rates and projects
H.5	hearing protection while hunting
H.4	the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos
H.3	the land application of sludge and septage
H.2	an integrated mental health budget
H.1	mental health insurance benefits

A joint House/Senate hearing to receive the canvassing report of election of state officers will be held at 10 am today. The Governor will be sworn in at 1 pm. His annual State of the State address will be at 2 pm.