By Guy Page
Editor’s note: this succinct overview of Senate floor activity yesterday is based on the Senate Journal for March 25 and was compiled with the assistance of Notebook LM. For details on individual bills, go to legislature.vermont.gov.
Activity on the Senate floor on Tuesday, March 25 was interrupted at mid-morning as senators smelled woodsmoke.
The chamber was cleared and firefighters were called. There is speculation the smell had wafted into the Senate chamber from the nearby biomass heating plant on the south side of State Street. No threat was found.
Despite the interruption, the solons had a busy day moving legislation along. They passed several Senate bills on third reading:
•S. 12: sealing criminal history records.
•S. 53: certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services.
•S. 56: creating an Office of New Americans.
•S. 63: modifying the regulatory duties of the Green Mountain Care Board.
•S. 117: rulemaking on safety and health standards and technical corrections on employment practices and unemployment compensation.
S. 36, Medicaid coverage of long-term residential treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health condition, was amended by inserting the phrase “medically necessary” and subsequently passed.
Several other Senate bills were amended and ordered to a third reading:
•S. 123: miscellaneous changes to laws related to motor vehicles. The amendment pertained to the scheduling fee for the road test.
•S. 122: economic and workforce development. Amendments concerned a contingency on funding and striking out subsections related to a convention center and performance venue task force.
•S. 125: workers’ compensation and collective bargaining rights. The amendment involved striking out a section related to the Vermont Labor Relations Board appropriation.
•S. 18: licensure of freestanding birth centers. The bill was amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting new language establishing a chapter on birth center licensing. This includes definitions, licensing requirements, application processes, regulations, and insurance coverage.
All bills originating in the Senate and passed will now proceed to the House.
The House passed and sent to the Senate:
•H. 80: the Office of the Health Care Advocate.
•H. 209: intranasal epinephrine in schools.
•H. 219: establishing the Department of Corrections’ Family Support Program.
•H. 222: civil orders of protection.
•H. 243: the regulation of business organizations.
The House also adopted several concurrent resolutions for Senate concurrence, including:
•Honoring Megan Humphrey for her outstanding leadership of HANDS (H.C.R. 53).
•In memory of former Representative, Governor, and Interim University of Vermont President Thomas Paul Salmon (H.C.R. 54).
•Recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child in Vermont (H.C.R. 55).
•Designating April 18, as USS VERMONT (SSN 792) Day in Vermont (H.C.R. 56).
•Recognizing March 25, as National Medal of Honor Day in Vermont (H.C.R. 57).
•Recognizing April 18, as Electric Utility Lineworker Appreciation Day in Vermont (H.C.R. 58).
•Honoring Linda C. Johnson for her outstanding State and national contributions to the prevention of child abuse (H.C.R. 59).
•Designating March 25, as Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Day at the State House (H.C.R. 60).
•Recognizing March as National Athletic Training Month in Vermont (H.C.R. 61).
•Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Black Music Division at Bennington College (H.C.R. 62).
The Senate also saw the introduction of new Senate bills:
•S. 132: annual reporting on health care sharing plans and arrangements, referred to the Committee on Finance.
•S. 133: land use, housing, and brownfields, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy.
Several House bills received from the House were referred to Senate committees. These included H. 80 (Health and Welfare), H. 209 (Education), H. 219 (Institutions), H. 222 (Judiciary), and H. 243 (Finance).