by Sam Douglass
Cross-border tuition and further restrictions on tobacco are scheduled for Senate floor action today, Thursday March 26.
S.26: Legislation to Ban Synthetic Dyes in School Foods—Frozen on the Floor
On Friday of last week, S.26, a bill to prohibit dyes and other substances from school foods was ordered to lie by Sen. Virginia Lyons, Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Lyons did not state a reason on the floor for the action and the cause isn’t evident from committee records. However, records from March 13 show that there has been some discussion referencing a gradual phasing out of these substances on a broader scale, but some schools are still worried that they may be unable to find product substitutes in the given timeline.
It is unclear whether action will be taken back up on S.26 before the end of the session or if it will be postponed indefinitely. It remains postponed on the Senate Calendar at the time of publication.
S.214: Tuition for NEK-New Hampshire Border Pre-K Students
Under a bill scheduled to be voted on today in the Senate, young students living in some remote areas of the Northeast Kingdom will be able to attend certain New Hampshire schools. S.214, introduced initially by Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden Southeast), prekindergarten students living in Essex County along the New Hampshire border will be able to attend schools within 25 miles of the VT-NH border with full tuitioning from the NEK School Choice District.
S.198: New fines for tobacco violations.
The Vermont Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that will raise fines and penalties on individuals who sell tobacco or nicotine products without a license or provide or sell the same products to anyone under the age of 21. The bill, S.198, introduced initially by Sen. Virginia Lyons (D-Chittenden Southeast), raises the fine for providing or selling to minors from $100 to $1,000 for the first violation. The bill also imposes new fines of $1,000, $2,000, $3,500, and $5,000 for second, third, fourth, and fifth violations; this includes a new provision requiring revocation of tobacco licenses on the fifth violation.
Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website. Generative AI has not been used in the writing of this story.
Other bills on the Senate agenda today include:
S.193, establishing a forensic facility for criminal suspects believed to have mental illness.
S.278, cannabis law changes, including (as introduced) raising the legal threshhold of THC content to 70% in concentrated products, removes flower THC limits, and increases legal transactions to two ounces. Creates an interstate compact for cannabis sales.
S.64, increasing the scope of practice for optometrists.
S.142, licensure for internationally-trained physicians.
S.214, pre-K in geographically isolated districts.
These bills, if granted final approval in the Senate, will then proceed to the House.