This bill allows members of Vermont's joint legislative committees to vote remotely for up to three days through the end of 2026. To use this option, a member must inform the committee chair and clerk, and the clerk will record the vote and track the usage. Additionally, the bill ensures that members with disabilities who cannot access a meeting room due to physical barriers can vote remotely without using one of their allotted remote days, provided the meeting cannot be moved to an accessible location.
This bill directs the leaders of Vermont's General Assembly to officially end the 2026 legislative session by May 29 or 30 of that year. It establishes a specific deadline for the Senate and House to stop meeting, ensuring the state government transitions to its regular non-legislative operations. By setting this final date, the resolution provides a clear timeline for when elected officials must conclude their duties for that term.
This bill approves a charter amendment for the Town of Panton that establishes a formal process for residents to recall elected town officers. To initiate a recall, a petition signed by at least 15% of registered voters must be filed with the Selectboard and Town Clerk, triggering a vote at either a regular or special town meeting. The officer is removed only if a majority of votes cast support the recall and the number of votes equals or exceeds the turnout of the officer's most recent election, or at least one-third of all registered voters participate. Additionally, the law prevents recall petitions from being filed against the same individual more than once within a 12-month period.
This bill approves amendments to the Town of Williston's charter that remove the elected position of lister and replace it with a professionally qualified assessor who may be hired or contracted by the town. The change allows the town to employ an assessor who does not need to be a resident of Williston, while ensuring the new role carries the same powers, duties, and liabilities as the previous lister position. Current listers will see their terms expire within 45 days of the bill's passage or once an assessor is hired, whichever happens later.
This bill outlines steps to reorganize Vermont's education system by renaming Boards of Cooperative Education Services to Cooperative Educational Service Areas and assigning each supervisory union to a specific regional area. It requires all school districts to join a study committee to evaluate creating unified union school districts and directs the Joint Finance Officer to hire a contractor to analyze how prekindergarten education should be funded. Additionally, the bill amends previous legislation to adjust its effective dates. These changes aim to improve resource sharing and equalize educational opportunities across different regions of the state.
This bill defines chronic absenteeism as students missing 10 percent or more of their school attendance days in a year, regardless of whether those absences are excused or unexcused, and requires Vermont's Agency of Education to create a model policy to address the issue. It also clarifies definitions for terms like "absence," "truancy," and "excused absence," while expanding who counts as a parent or guardian to include older students, independent students, and unaccompanied homeless youth. The changes directly affect public schools, approved independent schools, and families by establishing clearer standards for tracking attendance and determining when absences are justified.
This bill makes water quality training for Vermont farmers optional instead of mandatory, while requiring approval from the Secretary of Agriculture for anyone transporting non-sewage waste or waste materials to farms. The law also updates unit pricing standards to require uniform price disclosures at retail food establishments, with exceptions for made-to-order restaurant items and prescription drugs. Farmers would no longer be required to complete specific water quality training courses as of July 1, 2026, though the Secretary retains discretion to require additional education when appropriate. The waste transport provisions allow the Secretary to request information about waste composition, nutrients, contaminants, and volume before approving transport to agricultural operations.
This bill proposes technical corrections to Vermont's fish and wildlife statutes, primarily affecting hunting and fishing license holders. It grants the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife discretion to decide whether annual licenses expire on December 31 or 365 days after issuance, and allows the department to charge fees for additional tags or permits not currently specified in law. The legislation also updates the uniform point system for license violations by clarifying how points are assigned for various infractions, which can lead to license suspension if a person accumulates 10 or more points. These changes aim to provide flexibility in license expiration dates and ensure the point system accurately reflects different violation severity levels.
This bill limits the ability of Vermont municipalities to regulate farming activities and farm structures, except in specific designated areas. It prohibits local governments from imposing rules on agricultural practices that already meet state standards, and restricts regulation of farm buildings unless they are located in Tier 1A agricultural zones. In those designated areas, municipalities can only regulate certain aspects like traffic flow, parking, and safety setbacks, while being barred from controlling noise, odors, lighting, or operating hours. The legislation also allows limited local oversight of growing food plants for personal use, donation, or sale, and requires the state agriculture secretary to study how municipal regulations impact the agricultural economy.
This bill sets specific property tax rates and funding levels for Vermont's 2027 fiscal year, including a nonhomestead property tax rate of $1.698 per $100 of value and specific dollar yields for homestead and income calculations. It also reserves $52.45 million in the Education Fund to help offset potential property tax rate increases in 2028, while correcting a definition related to statewide education tax calculations. The legislation refunds $150,576 to the City of Barre for overpaid education taxes from 2021-2024 and adjusts special education funding grants for inflation starting in 2027. Additionally, it updates how special education census grants are calculated to account for inflation over time.
This bill makes several changes to Vermont's education laws, including creating an exception to the current moratorium on new independent schools when a therapeutic school changes ownership, and allowing Vermont to join the Interstate Compact for Education to facilitate cooperation among states on education policy. It also renames cooperative educational service areas, temporarily excludes class size violations from counting toward potential state intervention for three years, and requires the Agency of Education to conduct criminal background checks on new employees or contractors who may have unsupervised contact with students. These provisions directly affect school administrators, independent school operators, the State Board of Education, and the Agency of Education.
This bill creates two new grant programs to improve Vermont's emergency preparedness: the Ready Response Grant Program, which provides funding to food banks for storing and distributing shelf-stable food and water during emergencies, and the Technical Rescue Grant Program, which helps fire departments and emergency services agencies acquire specialized equipment and training. The bill also requires that emergency response plans include disability considerations, updates regulations for state and town forest fire wardens, and allocates funds to expand public safety computer-aided dispatch systems. Additionally, it directs money toward creating emergency response materials in multiple languages and supporting the Vermont Urban Search and Rescue Team.
