This bill creates a pilot program to support diversity, equity, and inclusion work in Vermont schools by funding Equity Teams in up to five supervisory unions or school districts. An Equity Team Commission would oversee the program, selecting participating districts and managing $50,000 in stipends to provide each Equity Team with $10,000 for resources like meeting supplies and transportation. The Equity Teams themselves would consist of administrators, students, and teachers who review school policies and curriculum through an antiracism and inclusion lens. The Commission must submit a report to the legislature by September 2025 detailing the teams' work and recommending whether to expand the program. The pilot project is set to begin on July 1, 2024, and the Commission will cease to exist on October 1, 2025.
This bill creates new positions and provides funding to the Vermont Agency of Education to support student support systems, literacy efforts, and community schools. It establishes five new staff roles focused on coaching educators in tiered support systems and scientifically-based literacy techniques, while also extending funding for the Community Schools Program for three years. The legislation includes requirements for schools to conduct needs assessments, implement community school programs, and undergo annual evaluations to ensure progress. Additionally, it allocates money to improve the state's Learning Management System and allows flexibility in how literacy funding is used between contractors and internal positions.
This bill clarifies the authority of Vermont municipalities to regulate private airstrips through zoning laws. It directly affects local governments and private airstrip operators by explicitly allowing zoning bylaws to govern the location, construction, repair, maintenance, and alteration of restricted landing areas. The key provision amends existing zoning statutes to include restricted landing areas alongside other land uses that municipalities can regulate for public health, safety, and welfare. This change takes effect on July 1, 2024, giving local communities clearer legal grounds to manage airstrip development within their jurisdictions.
This bill proposes adding three new permanent full-time staff positions to the Dam Safety Division within Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation. To support these new roles, the legislation appropriates $350,000 from the Agency of Natural Resources' 2025 budget. The funding and positions would become effective immediately upon the bill's passage. This change aims to increase staffing capacity for dam safety oversight without altering existing operational procedures.
This bill proposes to set the annual salaries for Vermont's Governor and heads of state departments and agencies at the same level as members of the General Assembly, excluding the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It amends state law to establish specific salary amounts for these positions as of July 2, 2023, and allows for annual salary adjustments based on collective bargaining agreements for appointed executive officers. The legislation also sets salary caps for certain positions, such as limiting the Defender General's compensation to match the Attorney General's and restricting the Commissioner of Health's maximum salary to 100 percent above their base salary.
This bill directs Vermont's Public Utility Commission to create a statewide low-income electric ratepayer protection program that helps eligible households pay their electricity bills. The program would assist residential customers earning at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, aiming to ensure those at or below 60 percent of state median income spend no more than 10 percent of their monthly income on electricity if they heat with electricity, or no more than six percent if they do not. The Commission must work with a collaborative group including utility companies, consumer representatives, and state agencies to design the program, which would use automatic screening methods based on existing financial assistance programs and include arrearage forgiveness. Funding for the program would be collected statewide from all customer classes in an equitable manner, with the Commission considering options like voluntary payments or surcharges on high-volume users. The bill also repeals an existing section of state law and takes effect immediately upon passage.
This bill requires Vermont's Green Mountain Care Board to evaluate hospital budgets by considering spending across all health care providers to improve system-wide coordination and price regulation. It would create a new analyst position on the Board's finance team and fund at least two independent annual audits to monitor compliance with budget orders and support accounting oversight. The legislation aims to help the Board identify ways to control health care spending growth and report on affordability, access, and quality in the state's health care system.
This bill seeks to repeal two Vermont climate laws: the Affordable Heat Act and the Global Warming Solutions Act. It directly affects state agencies, utility regulators, and businesses subject to these regulations by removing requirements related to clean heat standards, greenhouse gas inventories, and climate action planning. The legislation would eliminate the Clean Heat Standard, repeal the Vermont Climate Council, and modify state energy policy sections to remove references to specific emissions reduction goals tied to those repealed acts. While some sections retain general greenhouse gas reporting requirements, the bill removes mandates for implementing specific climate mitigation strategies and the associated regulatory frameworks.
This bill, known as the Thermal Energy Network Act, would bring utility-style thermal energy networks under the oversight of Vermont's Public Utility Commission. It defines thermal energy networks as infrastructure that distributes heat and cooling from non-fossil fuel sources to multiple buildings and requires the Commission to issue a certificate of public good before any private company can operate such a network for more than 20 customers. Municipalities would retain the ability to build and operate these networks without Commission approval, similar to how they currently manage water and sewer services. The bill also directs the Commission to create rules that simplify permitting, allow pilot projects, and prioritize serving low- and moderate-income customers.
This bill defines "first responders" to include a broad range of personnel such as firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical staff, public health workers, and utility operators for use in state emergency management planning. It requires local emergency management organizations and planning committees to incorporate information about utilizing these first responders into their emergency management plans. The legislation also establishes regional emergency management committees that include representatives from various organizations and authorizes the Governor to mobilize and coordinate first responders during emergencies. Additionally, the bill expands the Governor's authority to take preparatory steps and assume operational control of first responders when declaring a state of emergency.
This bill requires health insurance plans in Vermont to cover coronary artery calcium testing for individuals with chronic high cholesterol when recommended by their treating healthcare provider. The law applies to all health insurance policies issued, renewed, or offered on or after January 1, 2025, with full implementation required by January 1, 2026. It specifically defines health insurance plans to include standard policies while excluding limited benefit or disease-specific coverage. The measure aims to ensure consistent access to this diagnostic test for people managing high cholesterol conditions.
This bill modifies Vermont's bail and release procedures by removing the $200 limit on bail amounts for individuals charged with violating court orders, skipping bail hearings, or failing to appear in court. It also expands the factors judges can consider when setting release conditions, such as whether a person is already under community supervision or has other pending charges. Additionally, the legislation creates a new criminal offense for bail jumping and adjusts evidentiary standards for certain hearings to align them with other bail proceedings. These changes directly affect judges, defendants, and law enforcement by altering how pretrial release is managed and enforced.
