By Guy Page

Bills about drones near prison, fireworks, marijuana odor, studying carbon taxation, the statewide voter checklist, campaign finance, child fatality, human trafficking, vagrancy, animal cruelty and more survived the Vermont Legislature March 2 crossover deadline and remain under consideration for approval this year.

Some of the bills below have already passed the House and are now under Senate review. Any 2017-18 biennium bill not appearing below has either become law already, or (more likely) is dead for 2018, barring a vote to the contrary by the full House.

The Legislature is home this week on Town Meeting, and will return Tuesday, March 13. For more information on specific bills, see the bill number below.

Agriculture & Forestry Committee:

H.663	municipal land use regulation of accessory on-farm businesses
H.726	creating a voluntary pollinator-friendly standard for solar arrays
H.780	the inspection of amusement rides
H.903	regenerative farming
H.904	miscellaneous agricultural subjects
H.915	the protection of pollinators

Appropriations:

H.549	the Petroleum Cleanup Fund
H.571	creating the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Board of Liquor and Lottery
H.608	creating an Older Vermonters Act working group
H.638	increasing Board of Bar Examiners from nine to 11 members
H.718	creation of the Restorative Justice Study Committee
H.854	promoting television and film production
H.911	changes in Vermont’s personal income tax and education financing system

Commerce and Economic Development:

H.593	miscellaneous consumer protection provisions
H.620	State-owned airports and economic development
H.694	captive insurance companies
H.719	insurance companies and trust companies
H.731	miscellaneous workers’ compensation and occupational safety amendments
H.748	State designations and electronic filing of proposed plans, plan amendments, and bylaws under Title 24
H.764	data brokers and consumer protection
H.766	creating a homeowner’s rehabilitation tax credit
H.780	the inspection of amusement rides
H.854	promoting television and film production
H.916	increasing the moral obligation authority of the Vermont Economic Development Authority
H.919	workforce development

Corrections and Institutions:

H.551	flying the Green Mountain Boys Flag at the State House
H.615	prohibiting the use of drones near correctional facilities
H.718	creation of the Restorative Justice Study Committee
H.806	the Southeast State Correctional Facility Study Committee
S.149	the authority of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to enter into land transactions

Education:

H.897

enhancing the effectiveness, availability, and equity of services provided to students who require additional support

Energy and Technology:

H.581	Connectivity Initiative grant eligibility
H.582	increased funding for the Connectivity Initiative
H.616	thermal efficiency monies and biomass-led district heat
H.726	creating a voluntary pollinator-friendly standard for solar arrays
H.920	the authority of the Agency of Digital Services

General ,Housing, & Military Affairs:

H.571	creating the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Board of Liquor and Lottery
H.614	the sale and use of fireworks
H.693	the Honor and Remember Flag
H.711	employment protections for crime victims
H.831	funding for an accelerated weatherization program
H.906	professional licensing for service members and veterans
H.907	improving rental housing safety

Government Operations:

H.585	management of records
H.624	the protection of information in the statewide voter checklist
H.677	collecting attorney’s fees after enforcing a municipal zoning bylaw
H.684	professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation
H.700	the Open Meeting Law and meeting minutes
H.779	the legislative directory prepared by the Secretary of State
H.828	disclosures in campaign finance law
H.829	appointing town grand jurors
H.843	technical corrections
H.846	the application of general law to chartered municipalities
H.859	requiring municipal corporations to affirmatively vote to retain ownership of lease lands
H.894	pensions, retirement, and setting the contribution rates for municipal employees
H.895	legislative review of certain report requirements
H.899	fees for records filed in town offices and a town fee report and request
H.908	the Administrative Procedure Act
H.910	the Open Meeting Law and the Public Records Act
H.913	boards and commissions

Health Care:

H.892	regulation of short-term, limited-duration health insurance coverage and association health plans
H.901	health information technology and health information exchange
H.905	the Green Mountain Care Board’s billback formula
H.912	the health care regulatory duties of the Green Mountain Care Board
H.914	reporting requirements for the second year of the Vermont Medicaid Next Generation ACO Pilot Project

Human Services:

H.589	the reasonable and prudent parent standard
H.608	creating an Older Vermonters Act working group
H.673	miscellaneous amendments to the Reach Up program
H.686	establishing the Child Fatality Review Team
H.690	explanation of advance directives and treating clinicians who may sign a DNR/COLST
H.727	the admissibility of a child’s hearsay statements in a proceeding before the Human Services Board
H.736	lead poisoning prevention
H.822	repealing Vermont’s certificate of need laws
H.921	nursing home oversight

Judiciary:

H.562	parentage proceedings
H.563	repealing the crimes of vagrancy
H.566	animal cruelty
H.589	the reasonable and prudent parent standard
H.603	human trafficking
H.611	compensation for victims of crime
H.638	increasing the number of examiners on the Board of Bar Examiners from nine to 11 members
H.660	establishing the Geographic Justice Criminal Code Reclassification Commission
H.675	conditions of release prior to trial
H.689	funding domestic violence accountability programs and the position of Vermont Council on Domestic Violence Coordinator
H.717	penalties for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors
H.727	the admissibility of a child’s hearsay statements in a proceeding before the Human Services Board
H.728	bail reform
H.741	criminal history record fees
H.764	data brokers and consumer protection
H.799	notice of sale of property subject to unpaid property taxes
H.819	municipal authority to adopt nuisance ordinances regarding marijuana odor
H.836	electronic court filings for relief from abuse orders
H.868	mitigating statewide systemic racism
H.875	immunity for recreational use of municipally owned land

Natural Resources, Fish & Wildlife:

H.549	the Petroleum Cleanup Fund
H.554	the regulation of dams
H.559	miscellaneous environmental subjects
H.576	stormwater management
H.636	miscellaneous fish and wildlife subjects
H.730	State response to waters in crisis
H.763	a study of approaches to greenhouse gas reduction
H.881	corrective action plans under Act 250

Transportation:

H.654	Burlington International Airport and noise compatibility programs
H.691	highway safety
H.909	technical and clarifying changes in transportation-related laws
H.917	the Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to transportation-related law
H.918	taxation of aircraft fuel

Ways & Means:

H.549	the Petroleum Cleanup Fund
H.576	stormwater management
H.582	increased funding for the Connectivity Initiative
H.636	miscellaneous fish and wildlife subjects
H.684	professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation
H.694	captive insurance companies
H.731	miscellaneous workers’ compensation and occupational safety amendments
H.764	data brokers and consumer protection
H.901	health information technology and health information exchange
H.911	changes in Vermont’s personal income tax and education financing system

Statehouse Headliners is intended primarily to educate, not advocate. It is e-mailed to an ever-growing list of interested Vermonters, public officials and media. Guy Page is affiliated with the Vermont Energy Partnership, Divestment Facts, the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare and the Church at Prison.