Municipal Assistance Center

H.546 Amends 18 V.S.A. § 5017, 24 V.S.A. § 138, 32 V.S.A. § 3802(22), § 4041a, § 4452, § 5412, § 5824, § 6061, § 6066a, § 6068, § 9741(52), § 9701(12), § 5930, and 33 V.S.A. § 2503(d).  
Effective date July 1, 2024. 

This year’s miscellaneous tax bill includes a long-held VLCT priority: authorizing municipalities to adopt a local option tax – of one percent (1%) on sales, rooms, and meals – through a vote at an annual or special town meeting.  

Municipalities can choose to approve all three, none, or any combination of local option taxes to address municipal revenue needs. With short-term rentals present in nearly every Vermont municipality, a new revenue source now exists to address local needs without lightening residents’ pocketbooks.  

The authorization includes a relief valve that allows the tax commissioner to reject or delay implementation of any more than five new municipal local option taxes in a calendar year. This provision is designed to ensure that the Tax Department can onboard municipalities successfully. We believe, from reviewing existing local option tax adoption data, this relief valve should not be a significant barrier. If it is, VLCT will advocate on members’ behalf in the coming years.  

The governor signed H.546 on June 3, 2024, and the Local Option Tax authorization becomes effective July 1, 2024.  

The bill also includes several other provisions that affect municipalities, including: 

• In cases of valuation appeal, the Property Valuation and Review (PVR) director may waive the requirement of continuing an appeal or court action until there is no further right of appeal if the director concludes that the value determined by an adjudicated decision is a reasonable representation of the fair market value of the parcel. 
• The bill removes the $15 penalty from the property tax credit refund for late filing of credit.  
• PVR may require municipalities to use certain valuations for property used for the transmission and distribution of electricity.  
• The bill clarifies that real property owned by a county shall be subject to municipal property tax by the municipality in which the land or buildings are situated, with exemptions for public, pious, and charitable uses.  

S.55 Amends 1 V.S.A. § 310, § 312, § 314, 17 V.S.A § 2640, and § 2680.  
Effective Date: July 1, 2024, except requirements for Communications Union Districts, which shall be January 1, 2025, and training requirement effective January 1, 2025.   

Signed by the governor on May 30, 2024, S.55 creates requirements related to hybrid meetings, recording meetings, and new Open Meeting Law training.  

With the COVID authority of municipalities to meet fully remotely sunsetting on July 1, 2024, the legislature tried to strike a balance between their desire to require all public bodies to meet in a hybrid fashion and the reality that most municipal bodies don’t have the technology to do so. For state public bodies, that largely means a hybrid meeting requirement. For municipal public bodies, it’s a bit more complicated – and riddled with catch-22s that will inevitably lead to some confusion. 

Two Classes of Public Bodies: Advisory and Non-Advisory 

The bill creates two classes of public bodies:  

• Advisory bodies, which do not have supervision, control, or jurisdiction over legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters; and 
• Non-advisory bodies, which do have jurisdiction over legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters. 

There will be lots of questions about what qualifies as an advisory body. Right now, we know that things like selectboards, development review boards, and boards of abatement are non-advisory bodies. We also know the intent of the legislation was that things like “garden clubs” be considered advisory bodies. VLCT’s staff attorneys, the Secretary of State, and others will be working on these definitions in the coming months and years. 
The big advantage for municipal advisory bodies is the ability to hold fully remote meetings most of the time.  

Non-advisory municipal bodies will need to offer a physical location for their meetings and essentially return to pre-COVID Open Meeting Law. VLCT anticipates this will apply to most municipal public bodies.  

Hybrid Meeting Requirement, Sort Of  

There’s a big caveat to this ability of advisory bodies to meet remotely or of non-advisory bodies to meet only in-person: “any resident of the geographic area in which the public body has jurisdiction, a member of a public body, or a member of the press may request that a public body designate a physical meeting location or provide electronic or telephone access to a regular meeting, but not to a series of regular meeting, special meetings, emergency meetings, or field visits.” The request must be made in writing at least two business days before the meeting. 

During debate, it was clear that the legislature did not want this to equate to a “hybrid meeting requirement”, though it feels like one. 

The justification that it wasn’t a hybrid meeting requirement? Municipalities can deny the request if the area is under a declared emergency, an all-hazards event, a new thing called a “local incident”, or if granting the request would create an “undue hardship” on the municipality. Undue hardship is if an “action required to achieve compliance would require significant difficulty or expense in light of factors including the overall size of the entity, sufficient personnel and staffing availability, the entity’s budget, and the costs associated with compliance.” 

“Local Incident” Exceptions 

VLCT advocated for the new “local incident” concept. This allows a municipality impacted by “a weather event, loss of power or telecommunication services, public health emergency, public safety threat ... or other event that impedes a public body to hold a meeting electronically or in a designated physical location” to hold a fully in-person or fully remote meeting when they would otherwise not be allowed to under law. The highest ranking elected or appointed officer needs to declare a local incident before exercising this right. As an example, if a selectboard – a non-advisory body - was impacted by a blizzard, it could declare a local incident and have a fully remote meeting during the blizzard with no physical location, despite the law requiring non-advisory bodies to have a physical meeting location.  

Recording Requirement 

Perhaps the most distressing element of this bill is a recording requirement for all local non-advisory public bodies. Though there is an exemption if this requirement causes “undue hardship” on a municipality, the law now requires that non-advisory bodies record all meetings in audio or video form and post the recording for at least 30 days following “the approval and posting of the official minutes for a meeting.” Given that no law requires the approval or posting of “official minutes”, VLCT advises that you post your recordings for at least 30 days after your body either posts minutes or approves them. We’ll have to ask the legislature for help clarifying that one next year. We also understand the legislature was told by the Vermont State Archives & Records Administration that such recordings need to be retained by the municipality for at least a year – though we have not been given that advice directly.

Training Requirement 

Beginning January 1, 2025, all chairs of legislative bodies, town managers, and mayors will need to take an annual Open Meeting Law training developed by the Secretary of State. VLCT opposed this mandatory training requirement but will be working with the Secretary of State’s office to petition that VLCT’s training satisfies this requirement.  

Other Important OML Changes  

Included in the bill are: 

• A new website posting requirement of “an explanation of the procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law violation to the public body or the Attorney General” and associated text from the new law. 
• A new video recording and posting requirement for informational meetings held within three days of Town Meeting. The video must be posted within 24 hours of the meeting and stay up until the results of the annual meeting have been certified. 
• Expanding from 10 days to 30 days the time period a municipality shall hold a hearing before it holds a meeting using the Australian ballot method of voting; and 
• A new video recording and posting requirement for the hearings held before an Australian ballot system is used.  

H.875 Repeals 24 V.S.A. § 1984. Amends 24 V.S.A. § 2291 and 24 V.S.A. chapter 60, § 1991 – 1997.  
Effective date: January 1, 2025, except repeal of existing municipal ethics statutes takes effect upon passage and new training requirement takes effect September 30, 2025. 

This bill creates a new uniform municipal code of ethics that most municipal officers will need to follow; requires municipal legislative body members and quasi-judicial body members to take training; requires municipalities to take, investigate, and enforce ethics complaints; and implements new record keeping and reporting requirements. 

Since 2019, municipalities have been required to adopt an ordinance or a policy that defines conflicts of interest and outlines how violations will be enforced. VLCT estimates that most municipalities have done exactly that, as the State Ethics Commission recognizes 66 such policies on its website, and we’re aware of many others that have used our own model conflict of interest policy or have charter provisions addressing ethics. Moreover, we receive nearly 100 inquiries from our members a year – which almost always receive the same advice: “take a look at VLCT’s model conflict of interest policy and FAQs.” But following the issuance of a report on municipal ethics, the State Ethics Commission proposed to discard these municipal authorities and instead create a statewide municipal code of ethics. 

The House largely ignored VLCT’s input on the bill – making small changes related to prohibited conduct definitions. The Senate significantly improved the bill, making changes to whistleblower protection provisions that, if they had passed, would have allowed any citizen to file a lawsuit against any municipal official they believed violated the state’s new code of ethics, even offering punitive damages. 

VLCT ultimately opposed the bill, in large part because of the deeply flawed nature of the one-size-fits-all approach that demonstrates a distrust of municipal officials, and also because of the new unfunded mandates put on municipalities.  

The bill: 

S.220 Amends 22V.S.A. § 67, § 69, § 172, 13 V.S.A § 1702, 22 V.S.A. § 105, § 143, § 606, and 16 V.S.A. §1624.  
Effective date July 1, 2024. 

S.220, signed into law by the governor on June 3, 2024, primarily addresses library material selection, free speech, accommodations, and discrimination protections. However, sections 5 and 6 pertain to library governance, budgets, and library employee relationship within a municipality. The legal and governance structure of libraries varies greatly throughout Vermont. S.220 clarifies that trustees, managers, or directors of municipally owned libraries must: 

• Adopt bylaws and policies governing the operation of the library; establish a library budget; hold regular meetings; and ensure compliance with the terms of any funding, grants, or bequests. 
• Establish a library budget for consideration by the legislative body of the municipality for inclusion in the municipality’s budget. 
• A library director shall be under the supervision and control of the library board of trustees unless the employee relationship is otherwise specified in the municipality’s charter or by written agreement between the legislative body of the municipality and the trustees. 

Resources used for FY25 Budget analysis: 

H.657 Amends 30 V.S.A. § 7501, § 7511, § 7513, §7521, § 7523, 32 V.S.A. § 3602b added, § 3618, § 3659, § 3803, § 5401, § 606, and 16 V.S.A. § 1624.  
Effective date July 1, 2024 (PILOT Fund Appropriation) and July 1, 2025 (communications property tax) and shall apply to grand lists lodged on or after April 1, 2025. 

H.657 is an act modernizing Vermont’s communications taxes and fees, with the stated purpose “to be more competitively neutral and to provide a financial structure that equitably and sustainably finances public benefits related to communications networks in the State”.  

The bill, signed by the governor on June 3, 2024, will update and change taxes and fees assessed on telecommunications and cable providers and certain digital services.  

The bill repeals the 2.4 percent (2.4%) Universal Service Charge (USC) for landline, postpaid wireless, and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) consumers and replaces it with a $0.72 monthly charge per access line. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline has been added to the list of programs funded by the Vermont Universal Service Fund (VUSF).  

Provisions affecting municipalities include: 

• Adding all communications property to the grand list as real estate. 
• Communications property owned by a nonmunicipal communications service provider shall be taxed at appraisal value.  
• On or before May 1 of each year, the Division of Property Valuation and Review of the Department of Taxes shall provide the listers in each municipality with the valuation of all taxable communications property of any communications service provider situated therein as reported by such provider to the Division. 
• The valuations provided to the listers pursuant to this section shall be used by the listers in determining and fixing the valuations of communications property for the purposes of property taxation. 
• $150,000 is appropriated from the PILOT Special Fund to the Division of Property Valuation and Review in fiscal year 2025 for the purpose of creating a property valuation model for communications property. 
• The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Service and the Secretary of Digital Services, shall conduct a study concerning access to and use of the public right-of-way (ROW) in Vermont by telephone (wired and wireless) and broadband companies. Two studies were created to assess how to tax and charge communications property placed in the State ROW.  

S.305 Amends 3 V.S.A § 165(b), 30 V.S.A. § 8(d), § 10(c), § 102(a), § 201, § 209, § 231(a), § 248(u), § 231, § 7004(c), § 8009, § 8124, § 8125, § 8126, 32 V.S.A § 3102.  
Effective upon passage.  

This bill, signed by the governor on May 30, 2024, makes several changes to statutes related to the Public Utility Commission, including notice requirements and energy storage facilities.  

Of most interest to municipalities, it authorizes municipalities to create and operate thermal energy networks. 

Specific provisions impacting municipalities include:  

• A municipality shall have the authority to construct, operate, set rates for, finance, and use eminent domain for a thermal energy exchange network utility without a certificate of public good or approval by the Commission.  
• The Public Utility Commission shall issue a report to the House Committee on Environment and Energy and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy about how to support the development of thermal energy exchange networks and the permitting of thermal energy exchange network providers. The report shall address all aspects of the permitting, construction, operation, and rates of thermal energy exchange networks and recommend necessary statutory changes. 

H.704 Adds 21 V.S.A. § 495o. 
Effective July 1, 2025.   

The governor signed H.704 on June 4, 2024. The bill requires employers to include wage or salary information in employment advertisements. Vermont employers (including municipalities) with five or more employees will be required to include an hourly wage or annual salary, or a range, in any job advertisement. Employers are allowed to hire someone with a different wage than advertised in limited circumstances – such as labor market conditions and for candidates with special qualifications. The Attorney General is directed to issue additional guidance by January 1, 2025.  

In a related but unsuccessful legislative effort this year, a majority of the Senate had cosponsored a bill – S.237 – that would have required municipalities to also post every job opening and include a salary range. VLCT testified against the bill, and it did not leave the Senate. VLCT hopes this larger initiative satisfies those who were supporting S.237. 

S.102 Amends 3 V.S.A. § 941, 16 V.S.A. § 1992, 21 V.S.A. § 1502, § 1581, § 1584, § 1724, Adds 21 V.S.A. § 495o.  
Effective July 1, 2024.  

This bill, also known as the Captive Audience bill, prevents employers from taking a corrective action against employees who decline to attend or participate in “employer sponsored” or “required” meetings or communications in which the employer opines on “religious or political matters.” “Political matters” means political affiliation, elections, political parties, but also includes an employer’s decision to “join or support any … civic, community … or labor organization.” The governor allowed this bill to become law without his signature, citing concerns that it would negatively impact the employer-employee relationship.   

We believe the impetus for this new legislation was to prevent an employer from engaging in certain labor-avoidance campaign tactics. However, the broad language could have unintended consequences that allow employees to opt out of or refuse to attend routine workplace business, such as an employer’s expression of support during a required/recurring staff meeting for a local non-profit or community organization. In addition, workplace discussion or all-staff emails about diversity, equity, and inclusion training, ESG investment discussions (investing into funds that take environmental, social, and governance factors into consideration), Earth Day events, discussions about public health or vaccination could fall within the new law because employees may find them political in nature. This means that an employer could still raise these subjects, but should evaluate with legal counsel whether to discipline an employee who skipped a work meeting because one of these topics was a subject. 

In addition, the legislation makes it significantly easier for employees to unionize, without giving all potential unit members a say through an election. Under this new legislation, the Vermont Labor Relations Board (VLRB) can automatically certify a union as the exclusive representative of certain employees when the union presents the VLRB with over 50 percent (50%) of signed employee cards. An employer’s ability to insist on a secret ballot election is a longstanding option when it is presented with signed cards. Employers have also long had the option to voluntarily recognize unions when presented with signed cards, but typically employers want an opportunity to share its perspective on the topic with employees and, more importantly, to make sure that every potential union member has a say in whether or not they want to form a union.  

The bill is modeled after a bill Connecticut passed in 2022, which is currently subject to legal challenge in a federal court located in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (the jurisdiction that includes Vermont). A challenge to this legislation in Vermont would be costly and time-consuming. 

S.160 (Act 82) 
Effective Date February 7, 2024.  

S.160 was the first flood relief bill of the session to pass. It was signed into law on February 7, 2024.  

• This act allows a municipality to receive reimbursement of education property tax payments owed for properties that were considered lost or destroyed due to severe storms and floods in an area that was declared a federal disaster between July 1 and October 15, 2023.  

H. 839 (Act 87) 
Effective Date March 13, 2024.  

Act 87 includes important flood relief for communities impacted by last year’s floods. A total of $22.5 million in flood relief was appropriated to over 100 communities affected by flooding according to this impact found on pages 778-779. formula found on pages 778-779.  

If you are interested in more details, you can review all of VLCT's updates throughout the session on Flood Recovery.  

H.612 Amends 6 V.S.A. § 662(4), 7 V.S.A. § 864, § 868, § 869, § 881, § 907, § 910, § 951(8), § 952(e), § 955, § 977, § 978(f), 18 V.S.A § 4230(d), 20 V.S.A. § 2730(b), 24 V.S.A. § 4414a added, 32 V.S.A §7902, § 9741.  
Effective on passage, except that: (1) Sec. 6, 7 V.S.A. § 910, shall take effect on July 1, 2025; and (2) Sec. 16, setbacks for cannabis cultivation, shall take effect on January 1, 2025. 

H.612 makes a number of changes to cannabis laws in Vermont regarding both retail sales and medical cannabis. Most important to municipalities, it allows municipalities to establish minimum set-back requirements for outdoor grow operations starting January 1, 2025.  

Specific provisions of interest for municipalities:  

There shall be the following minimum setback distance between the cannabis plant canopy and a property boundary or edge of a highway:  

H.872 Amends 20 V.S.A. § 2355, 20 V.S.A. § 2371, 20 V.S.A. § 2401, 20 V.S.A. § 2407.  
Effective on passage, except for enactment of the code of conduct, changes to sanctions for violating the code of conduct, and repeal of existing Category B conduct definitions that will be replaced with the Code of Conduct, which are effective January 1, 2025.  

The legislature codified some of the recommendations of the 2023 Vermont Criminal Justice Council Authority Report, most notably directing the Criminal Justice Council to adopt a Law Enforcement Officers’ Code of Conduct. The new code will include holding officers accountable for some off-duty unprofessional conduct. The governor signed H.872 on May 29, 2024.   

H.534 Amends 13 V.S.A. § 2575, § 2577.  
Effective on July 1, 2024.  

H.534, a compromise bill to increase the penalties for repeated retail theft, was passed on the final day of the session and was signed by the governor on May 30, 2024. H.534 increases the penalties for retail theft over $250. 

• First offense: a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 
• Second offense: a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than two years, if the second offense occurs not more than two years after the first offense. 
• Third offense: a fine of not more than $1,500 or imprisonment for not more than three years, or both, if the third offense occurs not more than two years after the second offense.  
• Fourth or subsequent offense: a fine of not more than $2,500 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if the fourth offense occurs not more than two years after the immediately preceding offense.  

All fines and sentencing are subject to judicial discretion.  

H.563 Amends 13 V.S.A. § 3705, 23 V.S.A. § 1094. 
Effective July 1, 2024.  

Vehicle thefts and break-ins erode public safety and quality of life and often support other crimes. The changes in H.563, signed by the governor on May 30, 2024, will assist in prosecuting such disturbances, as Vermont notably did not have laws covering such activity. Changes enacted in H.563 are:  

Vehicle Trespass: If someone goes into another person’s car without permission and knows they’re not allowed to, they can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to $500, or both.  

S.195 Amends 13 V.S.A. § 7030, § 7551, § 7554, § 7555 and § 7559a added, § 7559, 18 V.S.A. § 4253. Repeals 13 V.S.A § 7555 on December 31, 2030.  
Effective on Passage.  

S.195, signed by the governor on May 30, 2024, allows the number of offenses with which a defendant is charged and the recent history of pending charges against a defendant to be explicit factors a court considers in imposing conditions of release. This is accomplished through:  

• Lifting the $200 cap on cash bail for individuals with multiple offenses who have been released on personal recognizance or conditions of release pending trial for another offense. 
• Creates new pretrial supervision and monitoring programs for individuals with multiple offenses or violations of conditions of release. (Adequate funding for the program is in question as the budget provides $661,000 and the estimate from the Department of Corrections was $890,000.)  
• Increases use and support for the Home Detention Program as an alternative to incarceration and to reduce the number of detainees at Vermont correctional facilities by accommodating defendants who would otherwise be incarcerated or pose a significant risk to public safety. 

S.196 Amends 13 V.S.A § 7553a.  
Effective July 1, 2024.  

S.196, a one-page bill signed by the governor on May 23, 2024, increases the evidence allowed to be considered for violent crimes and denial of bail for a person charged with a felony.  

H.645 Amends 3 V.S.A Chapter 7, 7 V.S.A. § 656, and 18 V.S.A. § 4230b.  
Effective July 1, 2024 except Sec 1 and 8.  

The pre-trial diversion bill would create a pre- and post-charge diversion for certain eligible first-time and low-level offenses. It also proposes to create a post-adjudication reparative program governed by memoranda of understanding that is required to outline eligible offenses, a process to supplement eligible offenses, evidence-based screening procedures, and confidentiality provisions.  

The governor vetoed this bill, citing that he understands the desire to help those, particularly youth, who need second, third, and even fourth chances to get their lives back on track, but H.645 is not workable because the bill expands the responsibilities of the Office of the Attorney General, which will require additional resources that were not funded. The Attorney General is hoping for a veto override, expressing that her office is prepared to do this work. Advocates for restorative justice programs point to the programs’ ability to lessen the courts’ caseload by diverting low-level cases instantly to those programs.  

H.72 Amends 18 V.S.A. § 4256, § 4475(a)(2), § 4478, adds § 9435(g), redesignates § 4254.  
Effective on passage.    

After years of discussion and debate, the legislature passed a bill that would create a pathway toward a safe injection facility in Burlington where individuals can consume pre-obtained illegal drugs and also have access to harm-reduction supplies, drug-checking services, addiction treatment, medical services, and overdose reversal medications.  

The governor vetoed H.72 on May 30, 2024. The legislative leadership is committed to try to override Governor Scott’s veto on June 17, 2024. H.72 will grant $1.1 million in fiscal year 2025 Opioid Settlement funds to the City of Burlington for establishing an overdose prevention center upon submission of a grant proposal approved by the Burlington City Council. 

S.58 Amends 33 V.S.A. § 5201, § 5203, § 5204, § 5201(d), § 5103(c), § 5206, 18 V.SA. § 4201, § 4233a, § 4234, § 4233b, § 4250, § 4252a added, § 4254(j) added.  
Effective July 1, 2024, except sections 7-11 take effect on April 1, 2025. 

The governor signed this controversial piece of legislation on May 29, 2024. 

Reducing the age to be criminally charged as an adult and discussing punishment for selling drugs resulting in death, led to many uncomfortable debates for some legislators.  

S.58 will:  

• Add increased penalties for dispensing Fetanyl and Xylazine.  
• Create a two-year minimum prison term for selling or dispensing a drug with death resulting.  
• Add crimes committed with a firearm to the list of “big 12 crimes” for which a juvenile can be tried as an adult.  
• Push back some implementation of Vermont’s “raise the age” legislation, which Governor Scott requested in his first address to the legislature this session, calling his past support a mistake.  

H.622 Amends 18 V.S.A. § 901, § 908, § 909, 24 V.S.A § 2689, 32 V.S.A § 8557.  
Effective on passage, except Section 8 and 9 take effect on July 1, 2024.  

H.622, signed by the governor on June 4, 2024, provides supports for a more comprehensive and effective emergency medical services system. The bill strives to provide better access to grants and reimbursement for medical services to providers that offer basic emergency medical services training at low or no cost to participants and supports geographic equity among the emergency medical services districts. The bill also increases funding to the Vermont Fire Service Training Council and EMS Advisory Committee.  

The bill provides new funding for reimbursement of emergency medical service providers for Medicaid beneficiaries not transported during an emergency. The bill also calls for the EMS Advisory Committee to collect the data necessary to conduct a complete inventory and assessment of the EMS services currently available in Vermont and to provide recommendations for the design of a statewide EMS system.  

S.189 Adds 18 V.S.A. § 7269, adds 33 V.S.A. § 6309. 
Effective July 1, 2024.  

S.189 was signed by the governor on May 23, 2024. The provision of most interest to municipalities directs the Department of Mental Health to develop guidelines and recommended best practices for use by municipalities (including emergency medical technicians, public safety personnel, and firefighters who are employed, volunteer, or are under contract) for de-escalation and mental health response services, including crisis response services.  

In developing the guidelines, the Department shall consult with the: Department of Health; Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living; Department of Public Safety; Vermont Care Partners; Vermont Psychiatric Survivors; Vermont chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Vermont Criminal Justice Council; Vermont League of Cities and Towns; Disability Rights Vermont; Department of Mental Health’s State Program Standing Committees; and any other stakeholders the Department of Mental Health deems appropriate.

H.585 Amends 3 V.S.A § 455, § 459, § 489, 32 V.S.A § 1182.  
Effective July 1, 2024. 

The governor signed H.585 on May 30, 2024. The bill, which adjusts state pension plans for county sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, was supported by county sheriffs to help address recruitment and retention concerns.  

A notable change is a 30 percent (30%) cut in salary for any sheriff who is not a certified law enforcement officer. The bill also calls for a report on the current funding sources and procedures for compensating State’s Attorneys as well as maintaining State’s Attorneys’ offices’ operations, including existing or needed procedures for reducing compensation for State’s Attorneys who have their attorney license suspended or terminated. Both provisions are aimed at controversies in Franklin and Addison counties, respectively.  

H.55 

• This bill did not make it across the finish line despite several popular provisions. It’s unclear if the Senate will take this bill back up when they convene for a veto session on June 17, 2024. The bill would affect:  
• Firefighter Cancer Screening Grants: The bill would require the Vermont Division of Fire Safety to subsidize the cost of providing cancer screening to all Vermont professional and volunteer firefighters, as well as all enrollees in the Vermont Fire Academy Firefighter I program. Funding was contingent upon final appropriations.  
• Unemployment Insurance (UI) Amendments: The bill would extend the period for which individuals can collect UI benefits without affecting employers’ contributions, allow the Department of Labor to waive overpayments, and impose penalties for false statements related to UI benefits. These changes were expected to have minimal fiscal impacts. 
• Unpaid Leave: The bill would amend the current statute to replace the term illness with a medical condition such as rehabilitation from an accident, illness, injury, disease, or physical or mental condition including treatment for substance use disorder.  
• Workers’ Compensation for PTSD: The bill would shift the burden of proof for PTSD claims onto the State for certain State employees, potentially increasing annual workers’ compensation insurance costs.  
• Vermont Baby Bond Pilot Program: The bill would establish a trust for designated beneficiaries born after July 1, 2024, with an initial deposit of $3,200 per individual. The program aims to provide financial support for education, housing, business investment, or retirement for children from low-income households.