[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6242006,"mediaKeyId","3251402-2ad945b5a06fc443811a41c45364a6f4","parentId",3251402,"title","House committee reviews senate changes to H.461 on unpaid leave, votes to concur in committee straw poll","audioSeconds",1059,"startMs",2423815,"endMs",3483687,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3251402-2ad945b5a06fc443811a41c45364a6f4&start=2423&end=3483","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3251402-2ad945b5a06fc443811a41c45364a6f4/thumbnail_2423815.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6242006/Vermont/House-committee-reviews-senate-changes-to-H461-on-unpaid-leave-votes-to-concur-in-committee-straw-poll","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6242006-9350f0a3bec43f4a7833637d24b40dc1/orig.mp4?Expires=1775553665&Signature=BKGLZgBJ4RABndqjxN7GWXmnQjO9uPvm52yXL~yin6nsVhp3Zz~PF15IzmMsJwOSMzJC2sND~PcksSqcXo7uW-l1r4VJiUGsLcRFHyKBbodBmcD9yggcppYcBa0wqBLuQugki9O2GgfDuUD2C3LJcsSFbuSW~b6GMYR3SajAujQkE92Zl7DBkOeQo5wn-1jYWNu8ZP74kaHQM-siqiN8WP5K4-c6wQoiGnoKwSy2n4d~f91aeko335OKKkxAN-M2h8lyfBquf1cB-hltQxrMzTM12OCzxQsxD56Dxniqd02PMeK~ayt8nSQLLh2V8acTXnaN7g9N6FrGo8iRgOEPAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-09T17:04:45Z","article","The House General and Housing Committee met May 9 to review changes the Senate made to H.461, \"An act relating to expanding unpaid leave,\" and conducted a straw-poll vote to concur with the Senate version.

Sophie, legislative staff with the Office of Legislative Counsel, summarized amendments the Senate added, including definitional changes and swaps of statutory references. Sophie told the committee the Senate adjusted the domestic-violence definition to incorporate language on \"abusive and coercive behavior\" from a cited statute (transcribed as \"15 BSA 11 o 1\") and clarified references that now cite Title 12 rather than Title 15 for certain offenses.

A committee member who identified themself as the bill author said the core intent of H.461 remained unchanged and praised the stronger safe-leave provisions. \"The safe leave section is stronger,\" the committee member said, and recommended the committee concur so the bill could be enrolled and sent on for signature. The committee member also noted the bill retained provisions to allow up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying family reasons and preserved a 2-week bereavement allowance, with an added limit that no more than five workdays of that bereavement period may be taken consecutively.

Other changes explained by Sophie included moving certain court-related leave—attendance at hearings for orders related to stalking and sexual assault—into a separate statutory section so such leave would not count against an employee's 12-week unpaid leave entitlement. The Senate also added language allowing an employer to request documentation to verify a qualifying family relationship and added a subdivision to safe leave \"to respond to a fatality or near fatality related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, either for themselves or for a family member.\" Sophie said the Senate passage was unanimous on voice vote.

The committee conducted a straw poll on a motion to concur in the Senate version of H.461. The motion was proposed from the floor by a committee member; another member seconded. By raised hands, the committee recorded a 10-0 straw-poll vote in favor of concurrence.

Why this matters: The changes clarified definitions and moved certain court-related protections into a separate bucket so those absences would not reduce employees' 12-week unpaid leave entitlement. Committee members said the changes make the safe-leave language more inclusive and administrable.

Next steps and housekeeping: Committee members agreed to a brief follow-up meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday for a run-through of related sections. Sophie said she would circulate the pulled rulemaking sections and the amended language ahead of that meeting.

Ending: Committee members expressed support for enrolling the Senate-passed language and directed staff to prepare the bill for the next floor action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House General - 2025-05-09 -1:00PM","oneSentenceSummary","The House General and Housing Committee reviewed the Senate-passed version of H.461, a bill expanding unpaid leave, discussed definitional changes and safe-leave provisions, and conducted a straw poll to concur with the Senate version (10-0).","taxTitle","General & Housing, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",30954,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6242010,"Experts tell House panel state should fund technical help for rural school building reuse",2360,33760,2394734,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3251402-2ad945b5a06fc443811a41c45364a6f4&start=33&end=2394","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3251402-2ad945b5a06fc443811a41c45364a6f4/thumbnail_33760.jpg","/articles/6242010/Vermont/Experts-tell-House-panel-state-should-fund-technical-help-for-rural-school-building-reuse","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6242010-4693e949477a02fe1a9e5fa94351d604/orig.mp4?Expires=1775553665&Signature=WKCmqfWow69BNcsUrP5p9EpcX7B7jHk8uIOVkZV-uQz2Piy9X0SK9ZL28jB24nXun5IiRETKR4xR~4aD40oRGlMYi7zRWGSqW-0dtkPo3DzNEBA6tEact1-fsu2aTkE~rPfzMCyzg~eJF~INZ~-sQaXq~EFza0SQe2AuF~LgHWd659oCVgcbhmhzfyrniz8XXrqBR-H~z5-u344ofz9IbjQASN~yCZK85MbTqLgplr9KlRFHTO2iYZvJZs~1FF5u-uPSU76gwM8f3sUW~ZF5YGI7XZ9dLJ3HN6gI~N27~zfm1BDw5Vxcr33yk9~LQ5Bns1OS3ccbt22NyZpBfu9TWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Two consultants told the House General and Housing Committee on May 9 that Vermont communities facing school closures need state-funded technical assistance and seed money to make adaptive reuse feasible.

Peter Fairweather, proprietor of Fairweather Consulting, and Greg Gossens, partner with GBA Architects and Planners, described lengthy, expensive reuse processes and said volunteers who usually lead the work often lack resources to complete market analyses, feasibility studies and renovation projects.

The experts said school closures typically follow local population loss or economic decline, leaving large buildings that are often liabilities rather than assets. \"This whole process is a very emotional process. School buildings are important to people,\" Fairweather said. He described three upstate New York examples where two former schools attracted buyers quickly because of location near an interstate or a river, while a third remote property remained unsold and was later auctioned.

Gossens said physical constraints often rule out some reuses. He described a 33,000-square-foot former high school that \"was physically not feasible\" for housing and a 90,000-square-foot Park Street School that has taken about eight years to partially backfill. \"To renovate it, just even to the most modicum levels, was a little over a hundred dollars a square foot,\" he said, noting that the size of such buildings can exceed local demand.

Why this matters: committee members and witnesses said if school closures result from statewide education policy decisions, the state should fund more than demolition or transfer. Fairweather and Gossens recommended a central resource—such as a clearinghouse or an office that tracks civic-facility reuse and provides guidance, funding information and technical help—so small towns do not shoulder complex redevelopment alone.

Details from testimony: witnesses outlined the typical components of reuse work: a market analysis to identify demand (child care, recreation, housing, small business space), a physical inventory and feasibility study, community outreach, and project management to assemble funding. Fairweather said the market/feasibility work they have done typically runs about $25,000. Gossens said renovation costs can vary widely depending on use, and gave an example in which converting a building for child care could cost about $300 per square foot—too expensive to be covered by typical nonprofit or community rents.

Witnesses and committee members identified common funding channels and partners used in successful projects: municipal planning grants (state-level), regional development corporations, Springfield Regional Development Corporation, Twin Pines Housing Trust, the Tug Hill Commission (an example from New York), historic rehabilitation tax credits, new markets tax credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) programs. They also described projects that used many small grants to hire development consultants who in turn assembled larger funding packages.

Committee members asked practical questions about holding costs and urgency. Gossens described a Park Street School whose heating system was failing and required six-figure expenditures just to keep the building minimally heated, creating pressure to find short-term fixes while pursuing long-term reuse. Fairweather said communities can also face a \"mourning process\" when reuse efforts fail and urged assistance for communities to pivot to other assets.

Speakers said volunteer-led efforts are often heroic but insufficient without a predictable, state-supported pipeline of technical assistance and seed funding. Several committee members asked whether the League of Cities and Towns or regional development corporations could play the role of broker; witnesses indicated those organizations can help but are sometimes understaffed, so a centralized, statewide program or fund would improve outcomes.

Ending: Witnesses said reuse can succeed and substantially revitalize small communities when technical assistance, market analysis, realistic financing and strong local engagement align, but that such alignment is uncommon without state support.","Consultants testifying to the House General and Housing Committee urged the state to provide seed funding and a central clearinghouse to help rural communities and volunteers convert closed school buildings to new uses, citing high costs, technical complexity and emotional community impacts.","actionData","errors"]

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House committee reviews senate changes to H.461 on unpaid leave, votes to concur in committee straw poll

Experts tell House panel state should fund technical help for rural school building reuse