[{"_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",6246720,"mediaKeyId","3216443-91d1336b109d2b6678fde63116447153","parentId",3216443,"title","Committee schedules review of enforcement on online vape sales after pilot investigator grant","audioSeconds",172,"startMs",856190,"endMs",1028370,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3216443-91d1336b109d2b6678fde63116447153&start=856&end=1028","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3216443-91d1336b109d2b6678fde63116447153/thumbnail_856190.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6246720/Vermont/Committee-schedules-review-of-enforcement-on-online-vape-sales-after-pilot-investigator-grant","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246720-a95087ff751f6a1fe5737d0170ceb569/orig.mp4?Expires=1773654824&Signature=Pzw7EGIVpWzYitQZgl2I1oS2TPjkmz-V3epZFMtVGyLA5Xuqe5wwR8QCsJQMHI2r8LO-rWWL4ZJchlsqjM0~TNGs~b0qlczOBRgwNqG~3L8RYcswiksjz9rjok3KbgmWB80U0pyzNjbkX7nmUf8dIs2wS1FyysbliGqlouj0Q9p6xhcFv9zplA-gTlaE6SDOpOns6Mce4zoTXNYq0s-hKuc5hUh~nbBa8pOwgIebO8IcbHyfQKz7Y4pPD0UfNu~Jd8gEghh5gBBuzH0v2qxTCH72aZIWvcNGeF3~sZxOq2toLmRpbJLTJbRlfxFqY94pGaEezFAf40p~I5PV-U5I2w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-08T06:07:46Z","article","A House committee said it will meet May 8 at 9 a.m. in Room 10 to review how the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Attorney General's Office are identifying businesses that sell vaping products online into Vermont, and to assess a pilot investigator program that targeted out-of-state sellers.

A committee member told members the pilot program received a grant of about $800,000 to support a part-time investigator who made undercover purchases online; investigative findings were then referred to the Attorney General for enforcement. \"They could provide an investigator,\" the member said, describing the chain from buys to AG prosecution.

Members said enforcement — not new regulation of Vermont businesses — is the first priority. \"It's not more regulation that needs to be done to Vermont businesses. It's more...we need to enforce the laws that we already have on the books,\" the committee member said, arguing that the supply of products to minors appears to come primarily from outside the state.

The committee framed the May 8 meeting as a fact-finding step before considering additional regulatory measures on in-state businesses. No formal votes or motions were recorded in the transcript; the item was listed as a topic for the next meeting with Human Services and partner agencies, and committee members discussed possible next steps including funding a dedicated investigator within the committee's unit if outside enforcement is not available or sufficient.

The committee also linked the topic to broader public-health discussions about youth access to vaping products and said it will report back after the scheduled meeting with Human Services and the agency partners.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Commerce - 2025-05-07 - 1:45PM","oneSentenceSummary","Members said they will meet with Human Services and the Department of Liquor and Lottery to review a pilot that funded a part-time investigator to buy and trace online sales of vaping products, with the Attorney General's office pursuing cases; the committee said it will assess enforcement before proposing additional regulation.","taxTitle","Commerce & Economic Development, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",36720,"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},6246724,"Vermont tourism office says $350,000 base budget cut followed internal reallocation to 'Grow Grants'",816,19195,836075,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3216443-91d1336b109d2b6678fde63116447153&start=19&end=836","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3216443-91d1336b109d2b6678fde63116447153/thumbnail_19195.jpg","/articles/6246724/Vermont/Vermont-tourism-office-says-350000-base-budget-cut-followed-internal-reallocation-to-Grow-Grants","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246724-09072bf13e32674f381322c56ab8200c/orig.mp4?Expires=1773654824&Signature=S85KWFwuc71WTUxFr6jUl3SWtzKdIryERQV94sNvStVNiIDdQOLQI2zT-uRyuofzKpNwlYoPUTNw1MC~RFM4A3r5J29WUx3KRIKVcPUz1WqmrYUflwJbW5Pne8t8vJfGshF2Iu1VeeIW8-VF-VQ2xsHERnfxcXzaX4-3UGtxIhV9rmBUx6iTcbG6D9q04uGSKUVEX~OtvvPkgLshWjPrADm8rSZPwB-JyMjS2ja5GbXXxR5H-Sif1SLDTEiS43kIdgkKWlcopB1SEz8R55JCoBM2~dMAMpEzjeQj4TN~XhJTtw3wAU-q1n51EOZs0VRYp7xw07okhZxAEQEpPuiwTw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Lindsay Curley, secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee on May 7 that the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) lost about $350,000 from its base budget after an internal reallocation intended to expand regional \"Grow Grants\" was treated as an increase during budget conference and removed.

Curley said the department moved existing operating funds into a line item for Grow Grants — a program she described as supporting local and regional efforts to recruit and retain workers, including healthcare workers, hospitality employees and educators. \"It wasn't new money. It's just moving our money around,\" Curley said, explaining the change was meant to provide grants to underserved counties such as Lamoille, Grand Isle and parts of the Northeast Kingdom.

The nut of Curley's message to the committee was fiscal scale and risk: VDTM's statewide marketing budget is \"under 5,000,000\" dollars, she said, while neighboring states spend far more — New York about $60 million, Massachusetts $16.7 million and New Hampshire $14 million. Curley also said tourism supports \"31,000 jobs, that's 10% of our state,\" and brings in about $4,000,000,000 in annual spending.

Curley described the Grow Grants as originally funded with a one-time $1,300,000 allocation, later partly placed into the base (she said there was subsequently about $500,000 in base funding), and then supplemented by reallocating amounts from the department's advertising budget so more regions could participate. She told the committee those internal transfers \"arguably kind of called attention to something that we didn't need to show\" and that conferees in the appropriations process appeared to interpret the move as a net increase.

Committee members asked for program data and outcomes. Curley said she could provide reporting figures from regions that used the grants and cited Rutland and Bennington as places that found the grants helpful for recruiting and retention; she said final reporting is required of grant recipients. Curley also said the department had raised the issue with both House and Senate appropriations staff and would press conferees in ongoing negotiations to restore the funding to the department's base budget.

The discussion was descriptive and procedural; there were no motions or formal committee actions reported during the exchange. Curley urged the committee to consider the timing and market implications given declining Canadian visitation and stressed the department's limited marketing resources.

Curley said she would continue to press the conferees to address the cut and provide the committee with program data upon request.","Lindsay Curley, secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee that an internal reallocation to expand regional \"Grow Grants\" was interpreted as a budget increase and removed in conference, reducing the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing's base by about $350,000.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee schedules review of enforcement on online vape sales after pilot investigator grant

Vermont tourism office says $350,000 base budget cut followed internal reallocation to 'Grow Grants'