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Senate amendments to H.397 add voluntary buyout grant use, tighten dam drawdown process and freeze federal rule references
Summary
On May 29 the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee reviewed and concurred informally with the Senate’s proposal of amendment to H.397, which adds express authority to use resilience grant funds for voluntary buyouts, creates a director-level assessment and governor consultation process for pre-storm dam drawdowns, and temporarily freezes incorporated federal regulatory references in state agency rules.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on May 29 reviewed the Senate’s proposal of amendment to H.397, a broad emergency-management and municipal-finance bill, and signaled concurrence. The Senate changes include an express use of community resilience and disaster mitigation grant funds for voluntary buyouts, a revised process for pre-storm dam drawdowns, and a temporary freeze on incorporated federal regulations in state agency rules.
Parker Anderson, legislative counsel, walked members through a section-by-section summary. He said the senate condensed some duties of the Division of Emergency Management and left in a requirement for an annual report to the committee on updates to the all-hazards mitigation plan.
On voluntary buyouts, Anderson said the Senate inserted language expressly allowing grant funds to be used for a voluntary buyout program rather than creating a standalone buyout program in this bill. “Instead of having the standalone voluntary buyout program, it's been incorporated as an express use of the current grant program,” he said.
On dam drawdowns, Anderson said the Senate substantially amended the section to make the timing and authority clearer. The bill would authorize the director of the Division of Emergency Management to assess whether there is a reasonably anticipated flood event that could cause substantial injury to persons or property; following that assessment, the governor — in consultation with the secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources — would issue an order that could waive applicable permits to allow a dam operator to perform a drawdown in advance of the event. Anderson noted that federal and other state laws can overlap with this process, and operators of federally regulated (FERC) dams will have separate considerations.
“If you don't have a plan, you'll have to have one for you to draw those waters down,” Anderson said, summarizing the bill’s requirement that a dam operator have a plan that meets specified minimum elements before acting under a waived permit.
The Senate also added a provision to the Administrative Procedures Act that freezes references to federal regulations incorporated into state agency rules as of Jan. 1, 2025, and preserves their meaning until Jan. 30, 2029, unless an agency initiates rulemaking to adjust the references. Anderson described the provision as a way to prevent automatic changes in state rules when corresponding federal regulations change.
Other Senate changes preserved a local-option tax revenue shift to a 75/25 split for specified municipal pilots, reinstated a debt-service level provision removed earlier in the House process, and included session-law refunds to municipalities — specifically a $437,028 refund to the city of Barre and a $184,451 refund to the town of Milton for insufficient retention of tax increment from their TIF districts.
Committee members expressed support for the Senate’s work; the committee’s reporter and other members said they had been in close communication with Senate colleagues. The committee took an informal thumbs poll to concur with the Senate’s proposal of amendment; the clerk recorded the result as 8-0-3.
Ending: The committee registered informal concurrence with the Senate's proposal of amendment and will monitor floor timing as the bill moves to the House floor.
