Senate Government Operations Committee signals concurrence on H.472 after House amends OPR bill

The Senate Government Operations Committee met May 30 and reviewed House amendments to H.472, commonly called the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) bill, indicating the committee would report the bill with concurrence after discussing four specific amendments.

Tim Devlin, legislative counsel, told the committee the House sent “four instances of amendment,” including a technical change to the classification of a new executive‑level position, removal of sections tied to early childhood educator licensure, renumbering and effective‑date corrections, and a new requirement that the secretary of state report revenues from optional data sales. “On or before January 1, 2025, the secretary of state shall submit … a written report detailing the revenues generated from optional services through sales of data authorized pursuant to 3 V.S.A. §118(c)(4),” Devlin said, describing the scope and the committees that would receive the report.

Why it matters: the amendments change implementation details in a bill that touches professional licensure, potential data sales by the secretary of state’s office, and a set of provisions affecting early childhood educator licensure that were removed by the House. The committee’s action keeps the bill moving toward final disposition while narrowing the parts of the proposal that would take effect if enacted.

Most substantive details discussed

• Amendment count and scope: Devlin summarized four amendments from the House. The first altered the classification language for a proposed new permanent, full‑time executive officer charged with regulation of mental health professions; the language would change how the position is classified (Devlin described this as a technical correction). The second amendment removed sections 14–18, which had included provisions on early childhood educator licensure. The third amendment renumbered subsequent sections and adjusted effective‑date cross‑references. The fourth created a reporting requirement for the secretary of state on revenues from optional services, including one‑time or subscription sales of data.

• Data sales reporting: Devlin described the types of data involved as professional‑licensure information and other records maintained by the secretary of state’s offices—corporate registration, elections, and professional licensing—and said that some of those data are already publicly available and are collected by third parties. He summarized the reporting requirement in the House amendment: the secretary of state must report revenue totals and categories of data sold to specified House and Senate committees.

• Early childhood educator provisions removed: Committee discussion noted the House stripped the early childhood educator licensure sections, in part because the appropriations necessary to implement those provisions were not included. Committee members said that, without funding, the provisions could not be implemented and are likely to be taken up separately in the next legislative year.

• Committee disposition: Committee members indicated they were comfortable reporting the bill with concurrence to the House amendments. There was no roll‑call vote recorded in the committee transcript; the record shows members verbally agreeing to proceed.

Quotes and attributions

• “Four instances of amendment …” — Tim Devlin, legislative counsel, describing the House changes.

• “I am sad that we took out the entirety of it, and I would have hoped we could have maybe had some incremental steps to get there…” — Senator White, during discussion of the removal of early childhood educator provisions.

What the committee did not decide

The committee did not adopt new policy beyond concurrence with the House language: the transcript records no formal roll‑call vote and no new appropriations or implementation plans were authorized. Committee members spoke about revisiting the early childhood educator topic next year but did not set a formal schedule or create new obligations beyond the reporting requirement tied to data sales.

Next steps

The House amendments will be part of the bill text as the committee indicated concurrence; the secretary of state will be required to file the revenue report described in the amendment by the date specified in the amendment. Committee members said the early childhood educator provisions are likely to be reconsidered in a future session if funding is identified.