House Education Committee debates H.129 rulemaking, advisory board makeup and funding for school construction

The Vermont House Education Committee on March 13 discussed H.129, a bill to establish a state school construction program that would shift much of the program's rulemaking to the Agency of Education (AOE) and create an eight‑member School Construction Advisory Board to advise on priorities, bonus incentives and project approval.

Committee members said the most pressing unresolved questions are where rulemaking authority should live, what the advisory board's substantive role should be, how the board should be composed, and how the program will be funded alongside broader conversations about a possible foundation formula for education funding.

At the start of the meeting counsel identified the bill and the place where rulemaking is assigned. John Gray, vice counsel, read the current statutory delegation and told the committee that the agency "is responsible for adopting rules, including rules to specify a point prioritization methodology and a bonus incentive structure aligned with the legislative intent." Gray added that one way to limit delegation anxiety is to spell out substantive aims in statute so rulemaking authority is more tightly cabined.

Several committee members said they were reluctant to leave broad discretion solely to…