House committee favors H.398 strike-all amendment adding disaster-recovery loan language, climate projects and agricultural eligibility

Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development members reported favorably on H.398 (draft 1.2) on March 19, 2025, advancing a strike-all amendment that updates statutory language for an economic-development strategy, adds climate-mitigation projects to eligible activities, creates a disaster recovery loan fund with a consultation waiver for declared disasters, and adds agricultural enterprises to an appropriation.

The committee's legislative counsel, Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Counsel, told members the amendment was a "strike all" and that he had made a few minor changes since the committee reviewed an earlier draft that morning. "And since they were all really relatively minor, I simply updated it to draft 1.2," Wood said. He described three substantive edits: (1) clarifying that the authority "shall make a determination" and that determinations and findings by the authority would be conclusive, (2) adding language to allow projects that reduce, mitigate, or eliminate the effects of climate change to be included, and (3) adding a sentence in the disaster recovery loan fund provision that "the consultation shall not be required in the event there is a disaster declaration declared by the governor or the president of The United States."

Wood also said he had added "agricultural enterprises" to an appropriation section so the funding language would cover both businesses and agricultural enterprises. He noted the consultation waiver was intended to allow the authority to dispense funds without the standard consultation process if a formal disaster declaration exists.

Committee members asked for clarification about the geographic scope of the disaster declaration language. One member asked whether the waiver should be limited to a declaration affecting Vermont specifically. Wood and other committee speakers discussed possible readings: Wood said the text "disaster events impacting areas of the state" provides coverage for disasters that affect Vermont and that the committee could add language to limit the waiver to state declarations if it preferred. He also said, in a narrower reading, funds would generally be intended for economic activity within Vermont.

The committee moved and seconded a motion to report favorably on H.398 (draft 1.2). The motion was seconded by Representative Carys Duncan. The committee recorded the following votes on the motion: Representative Bosch (yes); Representative Booten (yes); Representative Carys Duncan (yes); Representative Cooper (yes); Representative Duke (yes); Representative Miklos (yes); Representative Olson (yes); Representative White (yes); Representative Granny (yes); Representative Markoff (yes). The committee's motion to report favorably was approved and the item was forwarded to the floor; committee staff said they would provide a clean copy of the amendment for the reporter and the clerk.

The changes in draft 1.2 leave key implementation details to the administering authority and to subsequent drafting choices (for example, whether to limit the disaster-consultation waiver to in-state declarations). The transcript shows committee members and counsel flagged that limiting language can be added if the committee prefers, but the amendment as reported allows the consultation waiver when a disaster declaration is issued by a governor or the U.S. president and expressly extends eligibility to agricultural enterprises and to projects addressing climate change.

What happens next: committee staff said they would transmit clean copies to the clerk and that the committee's reporter would carry the bill to the floor. No appropriation amounts or fund totals were specified in the transcript.