House Commerce Committee reports H.137 favorably; bill includes Medigap language, coerced-debt study deadline and one-year kiosk moratorium extension

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on Feb. 28 voted 11-0 to report favorably, striking all amendments to draft 1.6 of H.137, a bill that includes Medigap provisions, sets a deadline for a coerced-debt study’s final findings and extends the moratorium on virtual currency kiosks.

Committee Chair (name not specified), opening the reconvened session, said, “This is the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development,” and led members through a walk-through of draft 1.6 before the recorded vote.

The committee discussion identified three discrete changes in draft 1.6. First, the bill sets a deadline for the coerced-debt study’s final findings and recommendations to be submitted “on or before January 15” (the transcript does not specify the year). Second, sections identified in the draft (noted in the meeting as sections 20 and 21) add Medigap language that the committee said had been discussed with legislative counsel and reviewed informally in House Health Care. Committee staff noted the Medigap provisions have an adjusted effective date and, as discussed in the meeting, the Medigap provisions “do not take effect until January first of 2026.” Third, section 22 extends the existing moratorium on virtual currency kiosks by one year, moving the moratorium’s expiration to July 1, 2026.

Representative Dave made the motion to report favorably and strike all amendments to draft 1.6; Representative Tony seconded the motion. The clerk then called the roll; the transcript records affirmative votes by Representatives Bosch, Putin, Caris Duncan, Cooper, Duke, Miklos, Olson, Priestley, White, Granny and Markle, for a recorded favorable vote of 11. The committee noted a reporter would be assigned and the draft would be posted/printed for the record.

Committee members and staff indicated the draft may still require editing before final submission; one staff member said the draft “still needs to go through editing.” Committee members also referenced prior consideration in House Health Care for the Medigap language and said they would confirm specific edits with House Health Care staff.

What the committee approved in its motion was to report the draft favorably and remove the amendments as presented in draft 1.6. No additional amendments, fiscal notes or subsequent votes on H.137 are recorded in this transcript.

Next steps recorded during the meeting included submitting the final printed copy and posting the committee’s report; committee staff discussed logistics for printing and posting the version that will be transmitted for further legislative processing.

Votes at a glance H.137 (draft 1.6) — Motion: Report favorably; strike all amendments (motion text as stated in meeting) — Moved by Representative Dave; seconded by Representative Tony — Vote: 11 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain — Outcome: Approved (favorable report).