Lawmakers, recovery official review H.397 text on flood preparedness, buyouts and financing

State lawmakers and the State of Vermont’s chief recovery officer on Friday reviewed H.397, a bill that would create a clearer statewide framework for flood preparedness, response and recovery and add financial and technical assistance for municipalities.

Douglas Farnham, chief recovery officer for the State of Vermont, told the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs that his office has begun talks with agencies implicated by the bill — the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), the Agency of Transportation (AOT), Public Safety and the Agency of Human Services (AHS) — but has not yet received detailed agency analyses. “I would say I’ve started to talk with all of the agencies that are implicated by this bill,” Farnham said, noting the conversations are ongoing.

The committee heard that some H.397 provisions overlap with changes enacted in Act 143 (2024), which created a State Emergency Management Plan in Title 20, Section 41. Farnham recommended the bill explicitly build out the plan’s recovery element, saying the existing statute is “pretty high level” and that recovery roles and responsibilities are more ambiguous than preparedness and immediate response.

Why it matters: The bill would affect how Vermont coordinates and pays for medium- and long-term recovery after floods and other disasters. Committee members pressed on how the bill would interact with federal programs and state funding capacity, and Farnham warned several provisions could be costly.

Key funding and program notes

Farnham said the…