Secretary of State: current business filings won’t identify renewable-energy firms, limiting H.125 data goals

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas told the House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure on Feb. 18 that the state’s existing business registration system cannot reliably identify businesses operating in the renewable energy sector, complicating the committee’s efforts tied to H.125.

The statement came during testimony from Copeland Hanzas and David Hall, director of business services for the Office of the Secretary of State, about what the office’s business database currently captures and what it does not. “We don't currently have categories in business filings that would enable us to specifically identify businesses that are operating in the renewable energy realm,” Copeland Hanzas said.

That limitation matters because the bill before the committee seeks to assemble data about the renewable-energy market in Vermont. Copeland Hanzas and Hall told members that the filings the office receives are largely self‑reported, that the statutory filing requirements are minimal, and that the office generally does not verify or expand business-provided information.

“I'm going to have…