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Committee agrees to add Vermont Sheriffs Association designee to H.44 impaired-driving task force
Summary
Members of the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee agreed in a straw vote to add the president of the Vermont Sheriffs Association, or a designee, to the task force created in H.44; edited amendment language will be filed and a formal vote is expected at a later meeting.
The Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee signaled informal approval Thursday to add the president of the Vermont Sheriffs Association, or a designee, as a member of the impaired-driving task force established in H.44.
The move, taken by a straw thumbs-up to proceed after legislative counsel presented an unedited instance-of-amendment, would amend section 5 of H.44 to insert the sheriffs association representative into subsection (b). Ben Novogratz, legislative counsel, described the change as adding "the president of the Vermont Sheriffs Association or designee" to the task force and said the committee would record edited language and take a formal vote at a later meeting.
Mark Anderson, sheriff of Wyndham County and president of the Vermont Sheriffs Association, told the committee the association wants to participate because sheriff's departments typically "coordinate those grants and we sub grant out to municipal police departments and other organizations." Anderson said that coordination covers impaired-driving work, occupant-protection efforts, work-zone enforcement and the drug recognition expert program for suspected drug-impaired drivers.
Committee members and counsel discussed why adding the sheriffs association made sense procedurally and substantively. Counsel told members that adding one seat creates an odd-numbered panel, which helps avoid tie votes on the task force.
No formal, recorded roll-call vote was taken on the amendment during the meeting. Committee members agreed to proceed with the amendment language as an unedited draft for the moment; Novogratz advised that committees typically vote on edited drafts and that House Appropriations was expected to review the measure on Friday. The committee chair said a formal vote would be scheduled the following day so the edited language could be circulated.
The discussion focused on membership and drafting mechanics; there was no debate recorded on the substantive criteria or duties of the task force beyond the reasons for including the sheriffs association. The committee did not remove any existing members and instead planned to enlarge the task force by one seat.
