Vermont House introduces nine bills, appoints committee members and reads three congratulatory resolutions

The Vermont House of Representatives on Jan. 21 gave first readings to nine bills, referred each to a standing committee, appointed members to two joint legislative committees and read three house concurrent resolutions congratulating Richford Junior-Senior High School athletic teams.

Members opened the session with a devotional and the Pledge of Allegiance before the House Clerk read the titles of the nine introduced measures and the presiding officer referred each to the committee named on the floor. The bills cover a range of topics including impaired driving, firearms in alcohol-licensed premises, a rare disease advisory council, a dental licensure compact, motor-vehicle soot emissions, an electronic roll-call system for the House, identifying state property for conversion to affordable housing, miscellaneous alcoholic beverage statute amendments, and changing greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements to goals.

The introductions are the formal first step for each measure; no committee hearings or floor votes on the bills occurred during the session. Lawmakers also announced appointments to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules and the Joint Committee on Judicial Retention, and read three house concurrent resolutions…