Vermont House gives first reading to five bills, refers each to committee

The Vermont House of Representatives on the floor introduced five House bills and read each for the first time before referring them to the appropriate committee.

House Bill 33, “an act relating to expanding employee access to unpaid leave,” was introduced by Representative Hedrick of Burlington and referred to the Committee on General and Housing. House Bill 34, “an act relating to workforce leadership in Vermont,” introduced by Representative Marcotte of Coventry and others, was referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development. House Bill 35, “an act relating to unmerging the individual and small group health insurance markets,” introduced by Representative Houghton of Essex Junction, was referred to the Committee on Health Care. House Bill 36, “an act relating to family forensic evaluators,” introduced by Representative Goodnow of Brattleboro and Representative Malone of South Burlington, was referred to the Committee on Judiciary. House Bill 37, “an act relating to the consolidation of Vermont school districts to align with career and technical education service regions,” introduced by Representative Harrison of Chittenden, was referred to the Committee on Education.

Clerks read each bill title following their introduction. There was no recorded debate on the floor during the first readings; each bill was sent to the committee named at the time of first reading for further consideration. Committees will determine whether to hold hearings, amend the bills or recommend further action to the full House.

The introductions took place during the House’s regular session and were announced by the presiding officer before the clerk performed the statutory first readings. Next steps, including committee schedules or public hearing dates, were not specified on the record.