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Senate advances H.397 to expand flood response tools, municipal finance options and dam drawdown authority
Summary
The Vermont Senate advanced H.397, a wide-ranging bill that would change requirements for emergency planning, authorize grant funding for voluntary buyouts of flood‑prone properties, allow limited pre‑event dam drawdowns with approved plans, and alter municipal finance rules including local option tax revenue sharing.
The Vermont Senate advanced H.397, an act addressing emergency management and flood response, by adopting committee amendments and ordering the bill for third reading after committee reporters outlined changes to flood planning, municipal finance, and dam management.
The bill would require the Division of Emergency Management (Vermont Emergency Management) to report annually to government operations committees on actions and the all‑hazards mitigation plan, to consult with relevant stakeholders when preparing the state emergency plan, and to provide assistance to municipalities seeking access to statewide river observation/modeling and enhanced weather forecasting systems. The Senate amendment narrowed a House proposal that would have created more prescriptive municipal planning requirements into a more general consultation mandate.
H.397 explicitly authorizes a grant program to support voluntary buyouts of flood‑impacted properties but does not include a new appropriation for that grant program in the text as reported; committee members noted the division already supports a voluntary buyout program…
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