House concurs in Senate changes to flood-response bill; adds buyout authorization, dam-drawdown rules, local-tax split change

Representative from Vergennes presented the Senate proposal of amendment to House Bill H.397, a package of miscellaneous amendments to statutes governing emergency management and flood response.

The Senate amendment requires Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) to report annually to the House and Senate government operations committees on actions under the all-hazards mitigation plan and narrows a House provision to require VEM to consult with relevant stakeholders prior to adopting the comprehensive state emergency management plan. The amendment expressly authorizes the existing voluntary buyout program by allowing grant awards to be used for voluntary buyouts of flood-impacted or flood-prone properties and requires the division to assist municipalities, upon request, with access to a statewide river-observation and modeling system and an enhanced statewide weather-forecasting and alert system.

H.397 adds a needs-assessment requirement and directs…