Senate advances annual technical corrections bill, orders third reading

H.463, the annual technical corrections bill compiled by Legislative Council, was advanced in the Vermont Senate Tuesday and ordered for third reading after the chamber agreed to a small amendment.

Senator Michael Clarkson, ranking member of the Senate Government Operations Committee, presented the bill as a routine but large package of clerical and style changes. “This is the annual technical corrections bill from our office of legislative counsel,” Clarkson said, noting the work covers multiple statute titles and “makes a lot of changes of a technical nature.” He said the 101-page bill contains 58 sections and “appropriates no money.”

Legislative counsel compiled corrections to grammar, cross-references, obsolete provisions and statutory names in multiple titles, including the executive branch, public safety and motor vehicle volumes, in part so the Vermont Statutes Annotated publisher can update printed volumes later this year. Clarkson and witness Legislative Counsel Ben Novogrovsky described changes ranging from removing gendered pronouns to renaming the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to “annual comprehensive financial report.” Novogrovsky’s work was noted in committee testimony; the committee reported the bill out on a 5–0 vote.

The Senate accepted a brief amendment on the floor that inserts a missing preposition in section 7 and then voted to propose the committee’s amendments to the House. The chamber then ordered third reading for the bill.

The action does not appropriate funds and, per the sponsor’s remarks, is intended to improve clarity and consistency across statutes rather than change policy.

The Senate Government Operations Committee heard one witness, Legislative Counsel Ben Novogrovsky, and recommended the bill with an amendment. The committee’s report and the floor amendment addressed a limited set of drafting issues; no substantive policy changes were presented on the floor.