Senate advances cannabis, digital services, agriculture and school epinephrine measures; autism privacy resolution referred

The Senate passed four pieces of legislation and referred a resolution on autism privacy during a floor session.

Senators approved H.321, an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis amendments; H.458, an act relating to the Agency of Digital Services; and H.484, an act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects. The chamber also concurred in the House proposal of amendment to H.209, an act relating to intranasal epinephrine in schools. Senate Resolution 15 urging state agencies to protect the civil rights, medical confidentiality and personal privacy of people diagnosed with autism was read and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

Why it matters: the bills affect state regulatory frameworks for cannabis, digital services infrastructure, wetlands and agricultural permitting, and school health protocols for administering epinephrine. The autism resolution signals the Senate’s interest in state protections for health and privacy as federal agencies consider data collections.

H.321 (miscellaneous cannabis amendments): The bill received third reading and passed in concurrence with a proposal of amendment. There was no floor debate recorded prior to the third reading and passage.

H.458 (Agency of Digital Services): The bill received third reading and passed in concurrence with a proposal of amendment. No amendments were offered on the floor during the third reading recorded in the transcript.

H.484 (miscellaneous agricultural subjects): The Senate considered an amendment offered by the Senator from Grand Isle that the sponsor described as clarifying how Vermont’s wetland rules apply in "tier 1A/1B" areas, including industrial parks and designated growth centers. The Senator from Grand Isle said the amendment would, in those areas, "reduce the buffer zone in those areas from 50 feet to 25 feet" and change mitigation ratios "from 2 to 1 to 1 to 1," arguing the change would "right size our wetlands permitting to enable more homes to be built" while continuing statewide wetland protections. The sponsor said the amendment had support from the Agency of Natural Resources and the Department of Housing and Community Development and cited Clean Water Initiative tracking showing voluntary wetland conservation and restoration: "for fiscal 2024 alone, 135 acres of wetland was reported as voluntarily conserved" and "nearly only 1 acre of wetland was filled." After describing the amendment and its intended housing benefits (the sponsor said it could allow, in some cases, "20 more units of housing" on already permitted properties), the Senator from Grand Isle asked to withdraw the amendment and did so. Later on third reading, the Senate passed H.484 in concurrence with a proposal of amendment.

Floor discussion on H.484 also included questions about the "heavy cut" rule and current use valuation: a senator noted that the heavy cut rule is "pretty infrequent" since it was enacted in 1997, and staff from the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) was cited as expecting a "de minimis" impact on state revenues from a change in how donated crop value is treated under current use (section 5).

H.209 (intranasal epinephrine in schools): The Senate took up a small technical amendment to a bill previously passed by the body. The Senator from Bennington described the change as an addition to the definition of "school nurse," adding a clause to allow "registered nurses certified through the Office of Professional Regulation" who are contracted to perform the duties of a school nurse to be counted for the purposes of the bill. The sponsor said the amendment responds to difficulties in recruiting school nurses and that the amendment was unanimously supported in a committee straw poll. The Senate concurred in the House proposal of amendment to the Senate proposal of amendment.

SR 15 (Senate resolution on autism privacy): The resolution, offered by Senator Bechovsky and others, was read on the floor as "SR 15. Senate resolution urging that all state agencies, departments, and offices protect the civil rights, medical confidentiality and all aspects of personal privacy" for people diagnosed with autism, in light of a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Human Services to establish an autism research database. The chair took the resolution and, at its discretion, treated it as a bill and referred it to the Committee on Health and Welfare for consideration.

Votes at a glance - H.321: Passed (third reading, concurred with proposal of amendment). Voice vote recorded as "Ayes have it." No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. - H.458: Passed (third reading, concurred with proposal of amendment). Voice vote recorded as "Ayes have it." No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. - H.484: Passed (third reading, concurred with proposal of amendment). An amendment concerning wetland buffers and mitigation ratios was offered by the Senator from Grand Isle, described on the record, then withdrawn; later the bill passed. Voice vote recorded as "Ayes have it." No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. - H.209: Senate concurred in the House proposal of amendment to the Senate proposal of amendment to allow contracted registered nurses certified through the Office of Professional Regulation to serve in the role of school nurse for purposes of the statute. Voice vote recorded as "Ayes have it." No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. - SR 15: Read and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare; no final action on the floor recorded.

The Senate also took procedural steps to message its actions on the passed bills to the House and adjourned until the next scheduled session. Several senators noted that conference committees and end-of-session "endgame" activity may require multiple meetings per day and late-night attendance in the coming days.