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Senate advances S 154 to update Vermont State Plane Coordinate System
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Summary
The Vermont Senate advanced S 154, which updates the state's statutory reference for the State Plane Coordinate System to the National Geodetic Survey standard and clarifies measurement units; the transportation committee recommended the bill after technical testimony.
Senator Perschley, reporting for the Senate Committee on Transportation, urged passage of S 154, an act to update the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System by referencing the National Geodetic Survey’s current datum standard and clarifying that distances be measured in meters or international feet.
The committee’s report, delivered on the floor by Perschley, said the change aligns Vermont statute with the National Geodetic Survey’s updated datum so future federal or international adjustments will not require repeated legislative amendments. Perschley described geodetic reasons for the update — plate motion, land-height changes and a recent recalculation of the earth’s center that the report cited as differing by about 2.2 meters — and noted practical uses for accurate datums, including GPS navigation, utility mapping and precision agriculture.
Perschley listed witnesses who testified to the committee: John Adams, director of the Center for Geographic Information at the Agency of Digital Services; Dr. Anderson, Vice Counsel; Dan Martin, geodetic adviser from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and Tim Cheraway from the Vermont Center for Geographic Information. Perschley said the committee considered technical drafting corrections proposed by the National Geodetic Survey and the Vermont geographic systems consultant, and that the committee voted (transcript records the vote as '401'). The committee asked for the Senate’s support.
On the Senate floor the presiding senator called for adoption of the committee report; senators answered by voice and the presiding senator declared the committee report adopted. The presiding senator then called for third reading; senators indicated approval on third reading and the presiding senator stated the bill had advanced. The transcript does not contain a roll-call tally for the bill’s final passage on third reading.
The measure includes an effective-date provision in the bill text indicating the statute would take effect upon passage so the updated coordination could be used promptly. The bill text also specifies measurement conventions, clarifying that the international foot (defined in the bill text as exactly 0.3048 meters) should be used for foot distances unless referencing legacy datums.
