Senate passes H.839 after rejecting amendment to shift emergency-communications spending oversight

The Senate on third reading passed H.839, a fiscal year 2024 budget adjustment bill, after rejecting an amendment that would have expanded the Public Safety Communications Task Force and given it authority to review some Department of Public Safety expenditures tied to regional dispatch plans.

The senator from Chittenden North offered the amendment to refocus emergency communications planning, proposing to expand the Task Force from seven to 11 members, require election of a chair to avoid conflicts of interest, require the program manager not be in direct competition with subject-matter experts, push key deadlines out by nine months, and give the Task Force a role in reviewing whether Department of Public Safety spending aligned with regional dispatch plans. "Vermonters are at risk and time is not on our side," the senator said, arguing the Task Force had made little progress: "About 7 months, 9 RFPs, and more than 30 meetings later, the Public Safety Communications…