House amends 450‑page technical corrections bill and orders third reading

Representative Morgan (Member from Milton) summarized H.849 as a broad technical corrections bill and asked the House to support committee action. He described the bill as "450 pages in length" and said it would make non‑substantive, stylistic and conforming changes across the Vermont Statutes Annotated, including adding the Space Force to the definition of the armed forces and replacing gendered language to conform with V.S.A. style.

The member offered an amendment that Representative Morgan summarized as preserving certain statutory findings and correcting cross‑references in multiple titles of the statutes. After a voice vote, the House adopted that amendment.

Representative Donahue (Member from Northfield) offered a second amendment aimed at preserving a distinction in phrasing: he explained, "What this amendment does is removes the change in the bill which changed 'not inconsistent' to 'consistent' because they do not mean exactly the same thing." Representative Morgan reported that the committee found the amendment favorable, and the House adopted it by voice vote.

Following adoption of the two amendments, the presiding officer called for a third reading and the House ordered H.849 read a third time by voice vote. The record shows committee participation in drafting and briefing the bill but does not record roll‑call tallies for the amendment or third‑reading votes; outcomes were announced by voice ("the ayes have it").

What happens next: with amendments adopted and third reading ordered, H.849 will return to the House calendar for third reading and further consideration consistent with legislative procedure.