House advances bill to adopt Vermont State Plane Coordinate System

Representative Birong, speaking for the committee on government operations and military affairs, urged the House to support S.154, legislation to establish the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System and align state surveying with the National Geodetic Survey.

The bill amends 1 VSA chapter 17, revising sections 671–679 to designate the most recent plane coordinate system as the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System, require coordinates to be expressed in meters and international feet, divide the state into coordinate zones, and provide for updates to the system without statutory amendments. Birong said the changes respond to technological improvements and shifting reference points; “This act takes effect on passage,” the representative stated.

Birong described a range of practical beneficiaries, including surveyors and engineers, VTrans, the Agency of Natural Resources, municipal tax mapping offices, emergency response imagery, and precision agriculture. The committee reported testimony from the Office of Legislative Council, the Northeast Regional Geodetic Advisor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Geodetic Survey, the Vermont Center for Geographic Information and the Agency of Digital Services. He noted the bill codifies conversion rates and expressly supersedes the U.S. survey foot following National Geodetic Survey guidance.

The committee recommended that the bill “ought to pass in concurrence,” and the presiding officer ordered third reading. Supporters framed the measure as a technical but necessary update to improve accuracy for mapping, infrastructure projects and emergency response across the state.

The House action recorded in the transcript ordered third reading after the committee report; no roll-call vote tally was recorded in the transcript for final passage at that moment.