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Vermont committee advances amended sister-state bill after wide-ranging testimony and debate over Irish trade commission
Summary
The House Commerce & Economic Development Committee reviewed a strike-all amendment to H.674 to create a Vermont Sister State Program, heard agency and stakeholder testimony about cultural and trade benefits, and received objections from Representative Casey over repeal of a previously authorized Irish Trade Commission; the committee took a 10-minute recess to consider the amendment.
The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Feb. 3 reviewed H.674, a bill to create a Vermont Sister State Program, and considered a committee "strike-all" amendment that expands eligible partners and narrows governor notification and annual reporting requirements.
Committee counsel summarized three changes in draft 2.1: adding "national" partners (so relationships may include countries as well as subnational governments); instructing the committee to submit to the governor only those applications it recommends for approval; and removing a reporting subdivision that had required explanations of recommended sister-state agreements in the committee's annual report.
Tim Tierney, director of international trade and business recruitment at the Department of Economic Development and co-chair of the working group, testified the agency supports the bill and that ACCD has the capacity to help administer the program. "At ACCD, we're…
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