Senate Agriculture committee advances miscellaneous agricultural bill, S.323, on 5-0 vote

The Senate Agriculture committee voted to report draft 4.1 of Senate Bill 323 favorably after committee members praised the bill’s technical fixes and protections for growers.

The committee chair, speaking at the start of the meeting, described the measure as a "miscellaneous bill" with "a lot of subject matter" and called its central achievement the restoration of authorities affected by a recent Supreme Court decision. The chair said the package includes technical corrections and measures intended to protect hemp growers, marketers and producers and credited work with multiple stakeholders for balancing city, town and farming interests. "The crown jewel of the bill is that after the Supreme Court decision, we were able to work closely with a lot of partners throughout the state and restore most of what action felt was lost during that decision," the chair said, adding that the committee had "found a way to restore again probably 95% of what farmers had," a figure the chair described as approximate.

A committee member who had "quickly perused" draft 4.1 said the bill may be seen as a landmark measure and singled out sections 1–3 as likely to benefit very small farmers; they also noted collaboration with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and with a state agriculture entity referenced in the record. "I have a feeling we're going to look back on this in a few years and realize that it's a landmark bill," the committee member said.

Another member recalled a heated debate earlier in the session over solar siting and protection of prime soils. That member said language intended to protect prime soils was removed from the bill and praised Senator Major for restoring order during the discussion, while noting that testimony showed the farming community is broadly doing well but "could all use more money." The chair later noted that the solar-siting language in sections 9 and 7 did not make the final draft.

The chair asked for and received a motion to take the vote on draft 4.1 of S.323 (a strike-all); a motion was made and seconded on the record, though the transcript did not record the mover or seconder by name. The clerk called a roll-call vote for "the act relating to the miscellaneous agricultural bill, 4.1, Senate Bill 323." Senators Calmore, Hefman, Major, Plunkett and Engles recorded "yes" votes; the clerk announced a tally of five yes votes and the motion carried.

After the vote the chair asked staff to make copies of the bill and suggested members go offline to divide the bill into sections for follow-up work. The committee indicated an intent to bring the bill to the floor next week if it continues to advance.

What’s next: Committee members will receive copies of draft 4.1 for review and will divide oversight of sections among themselves; the bill is expected to be placed on the floor calendar after committee processing.