Vermont Senate passes broad emergency management package including food‑bank, USAR and comms funding

The Vermont Senate on May 27 passed H9 35, an emergency management bill that combines grants, wildfire‑response statute updates and new public‑safety communications funding.

Senator Collamore, reporting for the Senate Committee on Government Operations, told colleagues the bill creates a Ready Response Grant Program under Title 20 to authorize the Division of Emergency Management to award annual grants to eligible food banks to source, store, cycle and distribute shelf‑stable foods and bottled water through memoranda of understanding with the division. Collamore said grantees must keep records and redistribute food through qualifying nonprofits.

The bill also establishes an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) grant program to provide up to $5,000 per grant and not more than $25,000 annually to Vermont fire departments, EMS and technical rescue agencies for equipment, protective gear and technical rescue training. The department would adopt applicant review procedures and must collect reports from recipients for consolidated reporting to legislative committees.

Senator White (Windsor) described statutory updates for wildland fire response. The bill clarifies the Forest, Parks and Recreation (FPR) commissioner’s authority to take command of any forest fire and to delegate incident‑command authority; it allows town forest fire wardens to appoint deputies and designates the responding fire chief as the town forest fire warden where appropriate. White said the bill shortens reporting timelines: town forest fire wardens must inform FPR within 24 hours of discovery of wildfires rather than waiting two weeks.

Sections 12–14 address public safety communications. A presenter said the bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety to procure a multidisciplinary computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) system, specifying $12,250,000 for the CAD and five years of software licensing, $290,000 for cybersecurity and expanded use of RapidSOS and GIS, and funding for design and pilot projects to improve the state’s land mobile radio network. The Department must submit reports on expenditures by 05/01/2027, 01/15/2028 and 01/15/2029.

Senator Perchlik, reporting for the Appropriations Committee, said Appropriations made two amendments: it struck a subsection that left task‑force money in escrow and instead appropriated $2,500,000 of remaining funds; and it removed a $500,000 appropriation in section 13b for the Ready Response Grant Program while leaving program language intact so implementation is contingent on future appropriation or available funds. He said the committee’s action was intended to avoid leaving funds idle and to allow the Legislature to budget remaining dollars.

Several senators questioned whether municipal fire chiefs would be required to control fires on Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) lands without funding. Presenters said the proposal originated in earlier drafts from the House and that implementation questions, including reimbursement criteria, are addressed in the bill’s language and contingent sections.

After committee reports and floor questions, the Senate amended the committee recommendation as Appropriations proposed and ordered third reading; senators passed the bill by voice vote.The bill includes multiple effective dates and several provisions explicitly contingent on the availability of agency funds. The bill’s implementation, and specific appropriations for grant programs, will depend on future budget decisions and the Department of Public Safety’s requests to use remaining appropriated monies.