State Senate committees consider mandates on employment protections, zoning designations, hospital collaboration and recovery residences, and competency and vehicle-tax provisions
Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs
The committee examined amendments to multiple employment and labor-related statutes, including changes tied to S.173 and S.2 and cross-references to Act 32. Members discussed striking and replacing appropriation sections and creating a vocational rehabilitation working group to review how vocational rehabilitation operates within workers’ compensation. The proposed working group would meet between August 15 and December 15, prepare a written report with findings and recommendations for legislative action, and be composed of seven members including the Director of Workers’ Compensation and Safety or designee, representatives for claimants, employers and carriers, and two currently certified Vermont vocational rehabilitation counselors; appointment authorities for those positions were left to committee decision.
Lawmakers debated aligning definitions of crime victim across statutes. The committee reviewed language modeled on definitions added under Act 32 to the Parental Family Leave Act and proposals to add survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking to the crime victim definition in the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act. Committee discussion focused on the existing narrow documentation requirement — which has tied protected status to law enforcement affidavits or court documents — and the effect of broadening protections so employees who have not reported to law enforcement would have recourse if an adverse employment action were taken because of their victim status. Members discussed attestation and documentation processes, employer rights to review attestations, and that enforcement and investigation would examine employer justification such as performance issues.
The committee also considered repealing an obsolete provision in the Fair Employment Practices Act related to mandatory retirement for tenured faculty, describing it as a technical cleanup of a provision that dates to 1994. Committee members addressed the labor provisions in S.173, noting that section one’s vocational rehabilitation changes to workers’ compensation would remain while other portions of the bill were adjusted, including striking a mediator position in the Vermont Labor Relations Board that had been added previously.
Natural Resources & Energy
Committee witnesses and members discussed statutory clarifications and procedural changes related to regional planning, designation programs, and Act 181. Presenters proposed moving Community Investment Board comments earlier in the regional plan adoption process and creating a streamlined two-to-three month amendment process for adopted regional plans that are intended to remain in place for eight years.
The discussion covered consolidating scattered statutory definitions for the four growth-area designations created under Act 181 into a single set of definitions to reduce conflict and add clarity. Proposed changes would concentrate future land-use definitions in one place in statute, enable more towns to qualify to have a center that receives designation benefits, and allow incorporation of newer or emerging centers that reflect traditional downtown patterns even if not eligible for national historic register designation.
Committee members reviewed mapping work and eligibility for tier 1B designation benefits under Act 181, noting estimates that two to three percent of the state could be mapped as eligible for those areas compared with about 0.3 percent for legacy downtowns and villages. Panelists described the goal of balancing town, regional and state growth-area mappings and the role of local regulations in tier 1B eligibility, observing that some regions with low percentages lacked local regulations required for tier 1B. The group also discussed transition approaches to shift Act 250 jurisdiction incrementally as municipalities assume local jurisdiction over development.
Health & Welfare
The committee reviewed multiple bills and statutory changes related to recovery residences, hospital collaboration, and related rulemaking. Members examined a redrafted S.157 provision that moves from creating a voluntary certification program to amending a definition section to add a definition of “recovery residence” in the Title 18 chapter on substance use disorder. The amended definition described a recovery residence as a shared living residence supporting individuals recovering from substance use disorder, providing peer support, assistance accessing services, and community resources. The relettering of definitions in the statute was noted.
Discussion of statutory provisions for recovery residences covered written agreement requirements between recovery residences and residents, the possibility of requiring reaffirmation of a resident’s signed agreement after seven days, behavioral grounds for immediate exit or transfer (including violations of recovery residence policy, refusal to engage in services, criminal activity, theft, interference with others’ recovery, or acts of violence), and proposed additional exemptions from landlord-tenant law for recovery residences, including modifications to entry notice and consent rules.
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The committee considered rulemaking authority for the Department of Health to implement certification or oversight standards, including public comment and administrative review processes. Members discussed the role of the Administrative Rules Committee and the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules in reviewing any proposed rules.
Separately, the committee examined S.249, a bill addressing hospital collaboration and antitrust concerns by seeking to provide a state-action framework for certain collaborative conduct among hospitals and health systems. The bill text discussed qualifying conduct that would receive state-action immunity if the Secretary of Human Services authorized collaboration, deemed initiatives consistent with state health policy goals, approved each initiative prior to implementation, and actively supervised conduct. The proposal would authorize sharing of cost, utilization, workforce and quality data among participating hospitals and health systems for purposes such as cost containment, improved access to care, quality improvement, preservation of rural or community hospitals, and advancement of the state healthcare delivery strategic plan. Committee discussion included questions about whether the exemption from antitrust liability was necessary, the capacity of the supervising agency to oversee collaborations, and an exemption from the Public Records Act for certain materials; members noted the bill contains substantial oversight provisions and that hospital witnesses had testified some hospitals consider the framework necessary for collaboration.
Judiciary
The Judiciary Committee reviewed statutory changes touching criminal and civil processes for competency restoration and related procedures. Members discussed shifting the burden for seeking court authorization of medication for competency restoration from the Department of Corrections to state’s attorneys acting at the request of the Commissioner, and the inclusion of U.S. Supreme Court standards governing involuntary medication for competency restoration. Committee members reviewed jurisdictional choices between criminal and other courts, concerns about confidentiality in family court matters, and language clarifying that the Commissioner of Corrections “shall provide adequate and appropriate care” in relevant circumstances.
The committee also discussed adding victim participation language in discharge hearings and clarifying the role of the state’s attorney in proceedings, as well as concerns about housing individuals in forensic facilities and how statutory language frames treatment and public safety standards.
Transportation
The Transportation Committee addressed vehicle classification and tax provisions. Members discussed defining trailer types, including trailer coaches and motorhomes, and the implications of those definitions for taxation. The committee examined the maximum tax cap applied to vehicles and concerns about a potential loophole allowing purchasers to claim a truck’s weight class at sale to qualify for a lower tax and later reclassify the vehicle at registration. Witnesses also discussed driver education requirements and online course integrity, noting proposals to require an in-person written exam as part of online instruction completion and to allow DMV and the Agency of Education to set related guidelines and procedures, including whether instructors or schools may accept online coursework.
Conclusion
This report covers proceedings from five Senate committee meetings on February 19, 2026: Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs; Natural Resources & Energy; Health & Welfare; Judiciary; and Transportation. Committees reviewed proposed statutory amendments, bill language, and policy changes related to employment protections and vocational rehabilitation, regional planning and designation statutes, recovery residences and hospital collaboration frameworks, competency restoration procedures, and vehicle classification and taxation.
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