Dear Constituents -

This week at the Statehouse started with the second attempt to call up a bill for vote on the House Floor under VT House Rule 51. The bill, H.70, relates to the inclusion of use value appraisal land in the conserved land inventory. In this two-year biennium, H.70 has received minimal attention, despite Rural Caucus members’ advocacy letters to the Speaker and the Chair, and a motion to vote was left on the table in February 2026. This rule was written specifically for situations such as this and would allow a bill to be brought to the House Floor for a debate and vote on the merits of the bill. Unfortunately that motion failed 80-58, and H.70 did not get consideration by the full House, but those of us who spoke up for including this carefully stewarded land in Current Use passionately defended Vermonters who are engaged in working lands professions – farmers and those in the wood products industries. Thank you to all of the rural Vermonters who offered support.

On the House Floor, there were a number of votes on Senate proposals of amendment to bills that we passed earlier this session. Some of those included: S.189 (establishing a process for reducing or eliminating hospital services); H.739 (prohibiting the use and sale of the herbicide paraquat); Proposition 4 (Declaration of rights; government for the people; equality of rights); S.212 (potable water supply and wastewater system connections); S.208 (standards for law enforcement identification); H.648 (banking, insurance, and securities with regards to cryptocurrency fraud protections); and S.243 (distributing funds to the VT Language Justice Project). For more information on these bills, type the bill number into the tracker on the VT General Assembly website and look for the “as passed” version(s).

In the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, we continued taking detailed and lengthy testimony on S.64 (amendments to the scope of practice for optometrists); S.278 (cannabis); H.588 (professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation); and H.957 (Williston charter change).

Elsewhere in the Statehouse, the Rural Caucus remains engaged in the moving parts of legislation across the building, as we wait for the Committee of Conference on S.325 (the “Act 181 repeal” bill) to meet and make their recommendations. Also to be watched are the Committees of Conference on the Budget (H.951), Miscellaneous Tax Bills (H.933), the Yield Bill (H.949), and the Capital Bill (H.952). These CofC’s are listed on the House overview webpage on the General Assembly website and can be viewed like any other committee meeting.

The VT Chamber, in conjunction with the VT National Guard Family Readiness Program and with support from the VT National Guard & Veterans Affairs Caucus, conducted a diaper and baby wipes drive at the Statehouse on May 13.  The drive was a huge success, gathering over 2500 diaper and countless containers of wipes, and $3000 for deployed families. It is an honor to serve in Montpelier.

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5