News from Montpelier 2021 session week 14

Brief Floor sessions early in the week were balanced by extended sessions at the end. With five roll calls, three division and several voice votes the House debated and took action on H.175 an act relating to the beverage container redemption system and S.53 an act relating to exempting feminine hygiene products from the Vermont Sales and Use Tax. An amendment to H.175 that garnered support from many members was to substitute the language “plant-based beverages” for “plant-based milk”, when identifying items that would be exempt. The first of two roll calls on this bill was on an amendment to remove language that requires a retailer to accept for redemption the containers of products they sell. Floor debate included the information that there is ability in current law for a retailer to opt out and the amendment failed on a vote of 64 ayes to 79 nays. After more Floor debate the vote to have the bill read a third time was decided on a roll call vote of 99 ayes to 46 nays. Friday morning the bill passed the House with further amendments that addressed concerns raised the prior evening.
S.53 was taken up after a brief recess for dinner. The House Committee on Ways and Means offered an amendment that is an example of how to move legislation that has not met the crossover deadline. The three-section bill that offered a purpose, action and effective date became a sixteen-section bill that includes not only the title exemption but also an income exemption for the first $10,000 of a military pension as well as changes to software taxation, investment and corporate tax structure. The first roll call to raise the exemption to be on $30,000 failed on a vote of 55 ayes to 79 nays. The bill was then divided so that members’ votes for separate sections could be recorded rather than a single vote on the whole. The sections that supported the pension exemption passed on division vote of 121 to 4. The next vote was requested as a roll call and the software tax changes sections were passed with 96 ayes and 44 nays. The change to the annual fee for Investment Companies’ sale of mutual funds was agreed to on division 94 to 37. The section that changes corporate tax structure passed on a roll call of 129 ayes to 6 nays and the final breakout of sections was agreed to on a voice vote. The question to have the bill read a third time passed on a roll call of 98 ayes to 38 nays and the House adjourned at 9:30 P.M.. The bill was passed Friday with an appropriate amendment to the title.
Other bills that passed on the House floor this week included H.20 an act relating to pretrial risk assessments and pretrial services, S60 an act relating to allowing municipal and cooperative utilities to offer innovative rates and services and S88 an act relating to insurance, banking and securities. Committee time was limited this week but did include testimony on a few bills and topics as well as the report on Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention and annual report on Sexual Assault in the Guard.
Representative Barbara S Murphy bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us 802-849-6545