Senate passes package of bills on 3rd reading; messages actions to House

The Vermont Senate suspended its rules to take up a set of bills for immediate 3rd reading and passed several by voice vote.

Bills passed on 3rd reading (voice votes):
- H.534 — An act relating to retail theft (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).
- H.644 — An act relating to access to records by individuals who were in foster care (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).
- H.707 — An act revising delivery and governance of the Vermont workforce system (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).
- H.794 — An act relating to services provided by the Vermont Veterans Home (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).
- H.871 — An act relating to development of an updated state aid to school construction program (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).
- H.745 — An act relating to the Vermont Parentage Act (passed on the floor after 3rd reading).

Other procedural actions and calendar items:
- The Senate ordered 3rd reading for H.862 (charter amendments for the town of Berrien), H.869 (merger of Brandon Fire District No.1 and No.2) and H.872 (miscellaneous updates to VCJC powers).
- S.98 and S.213 were taken up briefly and passed over at the request of committees who planned review the bills the next day.
- The Senate concurred with House amendments on multiple bills (including S.58, S.186 and S.301) and voted to message the House the actions taken.

All floor votes reported in the transcript were voice votes; the Senate used voice affirmation ("ayes have it") to record passage or concurrence. Where committee roll calls or committee vote counts were cited, those were committee figures noted on the floor, not recorded full Senate roll calls.

What’s next: The Senate will message the House its actions; several bills were ordered to 3rd reading or will proceed to enrollment as appropriate.