House proposes amendment and advances bill to form a sister-state working group

The House considered Senate Bill 30, a proposal to create a working group to evaluate and recommend how a Vermont sister-state program would be structured, funded, and administered. Representative Williams reported for the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee and summarized the bill’s strike-all amendment, committee membership (including agency secretaries or designees and representatives of arts and world-affairs entities), responsibilities, and reporting deadlines.

Representative Williams explained the working group's tasks: review sister-state programs in other jurisdictions; recommend which department should administer the program; determine governing committee structure, funding sources, program objectives (cultural exchange, trade, education, and support for immigrant and refugee communities), and criteria for agreements including term lengths and limits on the number of active agreements. The bill sets an interim report due Feb. 15, 2025, a final report due Nov. 1, 2025, and a statutory end date for the working group of March 31, 2026.

The House Appropriations Committee reported a walk-through and fiscal discussion, stating "there is no new money needed to support this bill" because members tasked with work-group responsibilities could be paid from base budgets or per diems. Committee vote tallies were recorded in the transcript as "901" for Commerce and "1011" for Appropriations. The House voted to propose an amendment to the Senate as recommended by the Commerce and Economic Development Committee and ordered third reading.

Supporters emphasized potential benefits for cultural exchange and economic ties; the bill report listed testimony from education and arts leaders, the adjutant general, and representatives of immigrant and refugee organizations. The working group, if later turned into a program, would aim to foster long-term partnerships and support military and humanitarian links to partner jurisdictions.

The House advanced the committee’s proposal to the Senate and ordered third reading; final program creation would require subsequent legislative action based on the working group's reports.