House passes H.540, concurs on H.50 and introduces several bills; adjourns to Feb. 10

The House completed several procedural and final actions during the session. Early in the session members heard first readings of H.889 (an exemption for disability-related income on candidate disclosure forms, introduced by Representative Nigro of Bennington) and H.890 (reducing barriers for nonprofit religious organizations to provide preventive health care, introduced by Representative Bouton of Berry City); both bills were referred to committee.

The Presiding Officer announced that H.548 (adding a mediator position to the Vermont Labor Relations Board) was referred to the Committee on Appropriations; H.557/H.577 (establishing a Vermont prescription drug discount card program) and H.567 (relating to unclaimed property, state retirement systems and capital debt) were referred to Ways and Means because they affect state revenue and therefore require referral to a money committee under House Rule 35(a).

On the action calendar, the House considered H.540 (recommendations of the post-adjudication reparative program working group) on third reading; members voted by voice and the bill passed. The chamber also took up H.50 (identifying underutilized state buildings and land). Representative Gregoire, presenting for Corrections and Institutions, described committee changes including removing state-leased buildings from the inventory request, restoring an annual inventory cadence, and adding a reporting requirement to the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development through 2030 to meet the governor's executive order. The committee vote on H.50 was 9-0-2; the House voted by voice to concur in the Senate proposal of amendment with a further amendment and concurrence was ordered.

Committee and caucus announcements included a Joint Fiscal Committee meeting at 12:15 to hear about a federal rural health transformation grant, and several caucus scheduling notes; Senator Bernie Sanders was announced to appear at a caucus event at 12:15 in Room 10. The House adopted a motion to adjourn until Tuesday, 02/10/2026 at 10 a.m.

Why it matters: H.540 completes action on reparative program recommendations, while H.50 establishes a statutory process and reporting requirements to identify state property for potential reuse. Several introduced bills will move to committee for further review; the adjournment date sets the chamber's next floor session.