House Energy committee lays out bills and calendar ahead of March 13 crossover
February 24, 2026 | Environment & Energy, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont
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The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee reviewed its near-term calendar on Feb. 24 and outlined a sequence of hearings and votes aimed at meeting the March 13 policy-crossover deadline.
"Crossover is Friday, March 13 for policy committees," the committee chair said, urging members to finish testimony and prepare drafts for markup. The chair walked the committee through a list of priority bills and next steps: the committee’s own draft committee bill (read aloud earlier in the session), a data center bill, a greenhouse gas bill, statutory updates for a joint carbon emissions reduction committee, net-metering revisions, and residential energy-code language.
The committee scheduled a vote on the committee bill for Thursday morning; other votes were left to be scheduled based on further drafting and hearings. The chair said the committee had requested written testimony from Vermont Gas and that the Public Service Department and regional planning commissions (RPCs) would appear in subsequent sessions. The Land Use Review Board will provide comment on the data center bill and the Lake Champlain Committee (water protection advocate) was scheduled to testify later in the week.
On net metering, staff circulated a revised draft that removes the negative adjuster and adds considerations for the Public Utility Commission; the committee agreed to post the updated draft to the committee website for member review. For the residential energy-code bill the chair described an expedited coordination with House General and Housing to provide near-final language for a fly-by review, noting that final funding review would proceed through the House Appropriations or Probes committee as appropriate.
The chair reminded members that some bills (for example, greenhouse gas proposals) would next go to the Probes committee for funding decisions where appropriations could be altered or removed before floor consideration. Members discussed logistics for remaining witness time and possible longer floor days after town meeting break to complete remaining work.
The committee left with specific follow-ups: post amended drafts (net metering and others), confirm witness lists for Friday afternoon, collect written testimony from Vermont Gas, and schedule the Public Service Department for an afternoon appearance.
"Crossover is Friday, March 13 for policy committees," the committee chair said, urging members to finish testimony and prepare drafts for markup. The chair walked the committee through a list of priority bills and next steps: the committee’s own draft committee bill (read aloud earlier in the session), a data center bill, a greenhouse gas bill, statutory updates for a joint carbon emissions reduction committee, net-metering revisions, and residential energy-code language.
The committee scheduled a vote on the committee bill for Thursday morning; other votes were left to be scheduled based on further drafting and hearings. The chair said the committee had requested written testimony from Vermont Gas and that the Public Service Department and regional planning commissions (RPCs) would appear in subsequent sessions. The Land Use Review Board will provide comment on the data center bill and the Lake Champlain Committee (water protection advocate) was scheduled to testify later in the week.
On net metering, staff circulated a revised draft that removes the negative adjuster and adds considerations for the Public Utility Commission; the committee agreed to post the updated draft to the committee website for member review. For the residential energy-code bill the chair described an expedited coordination with House General and Housing to provide near-final language for a fly-by review, noting that final funding review would proceed through the House Appropriations or Probes committee as appropriate.
The chair reminded members that some bills (for example, greenhouse gas proposals) would next go to the Probes committee for funding decisions where appropriations could be altered or removed before floor consideration. Members discussed logistics for remaining witness time and possible longer floor days after town meeting break to complete remaining work.
The committee left with specific follow-ups: post amended drafts (net metering and others), confirm witness lists for Friday afternoon, collect written testimony from Vermont Gas, and schedule the Public Service Department for an afternoon appearance.
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