Senate orders bill to track franchise relationships on business filings
April 08, 2026 | SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont
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The Senate ordered H733 to third reading after a finance committee report that the House had narrowed the bill to collect basic data on franchise relationships via the Secretary of State's business-filing process.
Senator Matoss, reporting for the finance committee, said the House trimmed a lengthier bill to avoid premature regulation until the Legislature knows the scope of franchise relationships in Vermont. Under the proposal, a business filing or annual report would include a checkbox asking whether the filer is a franchisor or a franchisee; if yes, the filer would be prompted to identify the franchisor. The intent is to build a database so future policy decisions (for example, on franchise termination or non-compete clauses) can be informed by the actual number and distribution of franchise relationships in the state.
"We don't really know how many franchise agreements are in the state of Vermont. So, we should probably figure that out before we dive deeper into regulating those agreements," Matoss said. Finance reported the bill ought to pass on a committee vote noted in the transcript as 5-0-2.
A senator from Rutland asked why the state needs the information; Matoss said the House concluded that understanding scope should precede broader regulation. The Senate voted to order the bill to third reading.
The bill as reported focuses on a minimal reporting step at the Secretary of State's business-services filing and does not itself impose substantive regulation on franchise contract terms. The next step is third reading on the floor.
Senator Matoss, reporting for the finance committee, said the House trimmed a lengthier bill to avoid premature regulation until the Legislature knows the scope of franchise relationships in Vermont. Under the proposal, a business filing or annual report would include a checkbox asking whether the filer is a franchisor or a franchisee; if yes, the filer would be prompted to identify the franchisor. The intent is to build a database so future policy decisions (for example, on franchise termination or non-compete clauses) can be informed by the actual number and distribution of franchise relationships in the state.
"We don't really know how many franchise agreements are in the state of Vermont. So, we should probably figure that out before we dive deeper into regulating those agreements," Matoss said. Finance reported the bill ought to pass on a committee vote noted in the transcript as 5-0-2.
A senator from Rutland asked why the state needs the information; Matoss said the House concluded that understanding scope should precede broader regulation. The Senate voted to order the bill to third reading.
The bill as reported focuses on a minimal reporting step at the Secretary of State's business-services filing and does not itself impose substantive regulation on franchise contract terms. The next step is third reading on the floor.
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