House committee schedules markup for S328, discusses moving sections to S325 to expedite passage

The chair of the House Committee on General & Housing reviewed the schedule for the following day: a caucus, the House floor session, and then committee business, including witness testimony and a markup for S328, a bill relating to common-interest communities.

The chair told members the committee will hear two witnesses on S328 and then hold a markup session where members will recommend language to committee counsel. He said some sections of S328 touch on areas (for example, Act 250 or sewer-served definitions) that fall under other committees' jurisdiction and asked Representative Sheldon to coordinate on which sections belong to which committee.

To reduce the risk that the Senate or other committees delay the bill, the chair suggested the practical option of removing sections from S328 and placing them into S325 (an omnibus vehicle) where Representative Sheldon could take them if appropriate. He said he had emailed Representative Sheldon with his views on which sections belonged to which committee and planned to follow up at the scheduled markup.

Members discussed logistics of crossover and the Senate's limited committee time; one member noted the committee has previously worked with another committee on similar omnibus housing language. The chair asked members to watch related bills during crossover and to be prepared to advocate as bills move to the Senate.

Committee members agreed to consider adding a markup of S89 at the same session so they could give counsel instructions on crafting language for edge cases discussed during testimony.