Vermont Senate quickly concurs in House changes on optometry, cannabis, genetic privacy, solar siting and Williston charter

Montpelier — The Vermont Senate on the floor session fast‑tracked and approved a series of bills and conference reports, concurring in House changes to optometry licensing law, enacting amendments to cannabis regulation, adopting a genetic data privacy compromise, accepting reporting changes for electricity‑generating facilities, and approving a town charter amendment for Williston.

Senators first took up S.64, an amendment that expands the state optometry board from five to seven members. The House proposal of amendment would require four members be state residents with at least five years’ active optometry practice and add one ophthalmologist member with at least five years’ in‑state practice; starting Jan. 1, 2031 at least one optometrist member must hold an advanced therapeutic procedures specialty. The Senate Government Operations Committee reported a 5‑0‑0 straw poll in favor of concurring, and the full Senate concurred in the House amendment by voice vote.

The chamber then considered S.278, a package of changes to cannabis law. Senate sponsors said the House removed a proposed packaging increase (from 100 mg to 200 mg) but left the Senate’s higher transaction limit (increasing legal possession from 1 ounce to 2 ounces). The House also reduced the event pilot program from 10 public and 10 private permits to five public and five private permits and deleted authorization for on‑site consumption at those events; delivery pilots described in earlier drafts were removed on the House floor. Senators also noted a cut to certain outdoor cultivator fees (described by sponsors as halving those fees), deletion of contingency language for that fee reduction, and a delayed effective date for some local licensing fee provisions. The Senate signaled committee agreement and concurred in the House proposal of amendment by voice vote.

On genetic data privacy, the Senate accepted the Committee of Conference report on H.639. The conference committee’s compromise requires direct‑to‑consumer genetic testing companies to provide clear disclosures about collection and use and to obtain express consent before disclosing a consumer’s genetic data to third parties. The conference agreement sets a 30‑day cure period for certain violations with a two‑year sunset for that cure provision and a review at the sunset point. "Genetic data represents the most personal and sensitive information that exists. Genetic data is not just about people, it is people," a sponsor said on the floor in urging adoption of the conference report.

The Senate also took up H.710, the conference report on electricity‑generating facilities and solar siting. Sponsors said changes responsive to the Department of Public Service narrowed some data requests to make them practicable: requests about prime agricultural soils and forested landscapes were limited to the last two years and to projects of at least 1 megawatt in capacity; the report also asks the Department to consult with the Public Utility Commission and the Agency of Natural Resources. The Senate accepted and adopted the committee report by voice vote.

Separately, the chamber advanced H.957, an act approving charter amendments for the town of Williston, which passed on third reading.

Senators noted internal committee straw polls on some items (for example, a 5‑0 committee straw poll reported for elements of S.278) and raised fiscal and implementation concerns. A Senate Finance member cautioned that "doing away with the contingency and the lowering of the small grower fees could lead to a budget shortfall" for the regulatory board, urging future legislatures to monitor budget impacts. Sponsors acknowledged some changes were made on the House floor and said they had reached negotiated positions through conference or committee work where applicable.

The Senate moved to message its actions on S.278, H.639, H.710 and H.957 to the House forthwith and recessed until 4:30 p.m.

What’s next: the bills concurred or adopted on the Senate floor will be sent to the House or implemented according to the statutory and effective‑date language in each act; specific timelines and administrative steps (licensing rules, fee implementation, and the scheduled 2‑year review of the H.639 cure period) remain subject to agency rulemaking or later legislative action.