Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                        H.760
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                                      H.760
 Introduced by Representatives Buss of Woodstock, Bartley of Fairfax, Boyden
                of Cambridge, Burrows of West Windsor, Campbell of St.
                Johnsbury, Christie of Hartford, Elder of Starksboro, Harrison
                of Chittenden, Lalley of Shelburne, Priestley of Bradford,
                Roberts of Halifax, Sibilia of Dover, and Sims of Craftsbury
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Conservation and development; land use; Act 250
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to make multiple
 changes to Act 250 related to increasing transparency.
    An act relating to Act 250 transparency
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
 Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 6027 is amended to read:
 § 6027. POWERS
                                      ***
    (f)(1) The Board may publish or contract to publish annotations and indices
 of the decisions of the Environmental Division and the text of those decisions.
 The published product shall be available at a reasonable rate to the general VT LEG #373097 v.4
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.760
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 public and at a reduced rate to libraries and governmental bodies within the
 State.
          (2) The Board shall post on its website all previous decisions of the
 Environmental Division of the Superior Court related to this chapter, including
 all pleadings and attachments and all previous decisions by the District
 Commissions. All documentation that is part of an application shall be
 included in the online database, including any communications from the
 District Coordinator or District Commission.
          (3) The Board shall create a guidance document that explains how
 existing precedent applies to different application types, including case law and
 jurisdictional opinions, to be posted on its website.
                                         ***
 Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION
    In fiscal year 2025, the sum of $250,000.00 is appropriated from the
 General Fund to the Natural Resources Board in order to scan and upload
 documents required under Sec. 1 of this act.
 Sec. 3. 10 V.S.A. § 6082 is amended to read:
 § 6082. APPROVAL BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND STATE
            AGENCIES
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     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.760
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    (a) The permit required under section 6081 of this title shall not supersede
 or replace the requirements for a permit of any other State agency or municipal
 government.
    (b) By rule, the Board shall establish a process by which to resolve disputes
 between a District Commission and a State agency when a District
 Commission raises concerns about an agency permit used as evidence in a
 permit application. A resolution of the dispute that requires changes to agency
 permitting shall be published in order to alert applicants and will go into effect
 for new applications after the publication date.
 Sec. 4. RULEMAKING
    On or before January 15, 2025, the Natural Resources Board shall adopt
 rules to update the presumptions that are applicable to State agency permits
 used as evidence for an Act 250 permit application under 10 V.S.A. § 6086(d).
 Sec. 5. 10 V.S.A. § 6087 is amended to read:
 § 6087. DENIAL OR APPROVAL OF APPLICATION
    (a) No application shall be denied by the District Commission unless it
 finds the proposed subdivision or development detrimental to the public health,
 safety, or general welfare.
    (b) A permit may not be denied solely for the reasons set forth in
 subdivisions 6086(a)(5), (6), and (7) of this title. However, reasonable
 conditions and requirements allowable in subsection 6086(c) of this title may VT LEG #373097 v.4
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                           H.760
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 be attached to alleviate the burdens created. Any conditions that have been
 attached shall identify which criteria under subsection 6086(a) of this title they
 are attached to mitigate.
    (c) A denial of a permit decision shall contain the specific reasons for
 denial or approval.
    (d) A person may, within six months after a denial, apply for
 reconsideration of his or her a permit which application shall include an
 affidavit to the District Commission and all parties of record that the
 deficiencies have been corrected. The District Commission shall hold There
 shall be a new hearing upon 25 days’ notice to the parties. The hearing shall
 be held within 40 days of after receipt of the request for reconsideration.
    (e) The Board shall establish, by rule, a process for a request for
 reconsideration. This process shall have the permit application reviewed by
 some combination of other District Commissions and the Board itself. The
 decision on reconsideration shall be issued within 30 days after the close of the
 hearing.
 Sec. 6. 10 V.S.A. § 6086 is amended to read:
 § 6086. ISSUANCE OF PERMIT; CONDITIONS AND CRITERIA.
                                       ***
    (h) The Board and District Commissions shall accept as evidence of
 meeting the applicable criteria under subsection (a) of this section any best VT LEG #373097 v.4
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                          H.760
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 management practices that have been recognized by the Public Utility
 Commission in the 30 V.S.A. § 248 process. The Board shall post accepted
 best management practices on its website.
 Sec. 7. ACT 250 RULE 2(C) is amended to read:
 RULE 2(C). DEFINITIONS
                                        ***
       (26) “Cognizable change” means any physical change or change in use,
 including, where applicable, any change that may result in demonstrates a
 significant impact on any finding, conclusion, term, or condition of the
 project’s permit. Cognizable change shall not be triggered by changes to the
 interior or exterior of a building that are cosmetic in nature, that increase
 energy efficiency, or that represent a replacement of existing items so far as
 they do not change water or wastewater design flows.
 Sec. 8. 10 V.S.A. § 6083 is amended to read:
 § 6083. APPLICATIONS
                                        ***
    (d)(1) The Board and Commissions shall make all practical efforts to
 process matters before the Board and permits in a prompt manner. The Board
 shall establish time limits for the processing of land use permits issued under
 section 6086 of this title as well as procedures and time periods within which
 to notify applicants whether an application is complete Within 10 days after VT LEG #373097 v.4
     BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                         H.760
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 the application’s filing or the filing of updated application information, the
 District Coordinator shall determine whether the application is complete and
 notify the applicant. If the District Commission requests additional
 information from the applicant, the applicant shall respond within 30 days.
       (2) The Board shall establish policies, procedures, and accountability
 measures for District Commissioners to ensure greater equity amongst
 Commission decisions in order to resolve inequities and discrepancies. The
 number of requests for reconsideration, the number of rebuttal presumptions,
 and the number of appeals brought to the Environmental Division of the
 Superior Court shall be included in the review of equity. Once the Board has
 adopted the policies, annual training shall be required to ensure accountability
 to the policies, procedures, and binding decisions of the Environmental
 Division of the Superior Court.
       (3) The Board shall report annually by February 15 to the General
 Assembly by electronic submission. The annual report shall assess the
 performance of the Board and Commissions in meeting the limits; and
 accountability measures established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this
 subsection, identify areas which that hinder effective performance;, list fees
 collected for each permit;, summarize changes made to improve performance;,
 and describe staffing needs for the coming year. The annual report shall list
 the number of enforcement actions taken by the Board, the disposition of such VT LEG #373097 v.4
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 cases, and the amount of penalties collected. The provisions of 2 V.S.A.
 § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made
 under this subsection.
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    (h) If the District Coordinator deems the application incomplete after it has
 been submitted to the District Commission and the applicant disagrees with the
 District Coordinator, the Board shall review the application within 30 days and
 determine if all required information has been submitted and whether the
 application is complete.
 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE
    This act shall take effect on July 1, 2024.
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Statutes affected: 
As Introduced: 10-6027, 10-6082, 10-6087, 10-6086, 10-6083