House Chamber [Source] Translate

The meeting commenced with a call to order and a devotional by Representative Bram Kleppner of Burlington, who reflected on ethics and virtues, emphasizing kindness, wisdom, and courage, and concluded with an "atheist's prayer" for compassion in legislative work. Four bills were introduced: 1. **House Bill 913**: Prohibiting certain prediction markets securities, referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs. 2. **House Bill 914**: Compensating the city of Berry for overpayment of education property tax increment, referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. 3. **House Bill 915**: Establishing an extended producer responsibility program for beverage containers, referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. 4. **House Bill 916**: Relating to education fund expenditures review, referred to the Committee on Education. Members made several announcements, including: - A meeting of the Universal Healthcare Caucus from 5 to 6 p.m. on Zoom. - Recognition of Lund, a Vermont organization supporting families. - Acknowledgment of educators from Vermont NEA advocating for public education. - An invitation to the Federation of Sportsmen's annual mixer from 4 to 7 p.m. - The Vermont State Employees Association's annual legislative reception at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m. - A reception for staffers of the Council of State Government East from 6 to 8 p.m. - A reminder about a mental health first aid class on March 13th. - An announcement about State House apparel fundraising. The meeting continued with discussions on various bills: - **House Bill 205**: Action postponed for one legislative day. - **House Bill 639**: Passed after a third reading on genetic data privacy. - **House Bill 694**: Passed after a third reading concerning amendments to the charter of the town of Bennington. - **House Bill 907**: Passed after a third reading on legislative review of reporting requirements. - **House Bill 566**: Discussed amendments related to sealing post-charge court diversion records, with a favorable report from the House Judiciary Committee and a recommendation from the Committee on Ways and Means to pass the bill as amended. The meeting concluded with a motion to postpone action on **House Bill 635** for one legislative day. Members were reminded of upcoming events, including a concert featuring regional musicians at 7:30 p.m. in the chamber, and a member from Burlington highlighted Farmer's Night with an event featuring Capital City Concerts and regional musicians. A member from Woodstock announced that the Statehouse Singers would perform a song during the devotional at the beginning of the next session. There were no further announcements, and a member from Pulteney made a motion to adjourn the meeting until Thursday, February 26th, 2026, at 3:30 PM, which was approved by a vote.