| 1 | 1 | | BILL AS INTRODUCED H.307 |
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| 2 | 2 | | 2025 Page 1 of 4 |
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| 5 | 5 | | VT LEG #380921 v.1 |
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| 6 | 6 | | H.307 1 |
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| 7 | 7 | | Introduced by Representative Hooper of Burlington 2 |
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| 8 | 8 | | Referred to Committee on 3 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Date: 4 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Subject: Public safety; communications; emergency preparedness; community 5 |
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| 11 | 11 | | radio stations; grant program 6 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish the 7 |
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| 13 | 13 | | Vermont Community Radio Grant Program. 8 |
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| 14 | 14 | | An act relating to the establishment of the Vermont Community Radio 9 |
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| 15 | 15 | | Grant Program 10 |
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| 16 | 16 | | It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11 |
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| 17 | 17 | | Sec. 1. VERMONT COMMUNITY RADIO GRANT PROGRAM 12 |
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| 18 | 18 | | (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 13 |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) Vermont’s seven active community radio stations currently serve 14 |
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| 20 | 20 | | over 200,000 Vermonters, many in rural and underserved areas. 15 |
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| 21 | 21 | | (2) Community radio stations have consistently provided critical 16 |
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| 22 | 22 | | information during emergencies, including Tropical Storm Irene, recent severe 17 |
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| 23 | 23 | | flooding, and other natural disasters. 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.307 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 2025 Page 2 of 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | VT LEG #380921 v.1 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (3) These stations operate with small budgets, primarily relying on 1 |
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| 29 | 29 | | volunteer staff and listener donations, and are ineligible for federal funding 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting due to their size. 3 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) Upcoming FCC-approved stations in Bristol, Richmond-Underhill-4 |
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| 32 | 32 | | Jericho, and Ludlow will expand coverage to nearly all Vermont counties, 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | increasing statewide accessibility to vital community radio services. 6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (5) Investment in these stations strengthens Vermont’s public safety 7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | network and promotes civic engagement by providing local, hyper-focused 8 |
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| 36 | 36 | | content that commercial and statewide media cannot replicate. 9 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) Intent. The intent of this section is to ensure Vermont’s community 10 |
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| 38 | 38 | | radio stations remain resilient and prepared to serve as lifelines during 11 |
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| 39 | 39 | | emergencies while fostering local engagement and preserving Vermont’s 12 |
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| 40 | 40 | | unique community fabric. 13 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (c) Grant program. 14 |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) The Vermont Community Radio Grant Program is established to 15 |
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| 43 | 43 | | provide one-time funding to community radio stations for the purpose of: 16 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (A) upgrading equipment and infrastructure necessary for reliable 17 |
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| 45 | 45 | | emergency broadcasting; 18 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (B) procuring and installing backup generators; and 19 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (C) enhancing operational sustainability through software 20 |
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| 48 | 48 | | improvements and technical training. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.307 |
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| 49 | 49 | | 2025 Page 3 of 4 |
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| 52 | 52 | | VT LEG #380921 v.1 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (2) The Program shall be administered by the Commissioner of Public 1 |
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| 54 | 54 | | Safety or designee in collaboration with the Vermont Association of 2 |
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| 55 | 55 | | Broadcasters. 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (3) Grants shall be allocated as follows: 4 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (A) Up to $25,000.00 per station for seven active community radio 5 |
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| 58 | 58 | | stations. 6 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (B) Up to $10,000.00 per station for three upcoming stations 7 |
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| 60 | 60 | | currently under construction. 8 |
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| 61 | 61 | | (4) To be eligible for a grant under the Program, an applicant shall: 9 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (A) be a nonprofit, noncommercial community radio station licensed 10 |
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| 63 | 63 | | in Vermont; 11 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (B) demonstrate a history of providing emergency broadcasting 12 |
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| 65 | 65 | | services or show the capacity to provide such services upon funding; and 13 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (C) submit a detailed implementation plan for the proposed use of 14 |
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| 67 | 67 | | grant funding. 15 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (d) Report. On or before June 30, 2026, a community radio station that 16 |
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| 69 | 69 | | receives a grant under the Program shall provide to the Commissioner of 17 |
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| 70 | 70 | | Public Safety a report detailing the: 18 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (1) use of grant funds, including itemized expenses; 19 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (2) improvements achieved in emergency readiness and operational 20 |
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| 73 | 73 | | capacity; and 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.307 |
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| 74 | 74 | | 2025 Page 4 of 4 |
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| 77 | 77 | | VT LEG #380921 v.1 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (3) impact on community service and engagement. 1 |
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| 79 | 79 | | Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION 2 |
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| 80 | 80 | | In fiscal year 2026, the sum of $205,000.00 is appropriated from the 3 |
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| 81 | 81 | | General Fund to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of funding 4 |
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| 82 | 82 | | the Vermont Community Radio Grant Program. Any unexpended funds shall 5 |
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| 83 | 83 | | revert to the General Fund on or before July 1, 2026. 6 |
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| 84 | 84 | | Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 7 |
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| 85 | 85 | | This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 8 |
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