Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0349 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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6	6	H.349 1
7	7	Introduced by Representative Howard of Rutland City 2
8	8	Referred to Committee on 3
9	9	Date: 4
10	10	Subject: State employees; Judiciary; State buildings; security 5
11	11	Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish the 6
12	12	Vermont State Building Security Board; transfer responsibility for security in 7
13	13	all State facilities except the State House to the Vermont State Building 8
14	14	Security Board; and establish the Buildings and Courthouses Police 9
15	15	Department. 10
16	16	An act relating to the creation of the Vermont State Building Security Board 11
17	17	It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
18	18	Sec. 1. 29 V.S.A. § 171 is amended to read: 13
19	19	§ 171. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SECURITY 14
20	20	(a) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services Vermont State 15
21	21	Building Security Board shall be responsible for ensuring the security of all 16
22	22	State facilities, regardless of funding source for construction or renovation, the 17
23	23	lands upon which those facilities are located, and the occupants of those 18
24	24	facilities and places, and State-owned or State-leased buildings that house a 19
25	25	court plus one or more other functions, in those buildings that function 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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30	30	exclusively as courthouses, and the space occupied by the Supreme Court, 1
31	31	except that:, 2
32	32	(1) in those State-owned or State-leased buildings that house a court plus 3
33	33	one or more other functions, security for the space occupied by the court shall 4
34	34	be under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and security elsewhere shall be 5
35	35	under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services; 6
36	36	(2) in those buildings which function exclusively as courthouses, security 7
37	37	shall be under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; 8
38	38	(3) the space occupied by the Supreme Court shall be under the 9
39	39	jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; and 10
40	40	(4) in the State House, security shall be under the jurisdiction of the 11
41	41	Sergeant at Arms. 12
42	42	(b) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services Vermont State 13
43	43	Building Security Board shall develop a security plan for each facility, except 14
44	44	for those under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and of the Sergeant at 15
45	45	Arms State House, and shall regularly update these plans as necessary and be 16
46	46	responsible for coordinating responses to all security needs. The Supreme 17
47	47	Court and the Sergeant at Arms shall, in cooperation with the Commissioner of 18
48	48	Buildings and General Services Vermont State Building Security Board, 19
49	49	prepare and update such plans for the facilities under their respective 20
50	50	jurisdictions the Sergeant at Arms’ jurisdiction. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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55	55	(c) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services Vermont State 1
56	56	Building Security Board may delegate the responsibility for security at 2
57	57	specified facilities. 3
58	58	(d) All security improvements to State facilities shall be under the direction 4
59	59	of the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services Vermont State 5
60	60	Building Security Board, who which shall set statewide standards for policies, 6
61	61	materials, and equipment, including voice and data reception and transmission 7
62	62	upgrades and installations. 8
63	63	(e) Under this section, the Commissioner of Buildings and General 9
64	64	Services Vermont State Building Security Board is responsible for the 10
65	65	protection of State facilities, the lands upon which the facilities are situated, 11
66	66	and the occupants of those facilities, which is vital to sustaining the essential 12
67	67	services of government in an emergency. The Commissioner Board shall 13
68	68	develop plans for continuity of government and continuity of operations as an 14
69	69	addendum to the State emergency operations plan maintained by the 15
70	70	Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management and 16
71	71	referenced in 20 V.S.A. § 8(b)(2). 17
72	72	(f) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, Vermont State 18
73	73	Building Security Board and the Sergeant at Arms, and the Court 19
74	74	Administrator shall execute a memorandum of understanding to coordinate the 20
75	75	provision of security plans and law enforcement services within the Capitol 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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80	80	Complex. The memorandum of understanding shall incorporate any existing 1
81	81	agreements related to the provision of law enforcement services or security in 2
82	82	the Capitol Complex. As used in this section, “Capitol Complex” has the same 3
83	83	meaning as used in section 182 of this title. 4
84	84	Sec. 2. 29 V.S.A. § 173 is added to read: 5
85	85	§ 173. VERMONT STATE BUILDING SECURITY BOARD 6
86	86	(a) The Vermont State Building Security Board is established to oversee 7
87	87	the safety and security of worksites for Vermont State employees and the 8
88	88	employees of the Judiciary. 9
89	89	(b)(1) The Board shall consist of the following seven members: 10
90	90	(A) two members, appointed by the Governor; 11
91	91	(B) the Vermont State Court Administrator or designee; 12
92	92	(C) one member, appointed by the Attorney General; and 13
93	93	(D) three members, appointed by the President of the Vermont State 14
94	94	Employees’ Association. 15
95	95	(2) The Board shall annually, from among its membership, elect a 16
96	96	member to serve as Board chair and a member to serve as Board vice chair. 17
97	97	(3) The members of the Board shall serve terms of six years and may 18
98	98	serve not more than two consecutive terms. All appointments shall be made 19
99	99	between January 1 and February 1 of each odd-numbered year, except to fill a 20
100	100	vacancy. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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105	105	(4) Membership on the Board does not constitute the holding of an 1
106	106	office for any purpose, and members of the Board shall not be required to take 2
107	107	and file oaths of office before serving on the Board. A member of the Board 3
108	108	shall not be disqualified from holding any public office or employment and 4
109	109	shall not forfeit any office or employment by reason of the member’s 5
110	110	appointment to the Board, notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, or charter to 6
111	111	the contrary. 7
112	112	(c) The Board shall hold at least four regular meetings a year. Meetings of 8
113	113	the Board may be held at any time or place within Vermont upon call of the 9
114	114	Chair or a majority of the members, after reasonable notice to the other 10
115	115	members, and shall be held at such times and places as in the judgment of the 11
116	116	Board will best serve the convenience of all parties in interest. The Board shall 12
117	117	adopt rules and procedures with respect to the conduct of its meetings and 13
118	118	other affairs. 14
119	119	(d) Members who are not State employees or not otherwise compensated in 15
120	120	the course of their employment shall receive per diem compensation and 16
121	121	expense reimbursement for meetings in accordance with the provisions of 17
122	122	32 V.S.A. § 1010. Members who receive per diem shall receive compensation 18
123	123	for not more than 12 meetings per year. 19
124	124	(e) The Board shall appoint the Director of Safety and Security who shall 20
125	125	hold office at the pleasure of the Board. The Director shall: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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130	130	(1) Develop and implement, annually, a comprehensive plan to ensure 1
131	131	security for State and Vermont Judiciary employees. 2
132	132	(2) Compile an annual report on the number and type of security 3
133	133	incidents concerning State employees and the employees of the Vermont 4
134	134	Judiciary. This report shall be provided annually to the House Committees on 5
135	135	Corrections and Institutions and on Government Operations and Military 6
136	136	Affairs and the Senate Committees on Government Operations and on 7
137	137	Institutions. 8
138	138	(3) Perform such duties as may be assigned by the Board. 9
139	139	(f) The Director of Safety and Security is entitled to compensation, as 10
140	140	established by law, and reimbursement for the expenses within the amounts 11
141	141	available by appropriation. The Director of Safety and Security may, with the 12
142	142	approval of the Board, hire employees to fulfill the duties outlined in 13
143	143	subsection (e) of this section. These employees shall be classified State 14
144	144	employees. 15
145	145	(g) The Director of Safety and Security shall partner with the Department 16
146	146	of Buildings and General Services, whose staff shall be responsible for the 17
147	147	installation, maintenance, and replacement of physical plant alterations 18
148	148	necessary for the implementation of the Director’s security plan. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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153	153	Sec. 3. 29 V.S.A. § 174 is added to read: 1
154	154	§ 174. BUILDINGS AND COURTHOUSES POLICE DEPARTMENT 2
155	155	(a) Definitions. As used in this section: 3
156	156	(1) “Courthouse” means a building or any portion of a building 4
157	157	designated by the Supreme Court of Vermont as a courthouse. 5
158	158	(2) “State building” means a building or any portion of a building 6
159	159	designated by the Director of Safety and Security, in consultation with the 7
160	160	Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, as a State building. 8
161	161	(b) Creation. The Buildings and Courthouses Police Department is created 9
162	162	within the Department of Public Safety. The Commissioner of Public Safety 10
163	163	shall appoint and may remove, at the Commissioner’s pleasure, a Buildings 11
164	164	and Courthouses Police Department officer to serve as Chief. The Chief shall 12
165	165	be an exempt State employee and shall appoint individuals to serve as 13
166	166	additional Buildings and Courthouses Police Department officers. All such 14
167	167	positions shall be classified State employees. The Chief shall supervise the 15
168	168	officer force. Such appointments and all oaths or affirmations shall be in 16
169	169	writing and filed with the Commissioner of Public Safety. 17
170	170	(c) Powers; training. 18
171	171	(1) A Buildings and Courthouses Police Department officer shall have 19
172	172	all the same powers and authority as sheriffs and other law enforcement 20
173	173	officers anywhere in the State, which shall include the authority to arrest 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.349
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178	178	persons and enforce the civil and criminal laws, keep the peace, provide 1
179	179	security, and serve civil and criminal process. For this purpose, a Buildings 2
180	180	and Courthouses Police Department officer shall subscribe to the same oaths 3
181	181	required for sheriffs. 4
182	182	(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a 5
183	183	Buildings and Courthouses Police Department officer shall be a Level II or 6
184	184	Level III law enforcement officer certified by the Vermont Criminal Justice 7
185	185	Training Council pursuant to the provisions of 20 V.S.A. chapter 151, except 8
186	186	that the Chief of the Buildings and Courthouses Police Department shall be a 9
187	187	Level III certified law enforcement officer. 10
188	188	(d) Coordination of State building and courthouse security. The Buildings 11
189	189	and Courthouses Police Department shall provide security and law 12
190	190	enforcement services for State buildings and courthouses. 13
191	191	Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 14
192	192	This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 15