House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development

 

AGENDA

 

Room 35 and Zoom

February 3, 2026 - February 6, 2026

Last Updated 1/30/2026 8:24 PM

 

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are livestreamed at

https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/streaming/house-commerce-and-economic-development.

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

9:00 AM                   H. 650 - An act relating to educational technology products

Walk-through

Rik Sehgal, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel

 

10:00 AM                   House Floor and Caucuses

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   H. 674 - An act relating to the creation of the Vermont Sister State Program

Testimony, Mark-up, and Possible Vote

Rik Sehgal, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel

Tim Tierney, Director of Recruitment and International Trade, Agency of Commerce and Community Development - Invited

Patricia Preston, Vermont Council on World Affairs - Invited

Debra Bloom , Project Manager, Agency of Education

Trevor Lowell, Assistant Director, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets - Invited

Susan Evans McClure, Executive Director, Vermont Arts Council - Invited

Major General Gregory C. Knight, Adjutant General, Vermont National Guard - Invited

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Enriquez, National Guard State Partnership Program Director - Invited

Lise Veronneau, Sister City Committee Burlington - Honfleur France - Invited

Peter Lynch, Senate Committee on Committees Appointee, Green Across the World, Inc. - Invited

 

3:00 PM                   H. 512 - An act relating to the regulation of the event ticketing market

Testimony

Brando Rich, CEO and Co-Founder, CashorTrade - Invited

Witness TBA, StubHub

 

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

9:00 AM                   An Educational Hearing on the Core Pillars of Privacy

Joint Hearing with the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs held in Room 10 of the State House from 9:00 - 10:15am. This will be livestreamed from the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development's YouTube.

Neil Richards, Koch Distinguished Professor in Law, Washington University School of Law

Jordan Francis, Senior Policy Counsel for U.S. Legislation, Future of Privacy Forum

Woodrow Hartzog, Andrew R. Randall Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law

Bob Hedges, Former Chief Data Officer, Visa

Bob Sullivan, Independent Journalist

 

10:30 AM                   An Educational Hearing on the Core Pillars of Privacy

Continued Testimony in Room 10 of the State House.

Arielle Garcia, Chief Operating Officer, Check My Ads

Iesha White, Director of Intelligence, Check My Ads

Rowdie Erwin, Former Media Director

Ian Cohen, Founder & CEO, LOKKER

Michelle Finneran Dennedy, Advisor & CXO, LOKKER

Daniel Solove, Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor of Intellectual Property and Technology Law, George Washington University Law School

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Commisioner, Federal Trade Commission

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   H. 639 - An act relating to genetic data privacy

Testimony

Ritchie Engelhardt, Head of Government Affairs, Ancestry.com

 

2:30 PM                   University of Vermont President

Introduction and Discussion

Dr. Marlene Tromp, Dr, President, University of Vermont

 

3:30 PM                   House Floor

 

Thursday, February 5, 2026

9:00 AM                   H. 205 - An act relating to agreements not to compete

TBD

 

11:00 AM                   Outdoor Recreation

Joint Hearing with the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs in Room 110 of the Pavilion. This will be livestreamed from the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs' YouTube.

 

Nick Bennette, Executive Director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, Vermont Trails and Greenways Council

Kelly Ault, Executive Director, Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance

Jackie Dagger, Program Manager, Vermont Outdoor Recreation Collaborative

Lindsay DesLauriers, President, Bolton Valley Resort

Bob Kogut, President, Mad River Valley Recreation District

Jeff Alexander, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports

Drew Pollack-Bruce, Owner and Founder, CRO Planning and Design

Seth Westbrook, Co-founder, Woodstock Area Mountain Bike Association

Jessica Brodie, Executive  Director, Vermont Recreation and Parks Association

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   3 Squares Awareness Day

Testimony

Witnesses TBD, 3SquaresVT

 

1:30 PM                   Local Motion

Richard Amore, Program Director, Local Motion

 

2:00 PM                   H. 385 - An act relating to remedies and protections for victims of coerced debt

Testimony, Mark-up, and Possible Vote. Strike-all Amendment Incorporating Suspicious Transaction Holds.

Maria Royle, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel

Christopher Curtis, Director, Consumer Assistance Program, Vermont Attorney General's Office - Invited

Chris D'Elia, President, Vermont Bankers' Association - Invited

Carrie Allen, President, Association of Vermont Credit Unions - Invited

Colin Hilliard, Associate State Director - Advocacy and Outreach, AARP VT - Invited

Grace Pazdan, Staff Attorney, Vermont Legal Aid - Invited

 

3:30 PM                   House Floor

 

Friday, February 6, 2026

9:05 AM                   Legislative Interns Report

Hearing Reports from the Committee Legislative Interns.

Bailey Davis, Norwich Legislative Intern

Cabot Sayles, UVM Legislative Intern

 

9:30 AM                   House Floor

 

15 Mins After the Floor                   H. 512 - An act relating to the regulation of the event ticketing market

David Hall, Director of Business Services, Secretary of State's Office - Invited

 

-                                   H. 733 - An act relating to the regulation of franchise agreements

David Hall, Director of Business Services, Secretary of State's Office - Invited

 

12:00 PM                   Lunch

 

1:00 PM                   H. 650 - An act relating to educational technology products

Walk-through and Testimony

Rik Sehgal, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel

Lauren Hibbert, Deputy Secretary of State, Secretary of State's Office - Invited

Todd Daloz, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Attorney General's Office - Invited

Faith Boninger, National Education Policy Center - Invited

Lisa LaVasseur, Internet Safety Labs - Invited

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, Author "The Digital Delusion" - Invited

Emily Cherkin, The Screentime Consultant - Invited

Andrew Liddell, Ed Tech Law Center - Invited

Jill Anderson, Mindful Tech Lessons - Invited

Nicki Petrossi, Tech Safe Learning Collective - Invited

Jeff Wallis, IT Director, Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District - Invited

 

ATTENTION WITNESSES

 

Please email handouts to the committee assistant at least 24 hours before your scheduled meeting time. With few exceptions, any documents you send to a committee assistant are open to the public and may be posted to the committee’s web page.

 

Should you require accessibility services, please click here and note that requests should be made 48 hours in advance of testimony.

 

 

 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact

 Megan Cannella at Megan.Cannella@vtleg.gov