Bill > SR0010

Introduced Session

resolution relating to the disapproval of Executive Order 01-25. Whereas, on January 15, 2025, the Governor signed Executive Order 01-25 providing for the creation of an Agency of Public Safety by reorganizing the Department of Public Safety as the Agency of Public Safety, and Whereas, according to the Executive Order, effective April 16, 2025, “the expansion of responsibilities accruing to the Department of Public Safety in service to the Governor’s Constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws and the public health and safety needs of Vermonters statewide, necessitate the elevation of the Department of Public Safety to a cabinet-level agency,” and Whereas, in Executive Order 01-25, the Governor lists the expanding scope of responsibilities assigned to the Department, including “law enforcement provided by the Vermont State Police”; “special teams from both the Vermont State Police and the Division of Fire Safety”; the dual responsibilities of the Division of Emergency Management (VEM), for both disaster relief and the management of the State Emergency Operations Center, and that VEM’s “responsibilities will only increase as Vermont faces the dynamic impacts of climate change”; the “[b]road responsibilities of the Division of Fire Safety”; the “[n]umerous support services including Radio Technology and Crime Information, as well as management of Vermont’s only accredited forensic lab”; and “[a]nimal welfare,” and Whereas, the Senate Committee on Government Operations has carefully reviewed and discussed this Executive Order, and Whereas, the Senate recognizes that the Department of Public Safety’s responsibilities are increasing, that they are of enormous importance for all Vermonters, and should be delivered in the most effective possible manner, and Whereas, the Senate also wishes to ensure that the Governor’s reorganization achieves this goal without leading to unintended consequences, and Whereas, the best mechanism to explore a possible reorganization of the Department of Public Safety into a new Agency of Public Safety is to use the standing committee process, with the resulting opportunity for enhanced research, analysis, and public participation, and Whereas, as part of this process, the Senate Committee on Government Operations looks forward to reviewing and taking testimony on all the details of this proposed reorganization of the Department of Public Safety into the Agency of Public Safety, and Whereas, the Senate is fully committed to working cooperatively and promptly with the Administration to develop the best possible governmental organizational arrangement for the delivery of the essential services now under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety, now therefore be it

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As adopted by Senate (on 03/20/2025)

Official Document