---
type: "Bill"
title: "An act relating to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee"
description: "An act relating to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee"
jurisdiction: "us/states/vt"
legislature: "Vermont General Assembly"
session: "2023-2024"
identifier: "S 159"
citation: "Vermont S 159 (2023-2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ruth Hardy"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 47
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2024-01-03"
last_action: "2024-05-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d4dcc029-39b9-47f4-b4bf-bb5cdde3b502"
source_url: "http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/loadBillDetailedStatus/2024/1438"
source_hash: "0dd29987e290046e6faa42361657f4a0b1f0e090dac3dd573afecd13a1121efc"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-vt"]
---

# Vermont S 159 (2023-2024) — An act relating to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **As Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0159/S-0159%20As%20Introduced.pdf)
2. **Act Summary** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT118/ACT118%20Act%20Summary.pdf)
3. **As Enacted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT118/ACT118%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
4. **As Passed By the Senate (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0159/S-0159%20As%20passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20Official.pdf)
5. **As Passed By the Senate (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0159/S-0159%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf)
6. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0159/S-0159%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Official.pdf)
7. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/BILLS/S-0159/S-0159%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf)

## Sponsors

- Ruth Hardy — primary (person)
- Alison Clarkson — cosponsor (person)
- Anne Watson — cosponsor (person)
- Rebecca White — cosponsor (person)
- Robert Norris — cosponsor (person)
- Tanya Vyhovsky — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-03** Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Government Operations `introduction`
- **2024-03-14** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2024-03-14** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-14** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-14** Referred to Committee on Appropriations per Senate Rule 31
- **2024-03-20** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2024-03-20** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-20** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-20** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-21** New Business/Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-21** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-21** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-22** Unfinished Business/Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-22** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-22** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-26** Unfinished Business/Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-26** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-26** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-27** Unfinished Business/Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-27** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-27** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-27** Read 2nd time, reported favorably with recommendation of amendment by Senator Hardy for Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage-favorable, reading-2`
- **2024-03-27** Reported favorably by Senator Sears for Committee on Appropriations with recommendation of amendment `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-27** Recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations amended as recommended by Committee on Appropriations
- **2024-03-27** Recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations, as amended, agreed to
- **2024-03-27** 3rd reading ordered
- **2024-03-28** New Business/Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2024-03-28** Read 3rd time & passed `reading-3`
- **2024-03-28** Title amended
- **2024-04-02** Read first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs `introduction`
- **2024-05-03** Notice Calendar: Favorable
- **2024-05-03** Referred to Committee on Appropriations per Rule 35(a)
- **2024-05-04** Notice Calendar: Favorable
- **2024-05-06** Action Calendar: Favorable
- **2024-05-06** Rep. Nugent of South Burlington moved to postpone action until 5/07/2024, which was agreed to
- **2024-05-07** Action Calendar: Favorable
- **2024-05-07** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-05-07** Rep. Nugent of South Burlington reported for the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs
- **2024-05-07** Rep. Holcombe of Norwich recommended for the Committee on Appropriations
- **2024-05-07** Third Reading ordered `reading-3`
- **2024-05-08** Action Calendar: Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2024-05-08** Read third time and passed in concurrence `reading-3`
- **2024-05-10** House message: House passed bill in concurrence
- **2024-05-10** As passed by Senate and House `passage`
- **2024-05-10** Delivered to Governor on May 22, 2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-05-10** Signed by Governor on May 28, 2024 `executive-signature`
- **2024-05-10** Senate Message: Signed by Governor May 28, 2024 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d4dcc029-39b9-47f4-b4bf-bb5cdde3b502`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Vermont legislature records).