Senate adopts conference report on S.123, enacts multiple motor-vehicle law changes
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Summary
The Senate accepted a conference committee report on S.123, approving a package of changes to motor-vehicle law that adjusts fees for SSI/SSDI recipients, aligns certain vehicle-weight and defect procedures with federal law, delays parts of bike and trail provisions and removes a proposed window-tinting section.
The Senate accepted and adopted the committee of conference report on S.123, a bill making miscellaneous changes to motor-vehicle laws, and voted to message the measure to the governor, senators said.
The action, approved by voice vote, follows a detailed report by a Senate conferee describing changes negotiated with the House. The conferee said the package reduces certain license-related fees for Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients and moves multiple effective dates to 2026.
"Starting with section 8 and 9 we reduced license fees for SSI and SSDI recipients, push[ing] back the date ... to 07/01/2026," the Senator from Grand Isle reported. The conferee also said section 12 was revised to allow for deferred impositions for vehicle weights and defective-vehicle violations in a manner that "aligns with federal law." The senator said other changes add the phrase "to the extent permitted by federal law" in places asked for by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
The conferee told the Senate the conference report deleted section 33 at the DMV's request and removed an intensive provision on window tinting (section 39). He said lawmakers decided to delete section 39 for now and "revisit that next year." The senator said the bill's bike-safety provisions were amended and certain parts of that language were delayed until 07/01/2026 to give the DMV, motorists and bicyclists more time to adjust. Trail-related language was retained in intent and its effective date was pushed to 04/01/2026, the conferee added.
Senators voted to accept and adopt the report, and later voted to message the enacted changes to the governor. The Senate made the decision by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the public reading.
Discussion versus decision: the conferee's floor presentation summarized negotiated compromises reached in conference with the House; the Senate's vote adopted those compromises as the final legislative text. The subsequent motion and vote to message the bill to the governor are formal actions that forward S.123 for executive consideration.
Next steps: with the conference report adopted and messaged to the governor, the changes described will take effect on the dates specified in the bill text if signed into law or otherwise enacted according to Vermont legislative process.