In the Senate, the Health and Welfare and Finance committees continue their joint hearings, where senators are looking for ways to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. The House Health and Welfare Committee has been immersed in a variety of health-related issues and also is tackling an updated to the welfare reform initiative passed several years ago. But it's the banking and insurance initiatives that will occupy the full House this week. A big part of the banking bill is to make Vermont law more closely match federal law. Banking in the United States works under a dual system.
Some banks are federally chartered and others are chartered by the states.
Of the 28 banks in Vermont, fewer than half are chartered by the state, which allows Vermont regulators to oversee them. Lawmakers and regulators believe they have a better chance to maintain state charters, and to persuade other banks to convert, if state law is modernized. Although both state and federal banks are similarly regulated, Vermont officials say they think local oversight is more effective. Consumers, by and large, wouldn't see any changes if the bill is approved. All the consumer protections currently in state law would be recodified, Keenan said.