# Vermont H.243: An act relating to the regulation of business organizations Vermont H.243, An act relating to the regulation of business organizations, is a 2025-2026 Session House bill sponsored by Michael J Marcotte (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-02 (House message: Governor approved bill on May 1, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H243-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Vermont H.243 - State: Vermont - Session: 2025-2026 Session - Title: An act relating to the regulation of business organizations - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-18 - Last action: 2025-05-02, House message: Governor approved bill on May 1, 2025 - Sponsor: Michael J Marcotte (Republican) - Cosponsors: 2 - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 18 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Farm cooperatives gain business financing options: benefit, low. Cooperative associations can own, operate, control, invest in, or join more types of businesses handling their agricultural products or byproducts. Covered activities include processing, storing, shipping, manufacturing, marketing, and selling those products. Associations engaged in warehousing can… - Older business filing barriers are removed: benefit, low. Certain foreign insurance, express, shipping, telegraph, and telephone companies no longer need a special form appointing the Secretary as legal agent. The law also repeals the former lawsuit prerequisite requiring covered persons to file returns and pay registration fees. It removes a former regis… - State certifications accept copied official signatures: benefit, low. A facsimile of the Secretary of State's signature has the same validity as a handwritten signature on covered certifications. This also applies to legally required attestations and certifications of official documents or records in the Secretary's custody. - Housing cooperatives gain clearer name options: benefit, low. Vermont housing cooperative corporations formed under the housing-cooperative chapter can use “cooperative” or its abbreviation in their corporate names. The law adds them to the list of corporations allowed to use that wording. - Utility cooperatives gain another naming option: benefit, low. Cooperatives formed under Vermont's utility-cooperative law can use “utility” in their names. This is an alternative to “energy” or a word naming a specific form of energy. Other applicable name requirements still apply. - Unregistered businesses face fines and claim limits: cost, high. Beginning July 1, 2025, operating without required assumed-name registration carries a $50 daily penalty, capped at $10,000 per year. The unregistered person also owes registration fees for the unregistered period and any other applicable penalties. Until registered, that person—and any successor o… - Business names bring fees and penalties: cost, medium. Assumed-name registration costs $70; amendments, cessation, reservation, and status changes cost $35. Names subject to five-year renewal cost $65 to renew, with filing allowed during the 60 days before expiration. Without renewal, another applicant can register the name. Operating under an unregist… - School operators must seek approval first: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, prospective operators of covered postsecondary schools must apply for a State Board of Education approval certificate. They must apply before registering their business name. This rule does not specify an approval fee. - Business name filing deadlines and fees: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, individuals, partnerships, and unincorporated nonprofit groups using assumed business names in Vermont must register within 10 days of starting. Registration must list the business name, main office address, purpose, and required names and business addresses. Each listed per… - Cooperatives must disclose more filing details: cost, low. Cooperative Marketing Act associations must list their Vermont principal office and their legal agent's name, email, and address when incorporating. They must also list business addresses for directors and the clerk. Merger filings must list the new cooperative's Vermont principal office or, withou… - Marketing cooperatives lose broad corporate powers: cost, low. The law removes a broad grant of powers for associations formed under the Cooperative Marketing Act. That grant gave them the rights and powers Vermont gives corporations in similar businesses. Covered associations no longer receive those powers through the repealed provision. - Business registrations face review and termination: mixed, medium. The Secretary of State can reject filings reasonably found to contain false, fraudulent, or clearly wrong information. After notice and a hearing opportunity, the Secretary can change records or end registrations for fraud, bad faith, lack of authority, or intent to injure. Affected people can appe… - Business filings add contacts and options: mixed, low. Corporate formation and foreign-authority filings must include the agent's name and email; foreign limited liability companies must also provide agent addresses. Limited partnership filings need agent contact details and general partners' names and business addresses. Limited partnership formation… - Business reports add emails and updates: mixed, low. Covered corporate annual and biennial reports must include the agent's name and email. Corporate biennial reports are due January 1–April 1 in the required cycle; incomplete reports remain timely if corrected within 30 days after notice. Limited liability company annual reports need the agent's nam… - Businesses must keep legal agents current: mixed, low. Limited partnerships and covered limited liability companies must continuously keep an agent to receive legal papers. Eligible agents include Vermont residents and authorized business organizations with a Vermont place of business. Covered cooperatives and limited liability companies must file upda… - Businesses share new name registration rules: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, a shared process replaces separate name-reservation rules and allows transferable, exclusive reservations lasting 120 days. Authorized businesses can register an assumed name by identifying both the business and its new name. The Secretary of State rejects names that are too… - Enterprise filing disputes get court locations: mixed, low. An aggrieved person can ask Superior Court to compel someone to sign or deliver a required enterprise record. For a foreign enterprise, the petition goes to the county of its designated office. For a mutual benefit enterprise, it remains in the county of its principal office. - Legal papers reach businesses through Vermont: mixed, low. Shared rules govern delivery of legal papers to covered organizations, including domestic and foreign corporations and qualifying neighboring-state electric cooperatives. The Secretary of State receives papers when a required agent is missing or cannot be found with reasonable effort. The Secretary… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Michael J Marcotte (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Edye Graning (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Kirk White (Democratic), House ## Actions (37) - 2025-05-02: House message: Governor approved bill on May 1, 2025 (House) - 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor on May 1, 2025 (House) - 2025-04-25: Delivered to Governor on April 25, 2025 (House) - 2025-04-24: House message: House concurred in Senate proposal of amendment (House) - 2025-04-23: Senate proposal of amendment concurred in (House) - 2025-04-23: Action Calendar: Action postponed until 4/23/2025 (House) - 2025-04-22: Action Calendar: Action postponed until 4/23/2025 (House) - 2025-04-18: Action Calendar: Action postponed until 4/23/2025 (House) - 2025-04-17: Rep. Cooper of Pownal moved to postpone action until 4/23/2025, which was agreed to (House) - 2025-04-17: Action Calendar: Senate Proposal of Amendment (House) - 2025-04-16: Notice Calendar: Senate Proposal of Amendment (House) - 2025-04-15: Senate Message: Passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment (Senate) - 2025-04-11: Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment (Senate) - 2025-04-11: New Business/Third Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-10: 3rd reading ordered (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Proposal of amendment by Committee on Finance agreed to (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Read 2nd time, reported favorably with proposal of amendment by Senator Mattos for Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-04-10: Favorable report with proposal of amendment by Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-04-10: New Business/Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-09: Favorable report with proposal of amendment by Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-04-09: Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-04-09: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Read third time and passed (House) - 2025-03-20: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House) - 2025-03-19: Third Reading ordered (House) - 2025-03-19: Report of Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, as amended, agreed to (House) - 2025-03-19: Report of the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development amended as recommended by the Committee on Ways and Means, as amended (House) - 2025-03-19: Rep. Burkhardt of South Burlington and Cooper of Pownal moved to amend the report of the Committee on Ways and Means, which was agreed to (House) - 2025-03-19: Rep. Burkhardt of South Burlington recommended for the Committee on Ways and Means (House) - 2025-03-19: Rep. Cooper of Pownal reported for the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development (House) - 2025-03-19: Read second time (House) - 2025-03-19: Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House) - 2025-03-18: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House) - 2025-03-13: Referred to Committee on Ways and Means per Rule 35(a) (House) - 2025-03-13: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House) - 2025-02-18: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development (House) ## Bill text - As Enacted (ACT 10)Opens in a new window, 2025-05-07: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT010/ACT010%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-05-01: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-05-01: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - Senate Proposal of Amendment, 2025-04-17: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 Senate proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - Senate Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial), 2025-04-17: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 Senate Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - As Passed by the House, 2025-03-25: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As passed by the House Official.pdf) - As Passed by the House (Unofficial), 2025-03-25: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf) - As Introduced, 2025-02-14: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related bills - H.211: An act relating to data brokers and personal information (signed) - S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system (signed) - S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities (signed) - S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects (signed) - S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles (signed) - S.327: An act relating to economic development (signed) ## Sources - [As Enacted (ACT 10)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT010/ACT010%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [Senate Proposal of Amendment (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 Senate proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - [Senate Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 Senate Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - [As Passed by the House (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As passed by the House Official.pdf) - [As Passed by the House (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0243/H-0243 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related - [H.211: An act relating to data brokers and personal information](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H211-2026) - [S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S313-2026) - [S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S328-2026) - [S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S323-2026) - [S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S326-2026) - [S.327: An act relating to economic development](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S327-2026) - [Vermont bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont/bills) - [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H243-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).