H 723: An act relating to posting of land - Vermont

As EnactedOpens in a new window → As Passed by Both House and Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) · 3 edits

MINOR

This diff compares the As Enacted version of Vermont H.723 (posting of land for hunting/fishing restrictions) against the As Passed by Both House and Senate version. The substantive differences involve the effective date (changed from 'on passage' in the enacted version to July 1, 2026 in the as-passed version) and minor wording adjustments in subsections (A) and (C) regarding which activities are covered by posting notices. The remaining changes are formatting and document presentation differences.

TIMELINE

The effective date differs between versions: the As Enacted version takes effect 'on passage' while the As Passed version specifies July 1, 2026.

SCOPE

Subsection (A) of 10 V.S.A. 5201 differs in wording: the As Enacted version reads 'the shooting hunting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals' while the As Passed version reads 'the shooting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals,' with 'hunting' absent from option A in the as-passed text.

Subsection (C) differs: the As Enacted version covers 'fishing, hunting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals' while the As Passed version covers 'fishing, hunting, trapping, or taking of game,' omitting 'or wild animals.'

As Passed By the House (UnofficialOpens in a new window) → As Passed By the House (OfficialOpens in a new window) · 5 edits · Apr 24, 2026

MODERATE

The official version of H.723 makes several changes from the unofficial House-passed version: it adds standard legislative header information (sponsors, committee, purpose statement), changes the effective date from 'on passage' to July 1, 2026, and shortens subsection (d) by removing a safe harbor provision that protected property owners whose signs had minor non-compliance. The removal of the deviation safe harbor is the most significant substantive change, as it eliminates the rule that postings remain effective if a reasonable person would still believe hunting or fishing was prohibited despite technical sign deficiencies.

TIMELINE

Effective date changed from 'on passage' to July 1, 2026, giving a specific future date rather than immediate effect upon legislative approval.

REQUIREMENT

Subsection (d) no longer includes the safe harbor provision stating that accidental or unintentional deviations from sign requirements still make the posting effective if a reasonable person would believe hunting, fishing, trapping, or taking of game is prohibited. Also removed is the requirement that property owners with actual notice of non-compliant signs must take reasonable steps to correct them.

DEFINITION

Subsection (a)(1)(A) changed from 'the shooting hunting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals' to 'the shooting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals,' removing the word 'hunting' from that specific option since it is already covered in option (C).

Subsection (a)(1)(C) changed from 'fishing, hunting, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals' to 'fishing, hunting, trapping, or taking of game,' removing 'or wild animals' from the combined prohibition option.

TECHNICAL

Added standard legislative header elements: introduced-by line naming five representatives, committee referral (Conservation and Development), subject description, and a statement of purpose clarifying that 'posting annually' means posting once every 12 months.

As Passed By the House (OfficialOpens in a new window) → As EnactedOpens in a new window · 3 edits

MINOR

The enacted version of H.723 (now Act No. 90) makes two substantive changes from the House-passed version: the effective date was moved up from July 1, 2026 to immediate effect upon passage, and subsection (d) now explicitly requires both posting and recording for land to qualify as enclosed. A minor technical correction changed 'subdivisions' to 'subsections' in subsection (d).

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from July 1, 2026 to 'on passage,' meaning the law takes effect immediately upon enactment rather than waiting several months.

REQUIREMENT

Subsection (d) now states that land must be both 'posted and recorded' as provided in subsection (b) to be considered enclosed land, adding an explicit recording requirement that was not stated in the House version.

TECHNICAL

The term 'subdivisions' was corrected to 'subsections' in subsection (d), aligning with standard Vermont statutory terminology.

As Passed by Both House and Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) → As Passed by Both House and Senate (UnofficialOpens in a new window) · 2 edits

MINOR

This diff compares the official and unofficial versions of H.723 as passed by both chambers. There are no substantive policy changes between the two versions. The differences are purely presentational: the unofficial version omits the introductory matter (sponsors, committee referral, subject line, and statement of purpose), uses a slightly different header format, and reflows the text from 5 pages to 3 pages.

TECHNICAL

The introductory section listing the sponsoring representatives, committee referral, subject heading, and statement of purpose was removed in the unofficial version. This is standard formatting practice for unofficial versions.

Header changed from 'BILL AS PASSED BY THE HOUSE AND SENATE' to 'AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE' and page count reduced from 5 pages to 3 pages due to removal of introductory matter.

As IntroducedOpens in a new window → As Passed By the House (UnofficialOpens in a new window) · 4 edits · Apr 24, 2026

MODERATE

The House passed H.723 with several substantive changes from the introduced version. Most significantly, it added a 'reasonable person' safe harbor provision so that minor posting errors do not automatically invalidate a landowner's prohibition on hunting or fishing, while requiring owners who actually know about non-compliance to fix their signs. The bill also changed its effective date from July 1, 2026 to immediate effect upon passage, and made small terminology adjustments (replacing 'shooting' with 'hunting' and adding 'wild animals' to the combined posting option).

REQUIREMENT

Added a new paragraph in subsection (d) providing that accidental or unintentional deviations from posting requirements are still effective if signs would lead a reasonable person to believe hunting, fishing, trapping, or taking of game or wild animals is prohibited. Property owners with actual notice of non-compliance must take reasonable steps to fix their signs.

TIMELINE

Effective date changed from July 1, 2026 to 'on passage,' meaning the law takes effect immediately once signed by the governor rather than waiting until a fixed future date.

DEFINITION

In subsection (a)(1)(A), the word 'shooting' was replaced with 'hunting' to more accurately describe the activity being restricted. In subsection (a)(1)(C), 'or wild animals' was added to the combined option so it reads 'taking of game or wild animals' rather than just 'taking of game.'

SCOPE

Subsection (b) changed from referring specifically to 'Notices prohibiting the taking of game' to the broader term 'Notice signs,' making the physical posting requirements (placement, spacing, size, dating) apply to all types of notices under the section, not just those that prohibit game taking.

An act relating to posting of land

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