Vermont H 720: An act relating to establishing fetal personhood

Bill Text

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VT LEG #385138 v.2
H.720 1
Introduced by Representatives Priestley of Bradford and Sibilia of Dover 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Utilities; Public Utility Commission; Department of Public Service; 5
cloud computing service; consumer protection 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish 7
cloud computing service as a type of utility service in Vermont subject to the 8
jurisdiction and regulatory authority of the Public Utility Commission and the 9
Department of Public Service. 10
An act relating to the Cloud Computing Public Utility Act 11
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 13
The General Assembly finds that: 14
(1) The business of cloud computing is one of relatively recent origin, 15
its growth has been rapid, and it is already of great importance to the residents 16
and the economic vitality of Vermont. 17
(2) For both private and public entities, on-demand internet access to a 18
shared pool of compute resources—such as networks, servers, storage, 19
analytics, databases, and software—with pay-as-you go pricing, can generate 20

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VT LEG #385138 v.2
significant cost savings and improve an entity’s scalability, operational 1
efficiency, and resource management. 2
(3) Individual consumers, also, may benefit from cost savings as well as 3
the increased accessibility, mobility, reliability, and security that is generally 4
available through cloud computing. 5
(4) The accelerated commercial growth of cloud computing and its 6
commensurate importance to the general welfare of the State underscores that 7
this service has become affected with a public interest and, therefore, should be 8
subject to the jurisdiction and supervision of the Public Utility Commission 9
and the Department of Public Service. 10
(5) As cloud migration increases, it is imperative that the State ensure 11
that the market remains free of anticompetitive and unfair or deceptive 12
business practices, such as vendor lock-in, excessive data egress or termination 13
fees, opaque and complex pricing, and insufficient data privacy and security 14
safeguards. 15
(6) By enforcing targeted regulatory requirements and monitoring the 16
cloud service market, generally, the Public Utility Commission and the 17
Department of Public Service are well positioned to ensure that cloud 18
computing service is offered fairly and reliably in Vermont and in a manner 19
that serves the public good. 20

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VT LEG #385138 v.2
Sec. 2. 30 V.S.A. chapter 15 is added to read: 1
CHAPTER 15. CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE 2
§ 621. TITLE 3
This chapter may be cited as the “Cloud Computing Public Utility Act.” 4
§ 622. PURPOSE 5
It is the purpose of this chapter to establish a regulatory environment for 6
cloud computing service that promotes innovation, competition, and economic 7
efficiencies and simultaneously protects the residents and the general welfare 8
of Vermont. 9
§ 623. DEFINITIONS 10
As used in this chapter: 11
(1) “Cloud computing” has the same meaning as in National Institute of 12
Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-145, or any 13
successor document published by NIST, and comprises five essential 14
characteristics; four deployment models; and three service models, Software as 15
a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service, as described 16
therein. However, with respect to deployment models, this chapter only 17
applies to a public cloud or to a hybrid cloud but only to the extent it comprises 18
distinct public cloud infrastructure. 19
(2) “Cloud computing service” or “cloud service” means a mass-market 20
retail service in Vermont that provides cloud computing where the consumer 21

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does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, including 1
network, servers, operating systems, or storage. The term does not include: 2
(A) data-storage service offered on a stand-alone basis; or 3
(B) a software as a service (SaaS) offering where an application is 4
made available to a consumer through cloud infrastructure and where access to 5
cloud computing is incidental to the SaaS offering. 6
(3) “Cloud service provider” means a company or that part of a 7
company that provides cloud computing service that exceeds, specific to 8
Vermont, either a gross operating revenue threshold or a consumer-count 9
threshold established by the Public Utility Commission. The Commission 10
shall establish these thresholds by rule or, after notice and hearing, by order. 11
(4) “Commission” means the Public Utility Commission. 12
(5) “Company” means a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, 13
limited liability company, association, or any other incorporated or 14
unincorporated legal entity engaged in the business of providing cloud 1