Human Services Committee

The House Committee on Human Services considers matters relating to improving the well-being of individuals and families, including children, individuals with disabilities, and older Vermonters; oversight of programs and services provided by the Vermont Departments for Children and Families, of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, and of Health; and other similar policies.

The following five bills represent some of the most significant achievements of the year worked on by House Human Services Committee:

H.545/Act 76 (An act relating to issuing immunization recommendations) authorizes the Vermont Department of Health to recommend immunization schedules that may differ from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, informed by the Vermont Immunization Advisory Council. The bill does not mandate or prohibit vaccination, and Vermonters retain access to immunizations on the schedule at no cost, and make their own decisions to be vaccinated or not.The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 6 May 2026.

After years of work trying to address the needs of Vermonters experiencing homelessness, H.938/Act 143 (An act relating to establishing the Vermont Homelessness Response Continuum) overhauls the state's approach for roughly 4,000 unhoused Vermonters by creating a tiered system moving households from prevention and diversion through various shelter options to permanent supportive housing, with motels as a last resort. Motel use is capped at 700 rooms nightly in warmer months and 1,000 in winter, with individual households limited to 70 motel days per year in the warmer season. The bill also includes a focus on supportive services, including case management and housing navigation.  Lastly, the bill establishes a state-funded rental assistance program as a bridge to the currently-closed Section 8 federal rental subsidies. Total spending, approximately $83 million, matches the total proposed in the Governor’s budget. The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 16 June 2026.

H.660/Act 141 (An act relating to fiscal year 2027 Opioid Abatement Special Fund and Substance Misuse Prevention Special Fund appropriations) allocates ~$7.6 million received as part of a national settlement and will be used for opioid-related services including outreach, recovery residences, syringe services, peer coaching in corrections, harm reduction, treatment beds, EMS buprenorphine training, and employment services. (Further funding for Burlington's overdose prevention center will be contingent on it becoming operational and is not included in this bill.) Additional provisions include a suspension of new FY2028 proposals pending an outcomes review, required quarterly spending reports, and ~$640,000 is appropriated for youth prevention programs out of the Substance Misuse Prevention Fund. The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 16 June 2026.

S.198/ Act 148 (An act relating to the regulation of tobacco products and tobacco substitutes) modernizes Vermont's tobacco laws by expanding the definition of "tobacco substitute," banning deceptive tobacco products (including vapes disguised as everyday items like markers or clothing or embedded in games to target youth), broadening licensing requirements, increasing fees and penalties, decoupling tobacco and liquor licensure, transferring regulation and enforcement of wholesale tobacco companies from the Department of Taxes to the Department of Liquor and Lottery, and replacing criminal penalties for minors with stronger civil penalties on sellers. The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 16 June 2026.

H.657/Act 136 (An act relating to various programming and requirements within the Department for Children and Families) allows certified unaccompanied homeless youth (ages 16–17) to consent to medical care, housing, employment, banking, and school enrollment without parental consent; strengthens standards for transportation, restraint, and seclusion of youth in state custody; and prohibits the Department for Children and Families from using foster youth's Social Security benefits to offset state costs except in limited circumstances, aligning Vermont with most other states. The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 15 June 2026.