Governor Scott signs bills on health insurance, drug use, technology

Yahoo

06-06-2025

MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermont's Phil Scott had a busy day Thursday as we near the end of the legislative session. He signed six bills into law, and allowed one to become law without his signature.
H. 1, which adds exemptions to reporting to the State Ethics Commission, was not signed by Scott. However, he still allowed it to become law, saying that 'it does not rise to the level of a veto' but encouraging legislators to revise it in the future. He objected to any law weakening the State Ethics Commission after its power was strengthened last year.
H. 105 relates to the Youth Substance Awareness Safety Program, which provides an alternative to young offenders of drug laws, where they can enroll in an educational program instead of going through civil courts. The bill lowers the minimum age for enrollment from 16 to 10 and includes alcohol-impaired youth drivers in the scope of the program.
H. 222 allows state courts to require people convicted of domestic violence offenses to complete an accountability program before they are released from a restraining order. It also allows courts to require an offender return vehicles shared by them and a victim.
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H. 231, about fish and game management, increases penalties for snaring animals. It also makes it an offense to transport a cocked crossbow in a vehicle.
H. 458 increases accountability for state technology programs. It requires that the state's Agency of Digital Services include more detailed information in its reports, including summaries of the scope, timeline, status, and budget of each of its individual projects.
H. 482, about health insurance, allows the Green Mountain Care Board to reduce hospital reimbursement rates for insurers if the insurer is at risk of going bankrupt. It also allows the board to reduce a hospital's budget if the hospital went over budget the previous year, and to appoint an independent overseer to a hospital the board thinks may be out of compliance.
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Finally, H. 504 approves minor changes to the charter of the City of Rutland, including changes to the city's purchasing policy.
Legislators are still working on some major new legislation, especially an education reform package that Phil Scott decided not to sign after a compromise was reached by the House and Senate.
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