Bill Status Updates - Policy for The People March 24, 2025

Below I'm including updates about proposed laws that I mentioned earlier this year. The status that should concern you most is **No Action**. These bills likely will not see any action at this point (aka they're half dead).

If there is a bill that would benefit your life, please reach out to your legislators and/or the bill's sponsors to voice your opinion. 


(These are not official legislative code words. I designed them to help you better understand which bills have hope and which ones will likely die.) The statuses mean:

- **No Action** = The bill has not moved nor been discussed since it was introduced. 

- Passed by the House = Now resides in the hands of the Senate. 

- Passed by the Senate = Now resides in the hands of the House.

- Moving Through the Senate - These bills have several recorded actions in the Senate and are actively moving. 

This is Policy for The People.

Mental/Physical Health:


S.1 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.1

  • Proposes to provide Medicaid-equivalent coverage to all Vermonters.

S.8 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.8

  • Proposes to expand eligibility for coverage under the Dr. Dynasaur program to all Vermont residents under 26 years of age with incomes at or below 312 percent of the federal poverty level.
S.53 - Moving Through Senate (Favorable) 
  • Proposes to establish a process of voluntary certification for community-based perinatal doulas. It would also require Medicaid coverage for doula services during labor and birth and for the prenatal and postpartum periods.

H.30 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.30

  • Proposes to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint on children and youth who are in the custody of the Department for Children and Families and participating in a residential program.

H.32 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.32

  • Proposes to require the Department of Corrections to enter into memorandums of understanding with opioid treatment programs nearest each correctional facility in the State for the provision of opioid use disorder services.

Housing


H. 15 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.15

  • Proposes to provide financial assistance for room and board expenses at residential postsecondary schools in Vermont to residents of the State who qualify. 

H. 169 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.169

  • Proposes to prohibit a landlord from requesting a Social Security number on a residential rental  application and to accept all forms of government issued identification. 

H. 170 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.170

  • Proposes to (1) limit the enrollment of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College when the vacancy rate of the City of Burlington is below five percent; (2) require University housing to meet municipal housing codes and rental housing health and safety standards… 

Equity/Accessibility:


H.38 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.38

  • Proposes to authorize and provide funding for six additional full-time positions and two additional part  time positions within the Human Rights Commission.

S.2 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.2

  • Proposes to establish the Office of Health Equity within the Department of Health.

S.16 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.16

  • Proposes to require that an infant changing station be available in at least one restroom in any public building or place of public accommodation. 

S. 56 - Moving Through Senate (Favorable) 

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.56

  • Proposes to create the Office of New Americans Study Committee to study and report concerning the creation of an independent Office of New Americans. 

Employment


H. 33 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.33

Proposes to:

  • Expand access to unpaid family and medical leave.
  • Provide job-protected leave from employment for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, bereavement, and a qualifying exigency.
  • Eliminate barriers for LGBTQ+ families in accessing caregiving leave.
  • Establish reporting requirements to track the impact of expanded access.

H.190 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.190

  • Proposes to repeal the prostitution laws that currently prohibit “indiscriminate sexual intercourse” and consensual engagement in sex work for hire by adults while retaining prohibitions and felony criminal penalties for human trafficking of persons who are compelled through force, fraud, or coercion to engage in sex work.

Judicial/Corrections


H.2 - Passed by the House

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.2

  • Proposes to increase the minimum age at which a child may be subject to juvenile delinquency proceedings from 10 to 12.

H.32 - **No Action**

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.32

  • Proposes to require the Department of Corrections to enter into memorandums of understanding with opioid treatment programs nearest each correctional facility in the State for the provision of opioid use disorder services. 

S.9 - Passed by the Senate

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.9

  • Proposes to direct the Court Administrator to make procedures for a plaintiff to obtain an order against sexual assault after regular court hours or on weekends and holidays.

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