March 28, 2025
Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today issued an executive order to extend eligibility for families with children and medically vulnerable individuals scheduled to exit the General Assistance program on April 1. These individuals will remain housed in the program through June 30, 2025.
This action will allow children to remain sheltered, so they are not uprooted in the middle of the school year and allow those who are the most medically vulnerable to remain housed while the Department for Children and Families works with them to plan for the future. This aligns with the compromise proposal Governor Scott offered, which the Legislature declined to include in the Budget Adjustment Act.
“I believe we all have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable. While I’ve been opposed to the Hotel Motel program because it doesn’t serve those in the program well, I have also been clear that we have an obligation to protect children and Vermonters who are most vulnerable,” said Governor Phil Scott. “This executive order does just that without unwinding the important progress we’ve made.”
The traditional summer weather General Assistance program will continue, as designed last legislative session, and work towards the expansion of additional family and individual shelter capacity across the state remains a priority for the Agency of Human Services.
Details on the specific eligibility requirements are outlined in the Governor’s Executive Order, which is available by clicking here.
On the house floor
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly recognizes March 2025 as National Athletic Training Month in Vermont, and be it further.
A lot of Bills Passed in the House: Few of them :H. 401 House bill, entitled An act relating to exemptions for food manufacturing establishments H. 481 House bill, entitled An act relating to stormwater management. H. 167 House bill, entitled An act relating to establishing the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters Grant at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. H.237 House bill, entitled An act relating to prescribing by doctoral-level psychologists.H. 479 House bill, entitled An act relating to housing. H. 488 House bill, entitled An act relating to the fiscal year 2026 Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation.H. 491 House bill, entitled An act relating to setting the homestead property tax yields and the nonhomestead property tax rate. Major bill is H. 493 House bill, entitled An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government. This bill may be referred to as the “BIG BILL – Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act”. And another important bill H. 91 House bill, entitled An act relating to the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program. The goal of H.91: “It is the intent of the General Assembly that unsheltered homelessness be eliminated and that homelessness in Vermont be rare, brief, and nonrecurring.” “In fiscal year 2026, $10,000,000.00 of one-time funding is appropriated from the General Fund” to transition planing.
On April 4, Governor Scott returned without signature and vetoed H.489, An act relating to fiscal year 2025 budget adjustments and sent the following letter to the General Assembly:
Dear Ms. Wrask:Pursuant to Chapter II, Section 11 of the Vermont Constitution, I’m returning H.489, An act relating to fiscal year 2025 budget adjustments, without my signature.
It’s clear, we’re at an impasse on a non-budget adjustment-related policy, which has once again, been included in the latest budget adjustment bill. However, nothing prevents us from moving forward with a traditional bill, where we agree on the majority of the mid-year financial true ups.
I’m hopeful, the Legislature will stop sending me bills they know I will veto and instead send me a clean budget adjustment bill without controversial policy, so we can move forward with the many challenges we face.