Vermont’s Legislature has given final approval to House Bill 72, which “proposes several provisions relating to harm-reduction and criminal justice responses to drug use.”
The proposal was given approval by the Senate on May 2 by a vote of 21 to 8, with the House of Representatives voting on Tuesday to give the measure final approval. The vote in the House was 96 to 35. The proposal will now be sent to Governor Phil Scott, who says he will veto the measure, just as he vetoed a recent bill that would have allowed legal marijuana sales.
If Governor Scott does veto the measure, the legislature could override it with a 2/3rds majority. The measure was passed with over 70% support in both chambers, indicating that there may be enough support to do so.
The proposed law would “appropriate $1,100,000 in fiscal year 2025 from Opioid Abatement Special Fund to the Department of Health (VDH) for the purpose of awarding a grant to the City of Burlington for establishing an overdose prevention center upon submission of a grant proposal that has been approved by the Burlington City Council.”
The measure would also “require that VDH contract with a researcher or independent consulting entity with expertise in the field of rural addiction or overdose prevention centers, or both, to study the impact of the overdose prevention center pilot program authorized in Sec. 2.”
The study shall “evaluate the current impacts of the overdose crisis in Vermont, as well as any changes up to four years following the implementation of the overdose prevention center pilot programs. In addition to interim annual reports, VDH would submit a final report with the results of the study and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before January 15, 2029.”
Finally, the measure would “appropriate $300,000 to VDH from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund for the purpose of funding the study required by Sec. 2.”
Currently just Minnesota and Rhode Island allow overdose prevention centers.
