18 V.S.A. § 9390 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 220 / Section 9390
§ 9390. Green Mountain Care Board Nominating Committee created; composition
Status: in_force

(a) The Green Mountain Care Board Nominating Committee is created for the nomination of the Chair and members of the Green Mountain Care Board.

(b)(1) The Committee shall consist of nine members who shall be selected as follows:

(A) Two members, appointed by the Governor.

(B) Two members of the Senate, who shall not be members of the same party, to be appointed by the Committee on Committees.

(C) Two members of the House of Representatives, who shall not be members of the same party, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(D) One member each to be appointed by the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House, with knowledge of or expertise in health care policy, health care delivery, or health care financing, to complement that of the remaining members of the Committee.

(2) The members of the Committee shall serve for terms of two years and may serve for no more than three consecutive terms. All appointments shall be made between January 1 and February 1 of each odd-numbered year, except to fill a vacancy. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed.

(3) The members shall elect their own chair who shall serve for a term of two years.

(c) For Committee meetings held when the General Assembly is not in session, the legislative members of the Green Mountain Care Board Nominating Committee shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses in accordance with the provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 23. Committee members who are not legislators shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses on the same basis as that applicable to the legislative members, and their compensation and reimbursements shall be paid out of the budget of the Green Mountain Care Board.

(d) The Green Mountain Care Board Nominating Committee shall use the qualifications described in section 9392 of this title for the nomination of candidates for the Chair and members of the Green Mountain Care Board. The Nominating Committee shall adopt procedures for a nomination process based on the rules adopted by the Judicial Nominating Board and shall make such procedures available to the public.

(e) A quorum of the Committee shall consist of five members.

(f) The Committee shall have the administrative, technical, and legal assistance of the Department of Human Resources.
18 V.S.A. § 2054 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 46 / Section 2054
§ 2054. Exclusive jurisdiction of the Director
Status: in_force

The Director, with the advice of the advisors appointed under this chapter, shall have exclusive authority to determine the qualifications, skill, and fitness of any person to serve as an administrator of a nursing home under the provisions of this chapter, and a licensee under the provisions of this chapter shall be qualified to serve as the administrator of a nursing home.
18 V.S.A. § 9441 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9441
§ 9441. Fees
Status: in_force

(a) The Board shall charge a fee for the filing of certificate of need applications. The fee shall be calculated at the rate of 0.125 percent of project costs.

(b) The maximum fee shall not exceed $20,000.00 and the minimum filing fee is $250.00 regardless of project cost. No fee shall be charged on projects amended as part of the review process.

(c) The Board may retain such additional professional or other staff as needed to assist in particular proceedings under this subchapter and may assess and collect the reasonable expenses for such additional staff from the applicant. The Board, on petition by the applicant and opportunity for hearing, may reduce such assessment upon a proper showing by the applicant that such expenses were excessive or unnecessary. The authority granted to the Board under this section is in addition to any other authority granted to the Board under law.

(d) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Green Mountain Care Board Regulatory and Administrative Fund established by subsection 9404(d) of this title and may be used by the Board to administer its obligations, responsibilities, and duties as required by law.
18 V.S.A. § 113 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 3 / Section 113
§ 113. Services and expenditures; cooperation with other agencies; attendance upon meetings
Status: in_force

The Commissioner may perform such services and incur such expenditures as the Commissioner deems necessary for the protection of the public health and may cooperate with health agencies of other states and countries.
18 V.S.A. § 8727 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 204A / Section 8727
§ 8727. Complaints; appeals
Status: in_force

(a) Notice. The Department or agency or program funded by the Department shall provide notice:

(1) To an applicant or the applicant's guardian, as applicable, of the rights provided under this chapter, State and federal law, and any other available rights of appeal for violations of any of those rights.

(2) To a person with a developmental disability or the person's guardian, as applicable, of any decision to deny, suspend, reduce, or terminate services, prior to any action by the Department or agency or program funded by the Department and the procedure for appealing the decision.

(b) Appeals. A person with a developmental disability or the person's guardian may appeal a decision of the Department or an agency or program funded by the Department to deny or terminate eligibility for services; to deny, terminate, suspend, or reduce services; or when a request is not acted upon promptly to the Human Services Board. The fair hearing before the Human Services Board shall be conducted pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 3091(b), (c), (e), (f), (g), and (h)(3) and the following:

(1) The Board shall not reverse or modify a decision of the Department that is consistent with the system of care plan and the rules of the Department, provided that the Board may reverse or modify a decision of the Department that the Board determines is in conflict with State or federal law. The Board shall not reverse or modify a decision of the Department that is determined to be in compliance with applicable law, even though the board may disagree with the results effected by that decision.

(2)(A) The Secretary of Human Services shall review all decisions and orders of the Board issued under this subsection and shall adopt a decision or order of the Board, except that the Secretary may reverse or modify any decision or order of the Board if:

(i) the Board's findings of fact lack support in the record; or

(ii) the decision or order implicates the validity or applicability of any rule or policy of the agency.

(B) The Secretary shall issue a written decision stating the legal, factual or policy basis for reversing or modifying a decision or order of the Board. The Secretary shall approve, modify or reverse a decision or order of the Board within 15 days after the date of the decision or order. If the Secretary fails to issue a written decision within 15 days, the decision and order of the Board shall be deemed to be approved by the Secretary. A decision and order of the Board under this subsection shall become the final and binding decision of the Department upon approval by the Secretary.

(3) The fair hearing officer:

(A) shall ensure that a person with a developmental disability shall have access to legal representation; and

(B) may order an independent evaluation at no cost to the person when the fair hearing officer finds that it would aid in the resolution of the issue on appeal.

(c) Internal complaints and resolution procedures. The Commissioner shall:

(1) establish procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints by recipients or by service providers regarding the availability, quality, and responsiveness of services provided.

(2) establish a procedure for the prompt and impartial resolution of disputes that are not subject to review before the Human Services Board as provided by subsection (b) of this section, such as disputes by recipients regarding the manner, quality, or accessibility of services provided by programs or agencies funded by the Department.

(3) offer conflict resolution services conducted by trained mediators to assist in resolving disputes between recipients and programs and agencies funded by the Department.

(4) offer arbitration to be conducted by a trained independent arbitrator for resolution of disputes that are not resolved by the procedures provided in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, pursuant to which the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding, except to the extent that either party has other legal remedies.

(d) Procedure by next friend. The appeal and complaint procedures provided by this section may be initiated by a next friend when a person with a developmental disability is unable to initiate the procedure due to cognitive limitations and the person does not have a guardian or there is a conflict of interest between the person with a developmental disability and the person's guardian that has resulted in failure to initiate either the appeal or complaint procedure.
18 V.S.A. § 3603 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 77 / Section 3603
§ 3603. Rulemaking
Status: in_force

The Commissioner of Financial Regulation shall adopt rules in accordance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The rules shall include, as appropriate, requirements that health insurers maintain the confidentiality of proprietary information and that pharmacy benefit managers file their advertising and solicitation materials with the Commissioner for approval prior to sending any such materials to patients or consumers.
18 V.S.A. § 9444 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9444
§ 9444. Revocation of certificates; material change
Status: in_force

(a) The Board may revoke a certificate of need for substantial noncompliance with the scope of the project as designated in the application, or for failure to comply with the conditions set forth in the certificate of need granted by the Board.

(b)(1) In the event that after a project has been approved, its proponent wishes to materially change the approved project, all such changes are subject to review under this subchapter.

(2) Applicants shall notify the Board of a nonmaterial change to the approved project. If the Board decides to review a nonmaterial change, the Board may provide for any necessary process, including a public hearing, before approval. Where the Board decides not to review a change, such change will be deemed to have been granted a certificate of need.
18 V.S.A. § 4239 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4239
§ 4239. Collection of fines
Status: in_force

Fines imposed for violation of this chapter shall be considered as a judgment and may be collected and executed upon by the State, through the State's Attorney's office or the Attorney General's office, according to the Rules of Civil Procedure. The State may use the discovery provisions of the civil rules in connection with collection of an execution upon the judgment. Such procedure for collection of a fine shall not be exclusive.
18 V.S.A. § 2058 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 46 / Section 2058
§ 2058. License fees
Status: in_force

Applicants and persons regulated under this chapter shall be subject to the following fees:
18 V.S.A. § 8351 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 196 / Section 8351
§ 8351. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Conversion therapy” means any practice by a mental health care provider that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to change sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex or gender. “Conversion therapy” does not include psychotherapies that:

(A) provide support to an individual undergoing gender transition; or

(B) provide acceptance, support, and understanding of clients or the facilitation of clients' coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including sexual-orientation-neutral or gender-identity-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices without seeking to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.

(2) “Mental health care provider” means a person licensed to practice medicine pursuant to 26 V.S.A. chapter 23, 33, or 81 who specializes in the practice of psychiatry; a psychologist, a psychologist-doctorate, or a psychologist-master as defined in 26 V.S.A. § 3001; a clinical social worker as defined in 26 V.S.A. § 3201; a clinical mental health counselor as defined in 26 V.S.A. § 3261; a licensed marriage and family therapist as defined in 26 V.S.A. § 4031; a psychoanalyst as defined in 26 V.S.A. § 4051; any other allied mental health professional; or a student, intern, or trainee of any such profession.
18 V.S.A. § 5250h — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250h
§ 5250h. Preclusive effect of anatomical gift, amendment, or revocation
Status: in_force

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g) of this section and subject to subsection (f) of this section, in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor, a person other than the donor is barred from making, amending, or revoking an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part if the donor made an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250e of this title or an amendment to an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250f of this title.

(b) A donor's revocation of an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250f of this title is not a refusal and does not bar another person specified in section 5250d or 5250i of this title from making an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250e or 5250j of this title.

(c) If a person other than the donor makes an unrevoked anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250e of this title or an amendment to an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250f of this title, another person may not make, amend, or revoke the gift of the donor's body or part under section 5250j of this title.

(d) A revocation of an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part under section 5250f of this title by a person other than the donor does not bar another person from making an anatomical gift of the body or part under section 5250e or 5250j of this title.

(e) In the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 5250d of this title, an anatomical gift of a part is neither a refusal to give another part nor a limitation on the making of an anatomical gift of another part at a later time by the donor or another person.

(f) In the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 5250d of this title, an anatomical gift of a part for one or more of the purposes set forth in that section is not a limitation on the making of an anatomical gift of the part for any of the other purposes by the donor or any other person under section 5250e or 5250j of this title.

(g) If a donor who is an unemancipated minor dies, a parent of the donor who is reasonably available may revoke or amend an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part.

(h) If an unemancipated minor who signed a refusal dies, a parent of the minor who is reasonably available may revoke the minor's refusal.
18 V.S.A. § 7255 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 174 / Section 7255
§ 7255. System of care
Status: in_force

The Commissioner of Mental Health shall coordinate a geographically diverse system and continuum of mental health care throughout the State that shall include at least the following:

(1) comprehensive and coordinated community services, including prevention, to serve children, families, and adults at all stages of mental condition or psychiatric disability;

(2) peer services, which may include:

(A) a warm line;

(B) peer-provided transportation services;

(C) peer-supported crisis services; and

(D) peer-supported hospital diversion services;

(3) alternative treatment options for individuals seeking to avoid or reduce reliance on medications;

(4) recovery-oriented housing programs;

(5) intensive residential recovery facilities;

(6) appropriate and adequate psychiatric inpatient capacity for voluntary patients;

(7) appropriate and adequate psychiatric inpatient capacity for involuntary inpatient treatment services, including persons receiving treatment through court order from a civil or criminal court;

(8) a secure residential recovery facility; and

(9) a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth.
18 V.S.A. § 7901 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 187 / Section 7901
§ 7901. Intrastate transfers
Status: in_force

The Commissioner may authorize the transfer of patients between the Vermont State Hospital or its successor in interest and designated hospitals if the Commissioner determines that it would be consistent with the medical needs of the patient to do so. Whenever a patient is transferred, written notice shall be given to the patient's legal guardian or agent, if any, and any other person with the consent of the patient. In all such transfers, due consideration shall be given to the relationship of the patient to his or her family, legal guardian, or friends, so as to maintain relationships and encourage visits beneficial to the patient. Due consideration shall also be given to the separation of functions and to the divergent purposes of the Vermont State Hospital or its successor in interest and designated hospitals. No patient may be transferred to a correctional institution without the order of a court of competent jurisdiction. No patient may be transferred to a designated hospital outside the no refusal system unless the head of the hospital or his or her designee first accepts the patient.
18 V.S.A. § 8005 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 189 / Section 8005
§ 8005. Habeas corpus
Status: in_force

Any individual hospitalized under this title or his or her attorney or an interested party may apply for a writ of habeas corpus from any court generally empowered to issue the writ in the jurisdiction in which he or she is detained.
18 V.S.A. § 4806 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 94 / Section 4806
§ 4806. Division of Substance Use Programs
Status: repealed

(a) The Division of Substance Use Programs shall plan, operate, and evaluate a consistent, effective program of substance use programs. All duties, responsibilities, and authority of the Division shall be carried out and exercised by and within the Department of Health.

(b) The Division shall be responsible for the following services:

(1) prevention and intervention;

(2) [Repealed.]

(3) project CRASH schools; and

(4) alcohol and drug treatment.

(c) Under the direction of the Commissioner of Health, the Division shall review and approve all alcohol and drug programs developed or administered by any State agency or department.

(d) Any federal or private funds received by the State for purposes of subdivision (b)(4) of this section shall be in the budget of and administered by the Department of Health.

(e) [Repealed.]
18 V.S.A. § 1122 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1122
§ 1122. Exemptions
Status: in_force

(a) Notwithstanding subsections 1121(a) and (b) of this title, a person may remain in school or in a child care facility without a required immunization:

(1) If the person or, in the case of a minor, the person's parent or guardian presents a form created by the Department and signed by a licensed health care practitioner authorized to prescribe vaccines or a health clinic stating that the person is in the process of being immunized. The person may continue to attend school or a child care facility for up to six months while the immunization process is being accomplished.

(2) If a licensed health care practitioner who is authorized to prescribe vaccines certifies in writing that a specific immunization is or may be detrimental to the person's health. A certifying health care practitioner shall specify the required immunization in question as well as the probable duration of the condition or circumstance that is or may be detrimental to the person's health. Any exemption certified under this subdivision shall terminate when the condition or circumstance cited no longer applies.

(3) If the person or, in the case of a minor, the person's parent or guardian annually provides a signed statement to the school or child care facility on a form created by the Department that the person, parent, or guardian:

(A) holds religious beliefs opposed to immunization; and

(B) has reviewed evidence-based educational material provided by the Department regarding immunizations, including:

(i) information about the risks of adverse reactions to immunization;

(ii) information that failure to complete the required vaccination schedule increases risk to the person and others of contracting or carrying a vaccine-preventable infectious disease; and

(iii) information that there are persons with special health needs attending schools and child care facilities who are unable to be vaccinated or who are at heightened risk of contracting a vaccine-preventable communicable disease and for whom such a disease could be life-threatening.

(b) The Department of Health may provide by rule for further exemptions to immunization based upon sound medical practice.

(c) A form signed pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) of this section and the fact that such a form was signed shall not be:

(1) construed to create or deny civil liability for any person; or

(2) admissible as evidence in any civil proceeding.

(d) As used in this section, “health care practitioner” means a person licensed by law to provide professional health care services to an individual during the course of that individual's medical care or treatment.
18 V.S.A. § 5577 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5577
§ 5577. Mausoleum becoming untenable
Status: in_force

If a mausoleum, vault, crypt, or structure containing one or more deceased human bodies becomes a hazard to public health, and the owner or owners of the structure fail to remedy or remove the same to the satisfaction of the Department of Health, a court of competent jurisdiction may order the person, firm, or corporation owning the structure to remove the body or bodies for interment in some suitable cemetery at the expense of the person, firm, or corporation owning the mausoleum, vault, or crypt. When the person, firm, or corporation cannot be found in the county where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is located, then the removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery, cemetery association, city, or town where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is situated.
18 V.S.A. § 9494 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 223 / Section 9494
§ 9494. Interference with reproductive choice prohibited
Status: in_force

(a) A public entity as defined in section 9496 of this title shall not, in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information, deny or interfere with an individual's fundamental rights to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization or to choose to carry a pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to obtain an abortion.

(b) No State or local law enforcement shall prosecute any individual for inducing, performing, or attempting to induce or perform the individual's own abortion.
18 V.S.A. § 8350 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 196 / Section 8350
§ 8350. Consent by minors for mental health treatment
Status: in_force

A minor may give consent to receive any legally authorized outpatient treatment from a mental health professional, as defined in section 7101 of this title. Consent under this section shall not be subject to disaffirmance due to minority of the person consenting. The consent of a parent or legal guardian shall not be necessary to authorize outpatient treatment. As used in this section, “outpatient treatment” means psychotherapy and other counseling services that are supportive, but not prescription drugs.
18 V.S.A. § 4622 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 91 / Section 4622
§ 4622. Evidence-based education program
Status: in_force

(a)(1) The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Attorney General, the University of Vermont area health education centers program, and the Department of Vermont Health Access, shall establish an evidence-based prescription drug education program for health care professionals designed to provide information and education on the therapeutic and cost-effective utilization of prescription drugs to physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals authorized to prescribe and dispense prescription drugs. To the extent practicable, the program shall use the evidence-based standards developed by the Blueprint for Health. The Department of Health may collaborate with other states in establishing this program.

(2) The program shall notify prescribers about commonly used brand-name drugs for which the patent has expired within the last 12 months or will expire within the next 12 months. The Departments of Health and of Vermont Health Access shall collaborate in issuing the notices.

(3) To the extent permitted by funding, the program may include population-based medication management.

(b) The Department of Health shall request information and collaboration from physicians, pharmacists, private insurers, hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers, the Drug Utilization Review Board, medical schools, the Attorney General, and any other programs providing an evidence-based education to prescribers on prescription drugs in developing and maintaining the program.

(c) The Department of Health may contract for technical and clinical support in the development and the administration of the program from entities conducting independent research into the effectiveness of prescription drugs.

(d) The Department of Health and the Attorney General shall collaborate in reviewing the marketing activities of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Vermont and determining appropriate funding sources for the program, including awards from suits brought by the Attorney General against pharmaceutical manufacturers.
18 V.S.A. § 108 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 3 / Section 108
§ 108. Water supply; sanitation
Status: in_force

When requested, or when, in the Commissioner's opinion, it is necessary, the Commissioner shall advise with municipal officers in regard to drainage, water supply, and sewerage of towns and villages and in regard to the erection, construction, heating, ventilation, and sanitary arrangements of public buildings.
18 V.S.A. § 7 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 1 / Section 7
§ 7. General penalty
Status: in_force

A person who violates a provision of this title for which no other penalty is provided shall be fined not more than $100.00 nor less than $50.00.
18 V.S.A. § 1686 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 33B / Section 1686
§ 1686. Repealed. 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. January 1, 2026.
Status: in_force

(a) A violation of this chapter shall be deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions, and private parties have the same rights and remedies as provided under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude or supplant any other statutory or common law remedies.
18 V.S.A. § 1047 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1047
§ 1047. Indigent persons with respiratory diseases
Status: in_force

Persons who have tuberculosis and other chronic respiratory diseases, who are without the means to obtain adequate care and treatment for such diseases, shall be deemed indigent persons for the purposes of this subchapter.
18 V.S.A. § 906c — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 17 / Section 906c
§ 906c. Veterans and service members returning from deployment; prior positions
Status: in_force

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Service member” means an individual who is an active duty member of:

(A) the U.S. Armed Forces;

(B) a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces;

(C) the U.S. Coast Guard; or

(D) the National Guard of any state.

(2) “Veteran” means a former service member who received an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions from active duty.

(b)(1) A veteran or service member who held a position as an emergency medical provider prior to his or her most recent military deployment but whose license or certification lapsed as a direct result of that deployment shall be permitted to return to that same position at the same rate of compensation upon his or her return from deployment once licensure is renewed, so long as all other requirements for employment are met.

(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall apply to such a veteran or service member until the expiration of six months after his or her return from deployment or the renewal cycle during which he or she returns from deployment, whichever is later.
18 V.S.A. § 906d — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 17 / Section 906d
§ 906d. Renewal requirements; sunset review
Status: in_force

(a) Not less than once every five years, the Department shall review emergency medical personnel continuing education and other continuing competency requirements. The review results shall be in writing and address the following:

(1) the renewal requirements of the profession;

(2) the renewal requirements in other jurisdictions, particularly in the Northeast region;

(3) the cost of the renewal requirements for emergency medical personnel; and

(4) an analysis of the utility and effectiveness of the renewal requirements with respect to public protection.

(b) The Department shall amend its rules or propose any necessary statutory amendments to revise any emergency medical personnel continuing education and other continuing competency requirements that are not necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, or welfare.
18 V.S.A. § 1784 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 39 / Section 1784
§ 1784. Penalty exemption
Status: in_force

Nothing in this chapter shall cause a person to be subject to the fine established in section 7 of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 1779 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 38A / Section 1779
§ 1779. Violations; enforcement
Status: in_force

A violation of this chapter shall be considered a violation of the Consumer Protection Act in 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1. Private parties shall not have a private right of action under this chapter.
18 V.S.A. § 622 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 11 / Section 622
§ 622. Health officers for unorganized towns and gores
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall have power to designate a local health officer of a town adjoining an unorganized town or gore as the local health officer of such unorganized town or gore. Such health officer shall report to the Commissioner every violation of this title or any rule adopted, permit or order issued pursuant to this title, and any public health hazard or public health risk of which such officer has knowledge as existing in such unorganized town or gore and, in such unorganized town or gore, shall perform all acts required of the local health officer of a town. Upon receiving such information from such health officer, the Commissioner shall perform all acts in relation to such cases the same as if such information came from the local health officer of a town.
18 V.S.A. § 4203 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4203
§ 4203. Persons exempted
Status: in_force

The provisions of this chapter, restricting the possession and control of regulated drugs, shall not apply to common carriers or to warehousemen while engaged solely in lawfully transporting or storing such drugs while in their original containers, nor to any employee of the same acting within the scope of his or her employment, nor to public officers or their employees in the performance of their official duties requiring possession or control of regulated drugs, nor to temporary incidental possession by employees or agents of persons lawfully entitled to possession, including a medical or dental assistant, nurse, intern, resident, and a member of a patient's family dispensing or administering regulated drugs under a licensed physician's or dentist's orders, nor by authorized persons whose possession is for the purpose of aiding public officers in performing their official duties.
18 V.S.A. § 9352 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 219 / Section 9352
§ 9352. Vermont Information Technology Leaders
Status: repealed

(a) Governance. The Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) Board of Directors shall consist of no fewer than nine nor more than 14 members. The term of each member shall be two years, except that of the members first appointed, approximately one-half shall serve a term of one year and approximately one-half shall serve a term of two years, and members shall continue to hold office until their successors have been duly appointed. The Board of Directors shall comprise representatives of the business community, of health care consumers, of Vermont hospitals, of Vermont-licensed clinicians, and of health insurers licensed to offer plans in Vermont, as well as individuals familiar with health information technology, including, to the extent practicable, one or more individuals who are or have served as the chief technology officer for a health care facility.

(b) Conflict of interest. In carrying out their responsibilities under this section, Directors of VITL shall be subject to conflict of interest policies established by the Secretary of Administration to ensure that deliberations and decisions are fair and equitable.

(c) Health information exchange operation.

(1) VITL shall be designated in the Health Information Technology Plan to operate the exclusive statewide health information exchange network for this State. The Plan shall determine the manner in which Vermont's health information exchange network shall be managed. Nothing in this chapter shall impede local community providers from the exchange of electronic medical data.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of 3 V.S.A. § 2222 or 2283b to the contrary, upon request of the Secretary of Administration, the Agency of Digital Services shall review VITL's technology for security, privacy, and interoperability with State government information technology, consistent with the State's health information technology plan required by section 9351 of this title.

(d) Privacy. The standards and protocols implemented by VITL shall be consistent with those adopted by the statewide Health Information Technology Plan pursuant to subsection 9351(e) of this title.

(e) Report. On or before January 15 of each year, VITL shall file a report with the Green Mountain Care Board; the Secretary of Administration; the Secretary of Digital Services; the Commissioner of Financial Regulation; the Commissioner of Vermont Health Access; the Secretary of Human Services; the Commissioner of Health; the Commissioner of Mental Health; the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living; the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare; and the House Committee on Health Care. The report shall include an assessment of progress in implementing health information technology in Vermont and recommendations for additional funding and legislation required. In addition, VITL shall publish minutes of VITL meetings and any other relevant information on a public website. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection.

(f) Funding authorization. VITL is authorized to seek matching funds to assist with carrying out the purposes of this section. In addition, it may accept any and all donations, gifts, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services from the federal or any local government, or any agency thereof, and from any person, firm, foundation, or corporation for any of its purposes and functions under this section and may receive and use the same, subject to the terms, conditions, and regulations governing such donations, gifts, and grants. VITL shall not use any State funds for health care consumer advertising, marketing, or similar services unless necessary to comply with the terms of a contract or grant that requires a contribution of State funds.

(g) Waivers. The Secretary of Human Services or designee, in consultation with VITL, may seek any waivers of federal law, of rule, or of regulation that might assist with implementation of this section.

(h) [Repealed.]

(i) Certification of meaningful use and connectivity.

(1) To the extent necessary to support Vermont's health care reform goals or as required by federal law, VITL shall be authorized to certify the meaningful use of health information technology and electronic health records by health care providers licensed in Vermont.

(2) VITL, in consultation with health care providers and health care facilities, shall establish criteria for creating or maintaining connectivity to the State's health information exchange network.

(j) Scope of activities. VITL and any person who serves as a member, director, officer, or employee of VITL with or without compensation shall not be considered a health care provider as defined in subdivision 9432 of this title for purposes of any action taken in good faith pursuant to or in reliance upon provisions of this section relating to VITL's:

(1) governance;

(2) electronic exchange of health information and operation of the statewide Health Information Exchange Network as long as nothing in such exchange or operation constitutes the practice of medicine pursuant to 26 V.S.A. chapter 23 or 33;

(3) implementation of privacy provisions;

(4) funding authority;

(5) application for waivers of federal law;

(6) establishment and operation of a financing program providing electronic health records systems to providers; or

(7) certification of health care providers' meaningful use of health information technology.
18 V.S.A. § 9435 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9435
§ 9435. Exclusions
Status: in_force

(a) Excluded from this subchapter are offices of physicians, dentists, or other practitioners of the healing arts, meaning the physical places that are occupied by such providers on a regular basis in which such providers perform the range of diagnostic and treatment services usually performed by such providers on an outpatient basis unless they are subject to review under subdivision 9434(a)(4) of this title.

(b) Excluded from this subchapter are community mental health or developmental disability center health care projects proposed by a designated agency and supervised by the Commissioner of Mental Health or the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, or both, depending on the circumstances and subject matter of the project, provided the appropriate Commissioner or Commissioners make a written approval of the proposed health care project. The designated agency shall submit a copy of the approval with a letter of intent to the Board.

(c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to offices owned, operated, or leased by a hospital or its subsidiary, parent, or holding company, outpatient diagnostic or therapy programs, kidney disease treatment centers, independent diagnostic laboratories, cardiac catheterization laboratories, radiation therapy facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and diagnostic imaging facilities and similar facilities owned or operated by a physician, dentist, or other practitioner of the healing arts.

(d) Excluded from this subchapter are redesignations, designation revocations, and collaborative agreements of home health agencies subject to the supervision of the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living under 33 V.S.A. chapter 5.

(e) Upon request under 8 V.S.A. § 5102(f) by a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) authorized under federal Medicare law, or by a Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) or Prepaid Ambulatory Health Plan (PAHP) established in accordance with federal Medicare or Medicaid laws and regulations, the Board may approve the exemption of the PACE program, PIHP, or PAHP from the provisions of this subchapter and from any other provisions of this chapter if the Board determines that the purposes of this subchapter and the purposes of any other provision of this chapter will not be materially and adversely affected by the exemption. In approving an exemption, the Board may prescribe such terms and conditions as the Board deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter and this chapter.

(f)(1) Excluded from this subchapter are routine replacements of:

(A) medical equipment that is fully depreciated; and

(B) nonmedical equipment and fixtures, including furnaces, boilers, refrigeration units, kitchen equipment, heating and cooling units, and similar items, regardless of their remaining useful life.

(2) The replacements described in subdivision (1) of this subsection and purchased by a hospital shall be included in the hospital's budget and may be reviewed in the budget process set forth in subchapter 7 of this chapter.

(g) With the approval of the Commissioner of Health, excluded from this subchapter is a facility in which the prescription, distribution, or administration of medication for opioid use disorder is a principal activity.

(h) Excluded from this subchapter are overdose prevention centers established and operated in accordance with section 4256 of this title.

(i) Excluded from this subchapter are emergency and nonemergency ground ambulance services, affiliated agencies, and equipment and supplies used by emergency medical personnel, as those terms are defined in 24 V.S.A. § 2651.

(j) Excluded from this subchapter are the offering of a health care service, or the construction, development, purchase, renovation, or other establishment of a health care facility, that is owned or operated by the State of Vermont or is funded in whole or in substantial part by a contract or grant awarded by the State of Vermont; provided, however, that the State agency sponsoring the project or awarding the contract or grant shall inform the Green Mountain Care Board prior to commencing the project or within 30 days following the execution of the contract or grant.

(k) Excluded from this subchapter are expenditures by a hospital that are necessary to implement the security plan required pursuant to section 1911b of this title.

(l) Excluded from this subchapter are birth centers that are licensed pursuant to chapter 53 of this title or are proposed to be established and licensed pursuant to chapter 53 of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 7613 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 181 / Section 7613
§ 7613. Notice-appointment of counsel
Status: in_force

(a) When the application is filed, the court shall appoint counsel for the proposed patient and transmit a copy of the application, the physician's certificate, if any, and a notice of hearing to the proposed patient; his or her attorney, guardian, or any person having custody and control of the proposed patient; the State's Attorney; or the Attorney General, and any other person the court believes has a concern for the proposed patient's welfare. A copy of the notice of hearing shall also be transmitted to the applicant and certifying physician.

(b) The notice of hearing shall set forth the date and time of the hearing and shall contain a list of the proposed patient's rights at the hearing.

(c) If the court has reason to believe that notice to the proposed patient will be likely to cause injury to the proposed patient or others, it shall direct the proposed patient's counsel to give the proposed patient oral notice prior to written notice under circumstances most likely to reduce likelihood of injury.
18 V.S.A. § 1427 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 28 / Section 1427
§ 1427. Employee rights
Status: in_force

(a) An employer shall not discharge or discipline or otherwise discriminate against an employee because that employee assisted in the supervision or enforcement of this chapter.

(b) Any employee who believes that he or she has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against in violation of this section may, within 30 days after such violation occurs, file a complaint with the Commissioner of Health alleging such discrimination. Upon receipt of such complaint, the Commissioner shall cause such investigation to be made as the Commissioner deems appropriate. If, upon investigation, the Commissioner determines that the provisions of this section have been violated, he or she shall bring an action in Superior Court against such person. In any such action, the court shall have jurisdiction for cause shown to restrain violations of subsection (a) of this section and order all appropriate relief including rehiring or reinstatement of the employee to his or her former position with back pay.

(c) Within 90 days after the receipt of a complaint filed under this section, the Commissioner shall notify the complainant of the determination under subsection (b) of this section.
18 V.S.A. § 4244 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4244
§ 4244. Forfeiture hearing
Status: in_force

(a) Within 60 days following service of notice of seizure and forfeiture under section 4243 of this title, a claimant may file a demand for judicial determination of the forfeiture. The demand must be in the form of a civil complaint accompanied by a sworn affidavit setting forth the facts upon which the claimant intends to rely, including, if relevant, the noncriminal source of the asset or currency at issue. The demand must be filed with the court administrator in the county in which the seizure occurred.

(b) The court shall hold a hearing on the petition as soon as practicable after, and in any event no later than 90 days following, the conclusion of the criminal prosecution.

(c) A lienholder who has received notice of a forfeiture proceeding may intervene as a party. If the court finds that the lienholder has a valid, good faith interest in the subject property that is not held through a straw purchase, trust, or otherwise for the actual benefit of another and that the lienholder did not at any time have knowledge or reason to believe that the property was being or would be used in violation of the law, the court upon forfeiture shall order compensation to the lienholder to the extent of the lienholder's interest.

(d) The court shall not order the forfeiture of property if an owner, co-owner, or person who regularly uses the property, other than the defendant, shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the owner, co-owner, or regular user did not consent to or have any express or implied knowledge that the property was being or was intended to be used in a manner that would subject the property to forfeiture, or that the owner, co-owner, or regular user had no reasonable opportunity or capacity to prevent the defendant from using the property.

(e) The proceeding shall be against the property and shall be deemed civil in nature. The State shall have the burden of proving all material facts by clear and convincing evidence.

(f) The court shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall issue a final order. If the petition is granted, the court shall order the property held for evidentiary purposes, delivered to the State Treasurer, or, in the case of regulated drugs or property that is harmful to the public, destroyed.
18 V.S.A. § 5005 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 101 / Section 5005
§ 5005. Unorganized towns and gores
Status: in_force

The county clerk of a county where an unorganized town or gore is situated shall have the authority, perform the duties, and be subject to the penalties prescribed in this part in relation to vital records with respect to residents of the unorganized town or gore.
18 V.S.A. § 9719 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 231 / Section 9719
§ 9719. Obligations of State agencies
Status: in_force

(a) Not later than March 1, 2012, and from time to time thereafter, the Commissioner, in consultation with all appropriate agencies and organizations, shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to effectuate the intent of this chapter. The rules shall cover at least one optional form of an advance directive with an accompanying form providing an explanation of choices and responsibilities, the Vermont DNR/COLST form as outlined in subsection 9708(b) of this title, the use of experimental treatments, a DNR identification, revocation of a DNR identification, and consistent statewide emergency medical standards for DNR/COLST orders and advance directives for patients and principals in all settings. The Commissioner shall also provide, but without the obligation to adopt a rule, optional forms for advance directives for individuals with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and cognitive translation needs.

(b)(1) Within one year of the effective date of this chapter, the Commissioner shall develop and maintain a registry to which a principal may submit his or her advance directive, including a terminal care document and a durable power of attorney. The rules shall describe when health care providers, health care facilities, and residential care facilities may access an advance directive in the registry. In no event shall the information in the registry be accessed or used for any purpose unrelated to decision making for health care or disposition of remains, except that the information may be used for statistical or analytical purposes as long as the individual's identifying information remains confidential.

(2)(A) Within one year of the effective date of this chapter, the Commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 on the process for securely submitting, revoking, amending, replacing, and accessing the information contained in the registry. The rules shall provide for incorporation into the registry of notifications of amendment, suspension, or revocation under subsection 9704(c) of this title and revocations of appointment under subsection 9704(d) of this title.

(B) The Commissioner shall provide to any individual who submits an advance directive to the registry a sticker that can be placed on a driver's license or identification card indicating that the holder has an advance directive in the registry.

(c)(1) Within one year of the effective date of this chapter, the Commissioner shall provide on the Department's public website information on advance directives and the registry to appropriate State offices. The Commissioner shall also include information on advance directives, and on the registry and the optional forms of an advance directive.

(2) Within one year of the effective date of this chapter, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall provide motor vehicle licenses and identity cards, as soon as existing licenses or cards have been depleted, which allow the license holder or card holder to indicate that he or she has an advance directive and whether it is in the registry.
18 V.S.A. § 5284 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 113 / Section 5284
§ 5284. No duty to aid
Status: in_force

A patient with a terminal condition who self-administers a lethal dose of medication shall not be considered to be a person exposed to grave physical harm under 12 V.S.A. § 519, and no person shall be subject to civil or criminal liability solely for being present when a patient with a terminal condition self-administers a lethal dose of medication or for not acting to prevent the patient from self-administering a lethal dose of medication.
18 V.S.A. § 4233b — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4233b
§ 4233b. Xylazine
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall dispense or sell xylazine except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) The following are permitted activities related to xylazine:

(1) dispensing or prescribing for, or administration to, a nonhuman species a drug containing xylazine approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 512 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as provided in 21 U.S.C. § 360b;

(2) dispensing or prescribing for, or administration to, a nonhuman species permissible pursuant to section 512(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as provided in 21 U.S.C. § 360b(a)(4);

(3) manufacturing, distribution, or use of xylazine as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for manufacturing an animal drug approved under section 512 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as provided in 21 U.S.C. § 360b or issued an investigation use exemption pursuant to section 512(j);

(4) manufacturing, distribution, or use of a xylazine bulk chemical for pharmaceutical compounding by licensed pharmacists or veterinarians; and

(5) any other use approved or permissible under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

(c) A person knowingly and unlawfully dispensing xylazine shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $75,000.00, or both. A person knowingly and unlawfully selling xylazine shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $100,000.00, or both.

(d) As used in this section, “knowingly” means:

(1) the defendant had actual knowledge that one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances contained xylazine; or

(2) the defendant:

(A) was aware that there is a high probability that one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances contained xylazine; and

(B) took deliberate actions to avoid learning that one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances contained xylazine.
18 V.S.A. § 1691 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 33C / Section 1691
§ 1691. Repealed. 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. January 1, 2026.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Department” means the Department of Health.

(2) “Intentionally added” means the addition of a chemical in a product that serves an intended function in the product component.

(3) “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS” has the same meaning as in section 1661 of this title.

(4) “Ski wax” means a lubricant applied to the bottom of snow runners, including skis and snowboards, to improve their grip and glide properties.
18 V.S.A. § 1607 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 31 / Section 1607
§ 1607. Other responsibilities and activities-Article VII
Status: in_force

Nothing in this compact shall be construed to:

(1) Authorize or permit any party state to curtail or diminish its radiation protection program, equipment, services, or facilities.

(2) Limit or restrict the powers of any state ratifying the same to provide for the radiological health protection of the public and individuals, or to prohibit the enactment or enforcement of state laws, rules, or regulations intended to provide for such radiological health protection.

(3) Affect any existing or future cooperative relationship or arrangement between federal, state or local governments and a party state or states.
18 V.S.A. § 7619 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 181 / Section 7619
§ 7619. Order; hospitalization
Status: in_force

An initial order of hospitalization shall be for a period of 90 days from the date of the hearing.
18 V.S.A. § 5494 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5494
§ 5494. Title to lands taken
Status: in_force

Such cemetery association shall not take possession of such lands until the damages and costs are paid. When so paid, a valid title to the lands so taken shall vest in such association, and the same may be used for burial purposes.
18 V.S.A. § 2053 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 46 / Section 2053
§ 2053. Director; duties; powers
Status: in_force

(a) The Director shall:

(1) set requirements for licensure;

(2) provide general information to applicants;

(3) explain complaint and appeal procedures to licensees, applicants, and the public; and

(4) receive applications for licensure; license applicants under this chapter; renew licenses; and revoke, reinstate, or condition licenses as ordered by an administrative law officer.

(b) The Director may:

(1) adopt rules concerning continuing education requirements;

(2) adopt rules necessary to perform the Director's duties under this chapter; and

(3) adopt rules of professional conduct.
18 V.S.A. § 1911 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 43 / Section 1911
§ 1911. Construction
Status: in_force

This chapter shall not be construed in any way to restrict or modify any law pertaining to the placement and adoption of children or the care of unmarried mothers.
18 V.S.A. § 5303 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5303
§ 5303. Policy declared
Status: in_force

The object, purposes, and activities of a cemetery shall be restricted to those acts only that are necessary to enable it to accomplish the purposes for which it is created. It shall not be conducted for the purpose of private gain either directly or indirectly to any of the members of the agencies engaged in such business. Lawfully organized cemeteries may be conducted and operated by those agencies now engaged in their conduct and operation, by churches, by religious and ecclesiastical societies, by cemetery associations incorporated as provided in this chapter, and by no others. However, this chapter is not intended to apply to any agency organized, existing, and operating the business of a cemetery prior to June 1, 1933, under any existing law, nor to affect any vested rights acquired thereunder. Insofar, however, as the provisions of this chapter do not violate any vested rights, so acquired, it shall apply to all such agencies.
18 V.S.A. § 5485 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5485
§ 5485. Appeal to Superior Court
Status: in_force

When, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, a person owning or having an interest in lands taken for a burial ground, or gravel or earth for the same, is dissatisfied with such taking or with the damages awarded to the person by the selectboard in such proceedings, the person may petition the Superior Court of the county in which such lands lie in the same manner as in case of an appeal as to the laying out of a highway by the selectboard, and thereupon the same proceedings shall be had on such petition.
18 V.S.A. § 7310 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 175 / Section 7310
§ 7310. Petition for inquiry
Status: in_force

The attorney or guardian of a patient or any other interested party may apply to the Board to inquire into the treatment and hospitalization of a patient, and the Board shall take appropriate action upon the application.
18 V.S.A. § 5142 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 105 / Section 5142
§ 5142. Persons not authorized to marry
Status: in_force

The following persons are not authorized to marry, and a town clerk shall not knowingly issue a civil marriage license, when:

(1) either party is under 18 years of age;

(2) either party lacks capacity to understand the nature of the conduct at issue;

(3) either party is 18 years of age or older and under guardianship, without the written consent of the party's guardian;

(4) the parties are prohibited from marrying under 15 V.S.A. § 1a on account of consanguinity or affinity; or

(5) either party has a living spouse, as prohibited under 13 V.S.A. § 206.
18 V.S.A. § 703 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 13 / Section 703
§ 703. Health prevention; chronic care management
Status: in_force

(a) The Director shall develop a model for integrating a system of health care for patients, improving the health of the overall population, and improving control over health care costs by promoting health maintenance, prevention, and care coordination and management through an integrated system, including a patient-centered medical home and a community health team, and uniform payment for health services by health insurers, Medicaid, Medicare if available, and other entities that encourage the use of the medical home and the community health teams.

(b) When appropriate, the model may include the integration of social services provided by the Agency of Human Services or may include coordination with a team at the Agency of Human Services to ensure the individual's comprehensive care plan is consistent with the Agency's case management plan for that individual or family.

(c) In order to maximize the participation of federal health care programs and to maximize federal funds available, the model for care coordination and management may meet the criteria for medical home, community health team, or other related demonstration projects established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the criteria of any other federal program providing funds for establishing medical homes, community health teams, or associated payment reform.

(d) The model for care coordination and management shall include the following components:

(1) A process for identifying individuals with or at risk for chronic disease and to assist in the determination of the risk for or severity of a chronic disease, as well as the appropriate type and level of care management services needed to manage those chronic conditions.

(2) Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, which shall be aligned with the clinical quality and performance measures provided for in section 702 of this title.

(3) Models for the collaboration of health care professionals in providing care, including through a community health team.

(4) Education for patients on how to manage conditions or diseases, including prevention of disease; programs to modify a patient's behavior; and a method of ensuring compliance of the patient with the recommended behavioral change.

(5) Education for patients on health care decision-making, including education related to advance directives, palliative care, hospice care, and timely referrals to palliative and hospice care, when appropriate.

(6) Measurement and evaluation of the process and health outcomes of patients.

(7) A method for all health care professionals treating the same patient on a routine basis to report and share information about that patient.

(8) Requirements that participating health care professionals and providers have the capacity to implement health information technology that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 300jj in order to facilitate coordination among members of the community health team, health care professionals, and primary care practices and, where applicable, to report information on quality measures to the Director of the Blueprint.

(9) A sustainable, scalable, and adaptable financial model reforming primary care payment methods through medical homes supported by community health teams that lead to a reduction in avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations and a shift of health insurer expenditures from disease management contracts to financial support for local community health teams in order to promote health, prevent disease, and manage care in order to increase positive health outcomes and reduce costs over time.

(e) The Director of the Blueprint shall provide technical assistance and training to health care professionals, health care providers, health insurers, and others participating in the Blueprint.
18 V.S.A. § 1556 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 30 / Section 1556
§ 1556. Rulemaking
Status: in_force

The Commissioner of Health, with the advice and recommendation of a majority of the members of the Panel, shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 related to the following:

(1) The system for identifying and reporting maternal deaths to the Commissioner or designee.

(2) The form and manner through which the Panel may acquire information under section 1555 of this title.

(3) The protocol to be used in carefully and sensitively contacting a family member of the deceased woman for a discussion of the events surrounding the death, including allowing grieving family members to delay or refuse such an interview.

(4) Ensuring de-identification of all individuals and facilities involved in the Panel's review of cases.
18 V.S.A. § 1912 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 43A / Section 1912
§ 1912. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Adverse event” is any untoward incident, therapeutic misadventure, iatrogenic injury, or other undesirable occurrence directly associated with care or services provided by a health care provider or health care facility.

(2) “Causal analysis” means a formal root cause analysis, similar analytic methodologies, or any similarly effective but simplified processes that use a systematic approach to identify the basic or causal factors that underlie the occurrence or possible occurrence of a reportable adverse event, adverse event, or near miss.

(3) “Corrective action plan” means a plan to implement strategies intended to eliminate or significantly reduce the risk of a recurrence of an adverse event and to measure the effectiveness of such strategies.

(4) “Hospital” shall have the same meaning as in subdivision 1902(1) of this title.

(5) “Health care provider” shall have the same meaning as in subdivision 9402(7) of this title.

(6) “Intentional unsafe act” shall mean an adverse event or near miss that results from:

(A) a criminal act;

(B) a purposefully unsafe act;

(C) alcohol or substance abuse; or

(D) patient abuse.

(7) “Near miss” means any process variation that did not affect the outcome, but for which a recurrence carries a significant chance of a serious adverse outcome.

(8) “Reportable adverse event” means those adverse events a hospital is required to report to the Department pursuant to rules adopted under this chapter.

(9) “Safety system” means the comprehensive patient safety surveillance and improvement system established pursuant to this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(10) “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or substantial impairment of health or substantial disfigurement.
18 V.S.A. § 5002 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 101 / Section 5002
§ 5002. Report of vital statistics; preservation of records; authority to issue
Status: in_force

The State Registrar shall prepare an annual vital statistics report summarizing reports or returns of births, marriages, deaths, fetal deaths, divorces, annulments, and dissolutions received in the prior calendar year. The State Registrar shall periodically transmit original returns of marriages, divorces, annulments, and dissolutions to the State Archivist, who shall keep the returns on file for use by the public. The State Registrar and the State Archivist shall each, independently of the other, have power to issue certified copies of vital event certificates in their custody.
18 V.S.A. § 5207 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 107 / Section 5207
§ 5207. Certificate furnished family; burial-transit permit
Status: in_force

Within 24 hours after death, the death certificate shall be made available upon request to the family of the deceased, if any, or the undertaker or person who has charge of the body. The certificate shall be filed with the person issuing the burial-transit permit obtained by the person who has charge of the body before permanent disposition or removal from the town. When the death certificate is so filed, the officer or person shall immediately issue a burial-transit permit under legal restrictions and safeguards.
18 V.S.A. § 1672 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 33A / Section 1672
§ 1672. Repealed. 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. January 1, 2026.
Status: in_force

(a) A manufacturer, supplier, or distributor shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this State a food package to which PFAS have been intentionally added and are present in any amount.

(b)(1) Pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, the Department may adopt rules prohibiting a manufacturer, supplier, or distributor from selling or offering for sale or for promotional distribution a food package or the packaging component of a food package to which bisphenols have been intentionally added and are present in any amount. The Department may exempt specific chemicals within the bisphenol class when clear and convincing evidence suggests they are not endocrine-active or otherwise toxic.

(2) The Department may only prohibit a manufacturer, supplier, or distributor from selling or offering for sale or for promotional distribution a food package or the packaging component of a food package in accordance with this subsection if the Department or at least one other state has determined that a safer alternative is readily available in sufficient quantity and at a comparable cost and that the safer alternative performs as well as or better than bisphenols in a specific application of bisphenols to a food package or the packaging component of a food package.

(3) If the Department prohibits a manufacturer, supplier, or distributor from selling or offering for sale or for promotional distribution a food package or the packaging component of a food package in accordance with this subsection, the prohibition shall not take effect until two years after the Department adopts the rules.

(c) A manufacturer, supplier, or distributor shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this State a food package that includes inks, dyes, pigments, adhesives, stabilizers, coatings, plasticizers, or any other additives to which ortho-phthalates have been intentionally added and are present in any amount.

(d) This section shall not apply to the sale or resale of used products.
18 V.S.A. § 5576 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5576
§ 5576. Sales before the completion of building; bond
Status: in_force

A crypt or room in a community mausoleum, or niche in a columbarium, shall not be sold or offered for sale before such structure is entirely completed, unless and until the agency selling such crypts or niches enters into an agreement in which it agrees to refund to each and every purchaser of crypts, rooms, and niches all sums of money paid by each, together with legal interest thereon, in the event it fails to complete such mausoleum or columbarium within a reasonable time thereafter, which agreement shall be entered into with a bank or trust company as trustee for the purchasers of crypts, rooms, and niches. The agency shall also deposit with the trustee a good and sufficient bond or other security that shall guarantee the faithful performance of the agreement. The selection of the bank or trust company, the trust agreement, and the bond or other security herein provided for shall be submitted to and be subject to the approval of the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the district where such community mausoleum or columbarium is located.
18 V.S.A. § 9009 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 209 / Section 9009
§ 9009. Criminal patients-Article IX
Status: in_force

(a) No provision of this compact except Article V shall apply to any person institutionalized while under sentence in a penal or correctional institution or while subject to trial on a criminal charge, or whose institutionalization is due to the commission of an offense for which, in the absence of mental illness or developmental disability, the person would be subject to incarceration in a penal or correctional institution.

(b) To every extent possible, it shall be the policy of states party to this compact that no patient shall be placed or detained in any prison, jail, or lockup, but the patient shall, with all expedition, be taken to a suitable institutional facility for mental illness or developmental disability.
18 V.S.A. § 4303 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 85 / Section 4303
§ 4303. Rulemaking
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to establish minimum standards for the safe and sanitary operation of food or lodging establishments or children's camps or any combination thereof and for their administration and enforcement. The rules shall require that an establishment be constructed, maintained, and operated with strict regard for the health of the employees and the public pursuant to the following general requirements:

(1) The entire establishment and its immediate appertaining premises, including the fixtures and furnishings, the machinery, apparatus, implements, utensils, receptacles, vehicles, and other devices used in the production, keeping, storing, handling, serving, or distributing of the food, or the materials used in the food, shall be constructed, maintained, and operated in a clean, sanitary, and healthful manner.

(2) The food and the materials used in the food shall be protected from any foreign or injurious contamination that may render them unfit for human consumption.

(3) The clothing, habits, and conduct of the employees shall be conducive to and promote cleanliness, sanitation, and healthfulness.

(4) There shall be proper, suitable, and adequate toilets and lavatories constructed, maintained, and operated in a clean, sanitary, and healthful manner.

(5) There shall be proper, suitable, and adequate water supply, heating, lighting, ventilation, drainage, sewage disposal, and plumbing.

(6) There shall be proper operation and maintenance of pools, recreation water facilities, spas, and related facilities within lodging establishments.

(7) There shall be training requirements for food manufacturing establishment operators and employees to ensure cleanliness, sanitation, and healthfulness.

(8) The Commissioner may adopt any other minimum conditions deemed necessary for the operation and maintenance of a food or lodging establishment in a safe and sanitary manner.

(b)(1) The rules adopted by the Commissioner shall provide that a service member or veteran who is designated by the U.S. Armed Forces as a 92G Culinary Specialist or equivalent and is certified as a culinarian by the American Culinary Federation shall be deemed to:

(A) have knowledge of the prevention of food-borne disease;

(B) be able to apply the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles; and

(C) have met the criteria for “demonstration of knowledge” requirements set forth by the Department of Health in rule for the purposes of obtaining a food establishment license.

(2) As used in this subsection:

(A) “Service member” means an individual who is an active member of:

(i) the U.S. Armed Forces;

(ii) a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces;

(iii) the U.S. Coast Guard; or

(iv) the National Guard of any state.

(B) “Veteran” means a former service member who received an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions from active duty not more than two years prior to submitting an application for a food establishment license under this chapter.
18 V.S.A. § 5212b — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 107 / Section 5212b
§ 5212b. Unmarked Burial Sites Special Fund; reporting of unmarked burial sites
Status: in_force

(a) The Unmarked Burial Sites Special Fund is established in the State Treasury for the purpose of protecting, preserving, moving, or reinterring human remains discovered in unmarked burial sites.

(b) The Fund shall be composed of any monies appropriated to the Fund by the General Assembly or received from any other source, private or public. Interest earned on the Fund, and any balance remaining in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year, shall be retained in the Fund. This Fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer, and shall be managed in accordance with 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5.

(c) The Commissioner of Housing and Community Development may authorize disbursements from the Fund for use in any municipality in which human remains are discovered in unmarked burial sites, in accordance with a process approved by the Commissioner. The Commissioner may approve any process developed through consensus or agreement of the interested parties, including the municipality, a Native American group historically based in Vermont with a connection to the remains, owners of private property on which there are known or likely to be unmarked burial sites, and any other appropriate interested parties, provided the Commissioner determines that the process is likely to be effective, and includes all the following:

(1) Methods for determining the presence of unmarked burial sites, including archaeological surveys and assessments and other nonintrusive techniques.

(2) Methods for handling development and excavation on property on which it is known that there is or is likely to be one or more unmarked burial sites.

(3) Options for owners of property on which human remains in unmarked burial sites are discovered or determined to be located.

(4) Procedures for protecting, preserving, or moving unmarked burial sites and human remains, subject, where applicable, to the permit requirement and penalties of this chapter.

(5) Procedures for resolving disputes.

(d) If unmarked burial sites and human remains are removed, consistent with the process set forth in this section and any permit required by this chapter, there shall be no criminal liability under 13 V.S.A. § 3761.

(e) The funds shall be used for the following purposes relating to unmarked burial sites:

(1) To monitor excavations.

(2) To protect, preserve, move, or reinter unmarked burial sites and human remains.

(3) To perform archaeological assessments and archaeological site or field investigations, including radar scanning and any other nonintrusive technology or technique designed to determine the presence of human remains.

(4) To provide mediation and other appropriate dispute resolution services.

(5) To acquire property or development rights, provided the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development determines that disbursements for this purpose will not unduly burden the Fund, and further provided the Commissioner shall expend funds for this purpose only with the concurrence of the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development and after consultation with the legislative bodies of any affected municipality or municipalities.

(6) Any other appropriate purpose determined by the Commissioner to be consistent with the purposes of this Fund.

(f) When an unmarked burial site is first discovered, the discovery shall be reported immediately to a law enforcement agency. If, after completion of an investigation pursuant to section 5205 of this title, a law enforcement agency determines that the burial site does not constitute evidence of a crime, the law enforcement agency shall immediately notify the State Archeologist, who may authorize appropriate action regarding the unmarked burial site.
18 V.S.A. § 8716 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 204 / Section 8716
§ 8716. Jurisdiction
Status: in_force

The Superior Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings brought under this chapter. Proceedings under this chapter shall be commenced in the Superior Court of the county in which the person with an intellectual disability resides.
18 V.S.A. § 8402 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 197 / Section 8402
§ 8402. Hospitalization
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a drug addict may be admitted to a designated hospital and provided with care and treatment in the same manner and under the same conditions as a mentally ill person.
18 V.S.A. § 5531 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5531
§ 5531. Disposal of lot by will; descent; burial rights of husband and wife
Status: in_force

(a) The owner of a cemetery lot may dispose of same by will to any one of the owner's relatives who may survive the owner, or to any agency owning and conducting the cemetery in which the lot is situated, in trust, for the use and benefit of any person or persons designated in such will. When no express disposition or other mention is made in a will of a cemetery lot owned by the testator at the testator's decease, and where the testator or any member of the testator's family is buried, the ownership of the lot shall not pass from the testator's lawful heirs by any residuary or other general clause of the will but shall descend to the testator's heirs, as if the testator had died intestate.

(b) A wife shall be entitled to a right of interment for her own body in any burial lot or tomb of sufficient size and space to permit such interment, of which her husband was seized at any time during coverture, which shall be exempt from the operation of the laws regulating conveyance, descent, and devise, but may be released by her in the same manner as dower. A husband shall have the same rights in the burial lot or tomb of his wife as a wife has in that of her husband. A husband or wife living separate from the other, and owning a burial lot or tomb in which the other but for this section would have no right of burial or interment, at least 30 days before the death of the other, may file with the agency conducting the cemetery in which such burial lot or tomb is located a written objection to the interment of the other and thereupon there shall be no right of interment of such husband or wife under this section.

(c) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall have jurisdiction to determine all questions arising under the provisions of this section.

(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as a limitation of the right of any agency owning and conducting a cemetery, either by rule and regulation, or by deed or contract, to define or limit the persons or classes of persons having the right of burial upon any lot in the cemetery of such agency, or to prohibit or restrict the resale of any such lot or burial space.
18 V.S.A. § 5573 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5573
§ 5573. Construction requirements
Status: in_force

(a) A community mausoleum or columbarium, the crypts or niches of which are available to the public, shall be constructed and erected only with the consent and approval of the legislative body of the municipality and local board of health.

(b) Before commencing the building, construction, or erection of any such structure, full detailed plans and specifications shall be presented to the Department of Health. The approval of plans and specifications shall be evidenced by a certificate in writing, signed by the legislative body of the municipality and the local board of health.

(c) A community mausoleum, columbarium, or any structure intended to hold or contain permanently the bodies of the dead, and to which the public shall have access, shall not be constructed or erected without the approvals required by this section. A building not used for the permanent disposition of the human dead shall not be altered or changed to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead, and an addition shall not be made to any existing community mausoleum or columbarium, unless constructed of material and workmanship as will ensure its durability and permanence as well as the safety, convenience, comfort, and health of the community in which it is located, as dictated and determined at the time by modern mausoleum construction and engineering science.

(d) Construction shall be managed and supervised by a person with experience in modern mausoleum construction and engineering.
18 V.S.A. § 8844 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 206 / Section 8844
§ 8844. Legal competence
Status: in_force

No determination that a person is in need of custody, care, and habilitation or in need of continued custody, care, and habilitation and no order authorizing commitment shall lead to a presumption of legal incompetence.
18 V.S.A. § 1812 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 41 / Section 1812
§ 1812. Consideration and forwarding of applications
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall afford to every applicant for a construction project an opportunity for a fair hearing. If the Commissioner, after affording a reasonable opportunity for development and presentation of applications in the order of relative need, finds that a project application complies with the requirements of section 1811 of this title and is otherwise in conformity with the State plan, the Commissioner shall approve such application and shall recommend and forward it to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
18 V.S.A. § 9484 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9484
§ 9484. Public education and information
Status: in_force

(a) Each large health care facility shall publicize its financial assistance policy widely by:

(1) making the financial assistance policy and application form easily accessible online through the facility's website and through any patient portal or other online communication portal used by the facility's patients;

(2) providing paper copies of the financial assistance policy and application form upon request at no charge, both by mail and at the facility's office; for hospitals, copies shall also be available in the hospital's patient reception and admissions areas and in the locations in which patient billing and financial assistance services are provided;

(3) providing oral and written translations of the financial assistance policy upon request;

(4) notifying and informing members of the community served by the facility about the financial assistance policy in a manner reasonably calculated to reach the members of the community who are most likely to need financial assistance, including members who are non-native English speakers, provided that these efforts shall be commensurate with the facility's size and income; and

(5) conspicuously displaying notices of and information regarding the financial assistance policy in the facility's offices; for hospitals, the notices and information shall be posted in the hospital's patient reception and admissions areas and in the locations in which patient billing and financial assistance services are provided.

(b) Each large health care facility shall directly notify individuals who receive care from the facility about the facility's financial assistance policy by, at a minimum:

(1) offering a paper copy of the financial assistance policy to each patient as part of the patient's first visit or, in the case of a hospital, during the intake and discharge processes; and

(2) including a conspicuous written notice on billing statements, whether sent by the facility or by a medical debt collector, stating that financial assistance is available to some patients based on income and including:

(A) a telephone number that the patient can call to request a financial assistance application and to receive information about the financial assistance policy and the application process; and

(B) the specific website address at which copies of the policy and application are available.

(c) All written or oral attempts by a medical creditor or medical debt collector to collect a medical debt arising from health care services delivered by a large health care facility shall include information for the patient about the relevant financial assistance policy or policies.
18 V.S.A. § 909 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 17 / Section 909
§ 909. EMS Advisory Committee; EMS Education Council
Status: in_force

(a) The Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee shall advise the Department of Health on matters relating to the delivery of emergency medical services (EMS) in Vermont.

(b) The Committee shall comprise the following members:

(1) one representative from each EMS district in the State, with each representative being appointed by the EMS Board in that individual's district;

(2) a representative from the Vermont Ambulance Association or designee;

(3) a representative from the Initiative for Rural Emergency Medical Services program at the University of Vermont or designee;

(4) a representative from the Professional Firefighters of Vermont or designee;

(5) a representative from the Vermont Career Fire Chiefs Association or designee;

(6) a representative from the Vermont State Firefighters' Association or designee;

(7) an emergency department nurse manager or emergency department director of a Vermont hospital appointed by the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems;

(8) the Commissioner of Health or designee; and

(9) a local government member not affiliated with emergency medical services, firefighter services, or hospital services, appointed by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

(c)(1) The Committee shall select from among its members a chair who is not an employee of the State.

(2) The Committee shall have the administrative, technical, and legal assistance of the Agency of Human Services.

(d) The Committee shall meet not less than quarterly and may be convened at any time by the Chair or at the request of 11 Committee members. Not more than two meetings each year shall be held in the same EMS district. One meeting each year shall be held at a Vermont EMS conference.

(e)(1) The Committee shall develop and maintain a five-year statewide plan for the coordinated delivery of emergency medical services in Vermont. The plan, which shall be updated at least annually, shall include:

(A) specific goals for the delivery of emergency medical services in this State;

(B) a time frame for achieving the stated goals;

(C) cost data and alternative funding sources for achieving the stated goals; and

(D) performance standards for evaluating the stated goals.

(2) Annually, on or before December 15, the Committee shall deliver to the Commissioner of Health and the General Assembly a report reviewing progress toward achieving the goals in the five-year plan and the goals set by the Committee for the coming year.

(f) In addition to its plan and report set forth in subsection (e) of this section, the Committee shall identify EMS resources and needs in each EMS district and provide that information to the Green Mountain Care Board to inform the Board's periodic revisions to the Health Resource Allocation Plan developed pursuant to subsection 9405(b) of this title.

(g) The Committee shall establish from among its members the EMS Education Council, which may:

(1) sponsor training and education programs required for emergency medical personnel licensure in accordance with the Department of Health's required standards for that training and education; and

(2) provide advice to the Department of Health regarding the standards for emergency medical personnel licensure and any recommendations for changes to those standards.
18 V.S.A. § 4214 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4214
§ 4214. Authorized professional use of regulated drugs
Status: in_force

(a) A physician or dentist licensed under this chapter, in good faith and in the course of his or her professional practice only, may prescribe, administer, and dispense regulated drugs and he or she may cause the same to be administered for medical purposes only by a nurse licensed under this chapter, or an intern, medical or dental assistant, or resident, or in his or her absence by a responsible member of the family of the patient, under his or her direction and supervision.

(b) A duly licensed veterinarian, in good faith and in the course of his or her professional practice only and not for use by a human being, may prescribe, administer, and dispense regulated drugs and he or she may cause them to be administered for medical purposes only by an assistant or orderly or by the owner of the animal, under his or her direction and supervision.

(c) Any person who has obtained from a physician, dentist, or veterinarian any regulated drug for administration to a patient during the absence of such physician, dentist, or veterinarian under this section shall return to such physician, dentist, or veterinarian any unused portion of such drug, or shall take such action as may be specified by rules adopted by the Department of Health, when such drug is no longer required by the patient.
18 V.S.A. § 3602 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 77 / Section 3602
§ 3602. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Claims processing services” means the administrative services performed in connection with the processing and adjudicating of claims relating to pharmacist services that include receiving payments for pharmacist services or making payments to pharmacists or pharmacies for pharmacy services, or both.

(2) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

(3) “Covered person” means a member, policyholder, subscriber, enrollee, beneficiary, dependent, or other individual participating in a health benefit plan.

(4) “Health benefit plan” means a policy, contract, certificate, or agreement entered into, offered, or issued by a health insurer to provide, deliver, arrange for, pay for, or reimburse any of the costs of physical, mental, or behavioral health care services.

(5) “Health insurer” has the same meaning as in section 9402 of this title and includes:

(A) health insurance companies, nonprofit hospital and medical service corporations, and health maintenance organizations;

(B) employers, labor unions, and other group of persons organized in Vermont that provide a health benefit plan to beneficiaries who are employed or reside in Vermont; and

(C) the State of Vermont and any agent or instrumentality of the State that offers, administers, or provides financial support to State government.

(6) “Maximum allowable cost” means the per unit drug product reimbursement amount, excluding dispensing fees, for a group of equivalent multisource prescription drugs.

(7) “Other prescription drug or device services” means services other than claims processing services provided directly or indirectly, whether in connection with or separate from claims processing services, and may include:

(A) negotiating rebates, price concessions, discounts, or other financial incentives and arrangements with drug companies;

(B) disbursing or distributing rebates or price concessions, or both;

(C) managing or participating in incentive programs or arrangements for pharmacist services;

(D) negotiating or entering into contractual arrangements with pharmacists or pharmacies, or both;

(E) developing and maintaining formularies;

(F) designing prescription benefit programs; and

(G) advertising or promoting services.

(8) “Pharmacist” means an individual licensed as a pharmacist pursuant to 26 V.S.A. chapter 36.

(9) “Pharmacist services” means products, goods, and services, or a combination of these, provided as part of the practice of pharmacy.

(10) “Pharmacy” means a place licensed by the Vermont Board of Pharmacy at which drugs, chemicals, medicines, prescriptions, and poisons are compounded, dispensed, or sold at retail.

(11) “Pharmacy benefit management” means an arrangement for the procurement of prescription drugs at a negotiated rate for dispensation within this State to beneficiaries, the administration or management of prescription drug benefits provided by a health benefit plan for the benefit of beneficiaries, or any of the following services provided with regard to the administration of pharmacy benefits:

(A) mail service pharmacy;

(B) claims processing, retail network management, and payment of claims to pharmacies for prescription drugs dispensed to beneficiaries;

(C) clinical formulary development and management services;

(D) rebate contracting and administration;

(E) certain patient compliance, therapeutic intervention, and generic substitution programs; and

(F) disease or chronic care management programs.

(12)(A) “Pharmacy benefit manager” means an individual, corporation, or other entity, including a wholly or partially owned or controlled subsidiary of a pharmacy benefit manager, that provides pharmacy benefit management services for health benefit plans.

(B) The term “pharmacy benefit manager” does not include:

(i) a health care facility licensed in this State;

(ii) a health care professional licensed in this State;

(iii) a consultant who only provides advice as to the selection or performance of a pharmacy benefit manager;

(iv) a health insurer to the extent that it performs any claims processing and other prescription drug or device services exclusively for its enrollees; or

(v) an entity that provides pharmacy benefit management services for Vermont Medicaid.

(13) “Pharmacy benefit manager affiliate” means a pharmacy or pharmacist that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, a pharmacy benefit manager.
18 V.S.A. § 8404 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 197 / Section 8404
§ 8404. Conditional discharge
Status: in_force

The Board of Mental Health, in its discretion, may grant a conditional discharge to a patient admitted under this chapter after the expiration of one month from the date of admission and may revoke any conditional discharge so granted. A revocation of a conditional discharge by the Board of Mental Health at any time prior to the expiration of the original term of hospitalization shall be sufficient warrant for the return of the patient to the hospital from which he or she was discharged, there to remain until a subsequent conditional discharge or the expiration of the full term from the date of the original admission.
18 V.S.A. § 604 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 11 / Section 604
§ 604. Local board of health
Status: in_force

The local health officer, with the selectboard of the town, or the city council of a city, shall constitute a local board of health for such town or city.
18 V.S.A. § 702 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 13 / Section 702
§ 702. Blueprint for Health; strategic plan
Status: repealed

(a)(1) The Department of Vermont Health Access shall be responsible for the Blueprint for Health.

(2) The Director of the Blueprint, in collaboration with the Commissioners of Health, of Mental Health, of Vermont Health Access, and of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, shall oversee the development and implementation of the Blueprint for Health, including a strategic plan describing the initiatives and implementation timelines and strategies. Whenever private health insurers are concerned, the Director shall collaborate with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the Chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.

(b)(1)(A) The Commissioner of Vermont Health Access shall establish an executive committee to advise the Director of the Blueprint on creating and implementing a strategic plan for the development of the statewide system of chronic care and prevention as described under this section. The Executive Committee shall include:

(i) the Commissioner of Health;

(ii) the Commissioner of Mental Health;

(iii) a representative from the Green Mountain Care Board;

(iv) a representative from the Department of Vermont Health Access;

(v) an individual appointed jointly by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(vi) a representative from the Vermont Medical Society;

(vii) a representative from the Vermont Nurse Practitioners Association;

(viii) a representative from a statewide quality assurance organization;

(ix) a representative from the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems;

(x) two representatives of private health insurers;

(xi) a consumer;

(xii) a representative of the complementary and alternative medicine professions;

(xiii) a primary care professional serving low-income or uninsured Vermonters;

(xiv) a licensed mental health professional with clinical experience in Vermont;

(xv) a representative of the Vermont Council of Developmental and Mental Health Services;

(xvi) a representative of the Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies who has clinical experience;

(xvii) a representative from a self-insured employer who offers a health benefit plan to its employees; and

(xviii) a representative of the State employees' health plan, who shall be designated by the Commissioner of Human Resources and who may be an employee of the third-party administrator contracting to provide services to the State employees' health plan.

(B) The Executive Committee shall engage a broad range of health care professionals who provide health services, health insurers, professional organizations, community and nonprofit groups, consumers, businesses, school districts, and State and local government in developing recommendations over time for modifications to statewide implementation of the Blueprint.

(2)(A) [Repealed.]

(B) The Director shall convene a payer implementation work group, which shall meet no fewer than six times annually, to design the medical home and community health team enhanced payments, including modifications over time, and to make recommendations to the Executive Committee. The work group shall include representatives of the participating health insurers, representatives of participating medical homes and community health teams, and the Commissioner of Vermont Health Access or designee. The work group shall comply with open meeting and public record requirements in 1 V.S.A. chapter 5.

(c) The Blueprint shall be developed and implemented to further the following principles:

(1) The Blueprint community health team should serve a central role in the coordination of medical care and social services and shall be compensated appropriately for this effort.

(2) Use of information technology should be maximized.

(3) Local service providers should be used and supported, whenever possible.

(4) Transition plans should be developed by all involved parties to ensure a smooth and timely transition from the current model to the Blueprint model of health care delivery and payment.

(5) Implementation of the Blueprint in communities across the State should be accompanied by payment to providers sufficient to support care management activities consistent with the Blueprint, recognizing that interim or temporary payment measures may be necessary during early and transitional phases of implementation.

(6) Interventions designed to prevent chronic disease and improve outcomes for persons with chronic disease should be maximized, should target specific chronic disease risk factors, and should address changes in individual behavior; the physical, mental, and social environment; and health care policies and systems.

(7) Providers should assess trauma and toxic stress to ensure that the needs of the whole person are addressed and opportunities to build resilience and community supports are maximized.

(d) The Blueprint for Health shall include the following initiatives:

(1) Technical assistance as provided for in section 703 of this title to implement:

(A) a patient-centered medical home;

(B) community health teams; and

(C) a model for uniform payment for health services by health insurers, Medicaid, Medicare if available, and other entities that encourage the use of the medical home and the community health teams.

(2) Collaboration with Vermont Information Technology Leaders established in section 9352 of this title to assist health care professionals and providers to create a statewide infrastructure of health information technology in order to expand the use of electronic medical records through a health information exchange and a centralized clinical registry on the Internet.

(3) In consultation with employers, consumers, health insurers, and health care providers, the development, maintenance, and promotion of evidence-based, nationally recommended guidelines for greater commonality, consistency, and coordination among health insurers in care management programs and systems.

(4) The adoption and maintenance of clinical quality and performance measures for each of the chronic conditions included in Medicaid's care management program established in 33 V.S.A. § 1903a. These conditions include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and coronary artery disease.

(5) The adoption and maintenance of clinical quality and performance measures, aligned with, but not limited to, existing indicators related to outcomes set forth in 3 V.S.A. § 2311 that are relevant to the Agency of Human Services, to be reported by health care professionals, providers, or health insurers and used to assess and evaluate the impact of the Blueprint for Health and cost outcomes. In accordance with a schedule established by the Blueprint Executive Committee, all clinical quality and performance measures shall be reviewed for consistency with those used by the Medicare program and updated, if appropriate.

(6) The adoption and maintenance of clinical quality and performance measures for pain management, palliative care, and hospice care.

(7) The use of surveys to measure satisfaction levels of patients, health care professionals, and health care providers participating in the Blueprint.

(8) The use of quality improvement facilitation and other means to support quality improvement activities, including using integrated clinical and claims data, where available, to evaluate patient outcomes and promoting best practices regarding patient referrals and care distribution between primary and specialty care.

(e) The strategic plan developed under subsection (a) of this section shall be reviewed biennially and amended as necessary to reflect changes in priorities. Amendments to the plan shall be included in the report established under section 709 of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 1008 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1008
§ 1008. Vaccines, antibiotics, antiserums, and other agents; purchase and distribution; penalties
Status: in_force

(a) The Department is authorized to procure vaccines, antibiotics, antiserums, and such other agents as may be necessary for the prevention and diagnosis of infectious and communicable diseases or diseases of public health significance in which there is an unmet need and to distribute same free of charge upon application thereof by licensed physicians, and under such rules as the Department and Secretary of Human Services may prescribe; and the expense thereof shall be paid by the State.

(b) A person selling or disposing of any vaccine, antibiotic, antiserum, or other agent procured or distributed under the provisions of this section for personal gain shall be fined not more than $50.00 or less than $10.00 for each such offense.
18 V.S.A. § 1092 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1092
§ 1092. Treatments; refusal; penalty
Status: in_force

A physician or other person, except persons who merely practice the religious tenets of their church without pretending a knowledge of medicine or surgery, provided, however, that sanitary laws, rules, and regulations are complied with, who knows or has reason to believe that a person whom he or she treats or prescribes for, or to whom he or she sells patent or proprietary medicine purporting to cure or alleviate the symptoms of gonorrhea or syphilis, has one of these diseases, shall immediately report the name, nationality, race, marital state, address, age, and sex of such person, and, if obtainable, the date and source of contracting the same, to the Commissioner on forms furnished for that purpose. Such persons so reported shall submit to regular treatment prescribed by a physician until discharged by the physician. A person who willfully refuses to regularly submit to prescribed treatment shall be reported at once to the State's Attorney for immediate prosecution. Such willful refusal shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $100.00 or three months' imprisonment, or both.
18 V.S.A. § 1919 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 43A / Section 1919
§ 1919. Inclusion of data in hospital community reports
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall consult with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and with patient safety experts, hospitals, health care professionals, and members of the public and shall make recommendations to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation concerning which data should be included in the hospital community reports required by section 9405b of this title. Beginning in 2013, the community reports shall include at a minimum data from all Vermont hospitals of reportable adverse events aggregated in a manner that protects the privacy of the patients involved and does not identify the individual hospitals in which an event occurred together with analysis and explanatory comments about the information contained in the report to facilitate the public's understanding of the data. The Commissioner shall make such recommendations no more than 18 months after data collection is initiated.
18 V.S.A. § 1053 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1053
§ 1053. Treatment and care of patients
Status: in_force

The Secretary of Human Services may provide for treatment and care of tuberculosis and chronic respiratory disease patients at facilities designated by him or her.
18 V.S.A. § 8006 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 189 / Section 8006
§ 8006. Visits
Status: in_force

(a) The head of a hospital may grant a visit permit of not more than 30 days to any patient under his or her charge.

(b) The granting and revocation of visits shall be made in accordance with rules and procedures adopted by the head of the hospital.
18 V.S.A. § 5250y — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250y
§ 5250y. Uniformity of application and construction
Status: in_force

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
18 V.S.A. § 9003 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 209 / Section 9003
§ 9003. Institutionalization of patients-Article III
Status: in_force

(a) Whenever a person physically present in any party state shall be in need of institutionalization by reason of mental illness or developmental disability, he or she shall be eligible for care and treatment in an institution in that state irrespective of his or her residence, settlement, or citizenship qualifications.

(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this article to the contrary notwithstanding, any patient may be transferred to an institution in another state whenever there are factors based upon clinical determinations indicating that the care and treatment of said patient would be facilitated or improved thereby. Any such institutionalization may be for the entire period of care and treatment or for any portion or portions thereof. The factors referred to in this paragraph shall include the patient's family, character of the illness and probable duration thereof, and such other factors as shall be considered appropriate.

(c) No state shall be obliged to receive any patient pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this article unless the sending state has given advance notice of its intention to send the patient; furnished all available medical and other pertinent records concerning the patient; given the qualified medical or other appropriate clinical authorities of the receiving state an opportunity to examine the patient if said authorities so wish; and unless the receiving state shall agree to accept the patient.

(d) In the event that the laws of the receiving state establish a system of priorities for the admission of patients, an interstate patient under this compact shall receive the same priority as a local patient and shall be taken in the same order and at the same time that he or she would be taken if he or she were a local patient.

(e) Pursuant to this compact, the determination as to the suitable place of institutionalization for a patient may be reviewed at any time and such further transfer of the patient may be made as seems likely to be in the best interest of the patient.
18 V.S.A. § 8353 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 196 / Section 8353
§ 8353. Unprofessional conduct
Status: in_force

Any conversion therapy used on a client younger than 18 years of age by a mental health care provider shall constitute unprofessional conduct as provided in the relevant provisions of Title 26 and shall subject the mental health care provider to discipline pursuant to the applicable provisions of that title and of 3 V.S.A. chapter 5.
18 V.S.A. § 1510 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 29 / Section 1510
§ 1510. Improper possession, use, or sale of glues and hazardous inhalants; penalty
Status: in_force

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Glue containing a solvent having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes” means any glue, cement, or other adhesive containing one or more of the following chemical compounds: acetone, cellulose acetate, benzene, butyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ethylene dichloride, ethylene trichloride, isopropyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone, pentachlorophenol, petroleum ether, toluene, or such other similar material as the Commissioner shall by regulation prescribe.

(2) “Hazardous inhalants” means any of the preparation of compounds containing one or more of the chemical compounds amyl nitrite, isoamyl nitrite, butyl nitrite, isobutyl nitrite, pentyl nitrite, or any other akyl nitrite compound that is either designed to be used, or commonly used, as an inhalant.

(b) No person shall, for the purpose of causing a condition of intoxication, inebriation, excitement, stupefaction, or the dulling of the brain or nervous system, intentionally smell or inhale the fumes from any hazardous inhalants or from any glue containing a solvent having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes. Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as applying to the inhalation of any anesthesia or inhalant for medical or dental purposes.

(c) No person shall, for the purpose of violating subsection (b) of this section, use or possess for the purpose of using any hazardous inhalants or any glue containing a solvent having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes.

(d) A person who violates this section shall be fined not more than $25.00.

(e) The State's Attorney may require as a condition of diversion that a person who is charged with a violation of this section shall attend and complete a substance abuse program at the person's own expense. A person who is convicted of violating this section and who is placed on probation, shall, as a condition of probation, be required to attend and complete a substance abuse program at the person's own expense.
18 V.S.A. § 5250j — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250j
§ 5250j. Manner of making, amending, or revoking anatomical gift of decedent's body or part
Status: in_force

(a) A person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 5250i of this title may make an anatomical gift by a document of gift signed by the person making the gift or by that person's oral communication that is electronically recorded or is contemporaneously reduced to a record and signed by the individual receiving the oral communication.

(b) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, an anatomical gift by a person authorized under section 5250i of this title may be amended or revoked orally or in a record by any member of a prior class who is reasonably available. If more than one member of the prior class is reasonably available, the gift made by a person authorized under section 5250i of this title may be:

(1) amended only if a majority of the reasonably available members agree to the amending of the gift; or

(2) revoked only if a majority of the reasonably available members agree to the revoking of the gift or if they are equally divided as to whether to revoke the gift.

(c) A revocation under subsection (b) of this section is effective only if, before an incision has been made to remove a part from the donor's body or before invasive procedures have begun to prepare the recipient, the procurement organization, transplant hospital, or physician or technician knows of the revocation.
18 V.S.A. § 4 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 1 / Section 4
§ 4. Agencies and employees
Status: in_force

The Commissioner may set up such departmental agencies, to be known as divisions, as may be needed to effect the full purpose of the consolidation herein made, and to make the service rendered by the Department of the highest possible efficiency, and may employ such division directors, such institution superintendents and personnel, and such clerical assistants, not otherwise authorized by law, as may be needed to maintain proper operation of the several departments and functions herein consolidated, and may, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Human Resources, fix the compensation and expense allowance of such employees.
18 V.S.A. § 5250q — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250q
§ 5250q. Other prohibited acts
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall, in order to obtain a financial gain, intentionally falsify, forge, conceal, deface, or obliterate a document of gift, an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, or a refusal.

(b) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $50,000.00, or both.
18 V.S.A. § 7628 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 181 / Section 7628
§ 7628. Protocol
Status: in_force

The Department of Mental Health shall develop and adopt by rule a strict protocol to ensure the health, safety, dignity, and respect of patients subject to administration of involuntary psychiatric medications in any designated hospital or secure residential recovery facility. This protocol shall be followed by all designated hospitals and secure residential recovery facilities administering involuntary psychiatric medications.
18 V.S.A. § 9715 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 231 / Section 9715
§ 9715. Interpretation with other laws
Status: in_force

(a) The withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment from a principal who has executed an advance directive limiting the provision of life sustaining treatment shall not be construed as a suicide.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or abrogate an individual's ability to create a document of anatomical gift pursuant to chapter 110 of this title.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to affect the statutory or common law in existence at the time of enactment applicable to death intentionally hastened through the use of prescription medication. Professionally appropriate use of medication to relieve suffering which may have the unintended effect of hastening death is not death intentionally hastened through the use of prescription medication.

(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the effect of a DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data) properly executed by a current or former member of the armed forces of the United States described in 10 U.S.C. § 1481(a).
18 V.S.A. § 9379 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 220 / Section 9379
§ 9379. Agency cooperation
Status: in_force

The Secretary of Administration shall ensure that, in accordance with State and federal privacy laws, the Green Mountain Care Board has access to data and analysis held by any Executive Branch agency that is necessary to carry out the Board's duties as described in this chapter.
18 V.S.A. § 9405b — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9405b
§ 9405b. Hospital community reports and ambulatory surgical center quality reports
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with representatives from hospitals, other groups of health care professionals, and members of the public representing patient interests, shall adopt rules establishing a statewide comparative hospital quality report. Hospitals located outside this State that serve a significant number of Vermont residents, as determined by the Commissioner of Health, shall be invited to participate in the community report process established by this section. The report shall include:

(1) Measures of quality, including process and performance measures, that are valid, reliable, and useful, including comparisons to appropriate national benchmarks for high quality and successful results.

(2) Measures of patient safety that are valid, reliable, and useful, including comparisons to appropriate industry benchmarks for safety.

(3) Measures of hospital-acquired infections that are valid, reliable, and useful, including comparisons to appropriate industry benchmarks.

(4) Valid, reliable, and useful information on nurse staffing, including comparisons to appropriate industry benchmarks for safety. This information may include system-centered measures such as skill mix, nursing care hours per patient day, and other system-centered measures for which reliable industry benchmarks become available.

(5) Measures of the hospital's financial health, including comparisons to appropriate national benchmarks for efficient operation and fiscal health.

(6) A summary of the hospital's budget, including revenue by source, the one-year and four-year capital expenditure plans, the depreciation schedule for existing facilities, and quantification of cost shifting to private payers.

(7) Data that provides valid, reliable, useful, and efficient information for payers and the public for the comparison of charges for higher volume health care services.

(b) Each hospital shall publish on its website:

(1) the hospital's process for achieving openness, inclusiveness, and meaningful public participation in its strategic planning and decision making;

(2) the hospital's consumer complaint resolution process, including identification of the hospital officer or employee responsible for its implementation;

(3) information on membership and governing body qualifications; a listing of the current governing body members, including each member's name, town of residence, occupation, employer, and job title, and the amount of compensation, if any, for serving on the governing body; and means of obtaining a schedule of meetings of the hospital's governing body, including times scheduled for public participation; and

(4) a link to the comparative statewide hospital quality report.

(c) The Commissioner of Health shall publish the statewide comparative hospital quality report on a public website and shall update the report at least annually beginning on June 1, 2017.

(d) The Commissioner of Health shall publish or otherwise make publicly available on its website each ambulatory surgical center's performance results from quality reporting programs offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and shall update the information at least annually.

(e) The Green Mountain Care Board may assess and collect from general hospitals licensed under chapter 43 of this title expenses incurred by the Commissioner of Health in administering hospital community reports and ambulatory surgical center quality reports under this section.
18 V.S.A. § 151 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 4 / Section 151
§ 151. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Cancer” means all malignant neoplasms, regardless of the tissue of origin, including malignant lymphoma, Hodgkins disease, and leukemia, but excluding basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

(2) “Health care facility” shall have the meaning given in section 9432 of this title.

(3) “Health care provider” shall have the meaning given in section 9432 of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 1043 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1043
§ 1043. Investigation; educational campaign; report
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall investigate the prevalence and extent of tuberculosis and other chronic respiratory diseases in the State and shall adopt and make use of means for educating the people of the State in respect to the causes and nature of these diseases, means for their prevention and treatment, and in respect to the best method of preventing and limiting the prevalence of these diseases. Such educational campaign shall be carried on in such manner as the Commissioner deems proper to disseminate the facts in regard to these diseases.
18 V.S.A. § 1140 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1140
§ 1140. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this subchapter:

(1) “Bloodborne pathogen” means a pathogenic microorganism that is present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. Such pathogens include hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

(2) “Emergency personnel” shall have the same meaning as in 20 V.S.A. § 3171, but shall also include members of a ski patrol trained through the National Ski Patrol or substantially similar program.

(3) “Employer” means the organization on whose behalf a worker is employed or volunteering when rendering health services to a source patient pursuant to this subchapter.

(4) “Health care provider” shall have the same meaning as in subdivision 9432(9) of this title.

(5) “Health care worker” means any individual or employee of a health care provider who provides medical or other health services in the course of the worker's employment.

(6) “Health services” means activities and functions that are directly related to care, treatment, or diagnosis of a patient, including emergency medical treatment.

(7) “Manner sufficient to transmit” means consistent with current guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as determined by a physician licensed to practice medicine in Vermont.

(8) “Public safety personnel” means an individual employed or volunteering for a fire department, police department, or ambulance service.

(9) “Source patient” means an individual who, in the course of receiving health services, may have exposed a health care worker, public safety personnel, or emergency personnel to blood or bodily fluids in a manner sufficient to transmit a bloodborne disease.

(10) “Worker” means emergency personnel, health care worker, or public safety personnel.
18 V.S.A. § 4234a — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4234a
§ 4234a. Methamphetamine
Status: in_force

(a) Possession.

(1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both.

(2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 2.5 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $100,000.00, or both.

(3) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 25 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years or fined not more than $250,000.00, or both.

(b) Selling and dispensing.

(1) A person knowingly and unlawfully dispensing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $75,000.00, or both. A person knowingly and unlawfully selling methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $100,000.00, or both.

(2) A person knowingly and unlawfully selling or dispensing methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 2.5 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years or fined not more than $250,000.00, or both.

(3) A person knowingly and unlawfully selling or dispensing methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 25 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than 20 years or fined not more than $1,000,000.00, or both.

(c) Trafficking. A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 300 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine with the intent to sell or dispense the methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than 30 years or fined not more than $1,000,000.00, or both. There shall be a permissive inference that a person who possesses methamphetamine in an amount consisting of 300 grams or more of one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances containing methamphetamine intends to sell or dispense the methamphetamine. The amount of possessed methamphetamine under this subsection to sustain a charge of conspiracy under 13 V.S.A. § 1404 shall be no less than 800 grams in the aggregate.
18 V.S.A. § 5369 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5369
§ 5369. Removal
Status: in_force

When it is impracticable to preserve a burial ground in proper condition, and the removal of the remains of the dead in the burial ground is required, the selectboard, in their discretion, may cause such remains to be removed and interred in a more suitable public burial ground.
18 V.S.A. § 7709 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 183 / Section 7709
§ 7709. Change from involuntary to voluntary
Status: in_force

At any time, a patient may, with the permission of the head of the hospital, have his or her status changed from involuntary to voluntary upon making application as provided in section 7503 of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 7314 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 175 / Section 7314
§ 7314. Reciprocal agreements
Status: in_force

The Board may enter into reciprocal agreements with corresponding state agencies of other states regarding the interstate transportation or transfer of persons with a psychiatric or intellectual disability and arrange with the proper officials in this State for the acceptance, transfer, and support of residents of this State who are temporarily detained or receiving care in public institutions of other states in accordance with the terms of such agreements.
18 V.S.A. § 7614 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 181 / Section 7614
§ 7614. Psychiatric examination
Status: in_force

As soon as practicable after notice of the commencement of proceedings is given, the court on its own motion or upon the motion of the proposed patient or his or her attorney or the State of Vermont shall authorize examination of the proposed patient by a psychiatrist other than the physician making the original certification. The examination and subsequent report or reports shall be paid for by the State of Vermont. The physician shall report his or her finding to the party requesting the report or to the court if it requested the examination.
18 V.S.A. § 908 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 17 / Section 908
§ 908. Emergency Medical Services Special Fund
Status: in_force

(a)(1) The Emergency Medical Services Special Fund is established pursuant to 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5 comprising revenues received by the Department from the Fire Safety Special Fund, pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 8557(a), that are designated for this Special Fund and public and private sources as gifts, grants, and donations together with additions and interest accruing to the Fund.

(2)(A) The Commissioner of Health shall administer the Fund to the extent funds are available to support online and regional training programs, data collection and analysis, and other activities relating to the training of emergency medical personnel and delivery of emergency medical services and ambulance services in Vermont, as determined by the Commissioner, after consulting with the EMS Advisory Committee established under section 909 of this title. The Commissioner shall prioritize the use of funds to provide grants to programs that offer basic emergency medical services training at low cost or no cost to participants.

(B) The Commissioner shall make reasonable efforts to award grants in a manner that supports geographic equity among the emergency medical services districts. The Commissioner shall also provide technical assistance to emergency medical services districts to ensure that grants are available to support emergency medical services training in districts that have historically experienced challenges in receiving grants from the Fund.

(3) Any balance at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried forward in the Fund.

(b) From the funds in the Emergency Medical Services Special Fund, the Commissioner of Health shall develop and implement by September 1, 2012 online training opportunities and offer regional classes to enable individuals to comply with the requirements of subdivision 906(10)(C) of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 9014 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 209 / Section 9014
§ 9014. Construction; separability of provisions-Article XIV
Status: in_force

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state party thereto, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
18 V.S.A. § 1606 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 31 / Section 1606
§ 1606. Compact administrators-Article VI
Status: in_force

Each party state shall have a compact administrator who shall be the head of the state agency having principal responsibility for radiation protection, and who:

(1) Shall coordinate activities pursuant to this compact in and on behalf of his state.

(2) Serving jointly with the compact administrators of the other party states, shall develop and keep current an interstate radiation incident plan; consider such other matters as may be appropriate in connection with programs of cooperation in the field of radiation protection and allied areas of common interest; and formulate procedures for claims and reimbursement under the provisions of article IV.
18 V.S.A. § 9331 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 217 / Section 9331
§ 9331. Definitions
Status: in_force

For purposes of this chapter:

(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

(2) “DNA” means deoxyribonucleic acid and “RNA” means ribonucleic acid.

(3) “Employee” has the same meaning as in 21 V.S.A. § 495d.

(4) “Employer” has the same meaning as in 21 V.S.A. § 495d.

(5) “Employment agency” has the same meaning as in 21 V.S.A. § 495d.

(6) “Genetic information” means the results of genetic testing contained in any report, interpretation, evaluation, or other record thereof.

(7)(A) “Genetic testing” means a test, examination, or analysis that is diagnostic or predictive of a particular heritable disease or disorder and is of:

(i) a human chromosome or gene;

(ii) human DNA or RNA; or

(iii) a human genetically encoded protein.

(B) The test for human genetically encoded protein referred to in subdivision (A)(iii) of this subdivision (7) shall be generally accepted in the scientific and medical communities as being specifically determinative for the presence or absence of a mutation, alteration, or deletion of a gene or chromosome.

(C) For the purposes of sections 9332 and 9333 of this title, as they apply to insurers, section 9334 of this title, and 8 V.S.A. § 4727, and notwithstanding any language in this section to the contrary, “genetic testing” does not include:

(i) a test, examination, or analysis that reports on an individual's current condition unless such a test, examination, or analysis is designed or intended to be specifically determinative for the presence or absence of a mutation, alteration, or deletion of a gene or chromosome; or

(ii) a test, examination, or analysis of a human chromosome or gene, of human DNA or RNA, or of a human genetically encoded protein that is diagnostic or predictive of a particular heritable disease or disorder, if, in accordance with generally accepted standards in the medical community, the potential presence or absence of a mutation, alteration, or deletion of a gene or chromosome has already manifested itself by causing a disease, disorder, or medical condition or by symptoms highly predictive of the disease, disorder, or medical condition.

(8) “Insurance” means a policy of insurance regulated under Title 8, offered or issued in this State, including health, life, disability, and long-term care insurance policies, hospital and medical service corporation service contracts, and health maintenance organization benefit plans.

(9) “Labor organization” has the same meaning as in 21 V.S.A. § 495d.

(10) “Licensing agency” means a unit of State government authorized to grant, deny, renew, revoke, suspend, annul, withdraw, or amend a professional license, certification, or registration.
18 V.S.A. § 4071 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 82 / Section 4071
§ 4071. Reports
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner may cause to be published, from time to time, reports summarizing all judgments, decrees, and court orders that have been rendered under this chapter, including the nature of the charge and the disposition thereof.

(b) The Commissioner may also cause to be disseminated such information regarding food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics as the Commissioner deems necessary in the interest of public health and the protection of the consumer against fraud. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department from collecting, reporting, and illustrating the results of the investigations of the Department.
18 V.S.A. § 1105 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1105
§ 1105. Marrying when infected with venereal disease
Status: in_force

A person, having been told by a physician that he or she was infected with gonorrhea or syphilis in a stage that is or may become communicable to a marital partner, or knowing that he or she is so infected, who marries, without assurance and certification from a legally qualified practitioner of medicine and surgery or osteopathy that he or she is free from such disease in a stage that is or may become communicable to the marital partner shall be imprisoned not less than two years or fined not less than $500.00, or both.
18 V.S.A. § 1657 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 32 / Section 1657
§ 1657. Penalties
Status: in_force

Any person who violates this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than $500.00 or less than $100.00, or be both imprisoned and fined.
18 V.S.A. § 4206 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4206
§ 4206. Licenses
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall manufacture, compound, mix, cultivate, grow, or by any other process produce, prepare, prescribe, dispense, or compound any regulated drug, and no person as a wholesaler, manufacturer, pharmacist, or pharmacy shall possess or supply the same, without having first obtained a license from the respective professional board having jurisdiction over that person as so designated in subdivision 4201(1) of this title, or, in the event no professional board has such jurisdiction over a person, from the Department of Health under terms adopted by the Commissioner corresponding to those respecting professional licenses.

(b) The sales of regulated drugs by manufacturers or wholesalers to persons in this State are restricted to those persons qualified by law to possess the same in connection with a business or profession defined in this chapter. Such sales shall be made only to those persons presenting to the vendor or his or her representative proof in writing that the vendee is authorized under this chapter to possess, use, dispense, sell, compound, or administer that regulated drug.

(c) The ultimate user of a prescription drug who has lawfully obtained such prescription drug or other persons authorized by federal law may deliver, without being registered pursuant to 26 V.S.A. § 2061, the prescription drug to another person for the purpose of disposal of the prescription drug if the person receiving the prescription drug for purposes of disposal is authorized under a state or federal law or regulation to engage in such activity.
18 V.S.A. § 5 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 1 / Section 5
§ 5. Duties of Department of Health
Status: in_force

The Department of Health shall:

(1) Conduct studies, develop State plans, and administer programs and State plans for hospital survey and construction, hospital operation and maintenance, medical care, and treatment of substance abuse.

(2) Provide methods of administration and such other action as may be necessary to comply with the requirements of federal acts and regulations as relate to studies, development of plans and administration of programs in the fields of health, public health, health education, hospital construction and maintenance, and medical care.

(3) Appoint advisory councils, with the approval of the Governor.

(4) Cooperate with necessary federal agencies in securing federal funds that become available to the State for all prevention, public health, wellness, and medical programs.

(5) Seek accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board.

(6) Create a State Health Improvement Plan and facilitate local health improvement plans in order to encourage the design of healthy communities and to promote policy initiatives that contribute to community, school, and workplace wellness, which may include providing assistance to employers for wellness program grants, encouraging employers to promote employee engagement in healthy behaviors, and encouraging the appropriate use of the health care system.

(7) Serve as the leader on State rental housing health laws.

(8) Provide policy assistance and technical support to municipalities concerning the implementation and enforcement of State rental housing health and safety laws.
18 V.S.A. § 9416 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9416
§ 9416. Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner of Health shall contract with the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Inc. to implement and maintain a statewide quality assurance system to evaluate and improve the quality of health care services rendered by health care providers of health care facilities, including managed care organizations, to determine that health care services rendered were professionally indicated or were performed in compliance with the applicable standard of care, and that the cost of health care rendered was considered reasonable by the providers of professional health services in that area. The Commissioner of Health shall ensure that the information technology components of the quality assurance system comply with, and the Commissioner of Vermont Health Access shall ensure such components are incorporated into, the Statewide Health Information Technology Plan developed under section 9351 of this title and any other information technology initiatives coordinated pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 3027.

(b) The Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Inc. shall file an annual report with the Commissioner of Health. The report shall include an assessment of progress in the areas designated by the Commissioner of Health, including comparative studies on the provision and outcomes of health care and professional accountability.

(c) Expenses incurred under this section by the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Inc. shall be borne as follows: 35 percent by the hospitals, 15 percent by nonprofit hospital and medical service corporations licensed under 8 V.S.A. chapter 123 or 125, and 50 percent by health insurance companies licensed under 8 V.S.A. chapter 101 and health maintenance organizations licensed under 8 V.S.A. chapter 139. Expenses allocated under this section to persons licensed under 8 V.S.A. chapters 101 and 139 shall be billed based on premiums paid for health insurance coverage as defined in subsection 9415(b) of this title. Expenses allocated under this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the operating budget of the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, Inc.
18 V.S.A. § 1757 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 38 / Section 1757
§ 1757. Children with elevated blood lead levels
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 regarding:

(1) the method and frequency with which children shall be tested for elevated blood lead levels;

(2) the reporting requirements for the lead test result; and

(3) the action required for children found to have elevated blood lead levels.

(b) If the child has an elevated blood lead level, the Commissioner shall provide information on lead hazards to the parents or guardians of the child.

(c) If a child six years of age or younger has a confirmed blood lead level at or above the level determined by the Commissioner, and if resources permit, the Commissioner:

(1) Shall, with the consent of the parent or guardian, provide an inspection of the dwelling occupied by the child or the child-occupied facility the child attends by a State or private lead-based paint inspector-risk assessor and develop a plan in consultation with the parents, owner, physician, and others involved with the child to minimize the exposure of the child to lead. The plan developed under this subdivision shall require that any lead hazards identified through the inspection be addressed. The owner of rental target housing or a child care facility shall address those lead hazards within the owner's control and shall not be required to abate lead hazards if interim controls are effective.

(2) May inspect and evaluate other dwelling units in the building in which the child is living if it is reasonable to believe that a child six years of age or younger occupies, receives care in, or otherwise regularly frequents the other dwellings in that building.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the Commissioner's authority under any other provision of Vermont law.
18 V.S.A. § 5385 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5385
§ 5385. Accounts; expenditures
Status: in_force

The town treasurer shall keep a separate account of each such trust fund unless the same is in charge of the trustees of public funds. The income therefrom shall be subject to the order of the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners as the case may be. Such boards shall expend such income pursuant to the conditions of the trust. When such boards neglect to expend the income pursuant to the conditions of the trust, the town may be indicted for such neglect and upon conviction be fined not more than $100.00.
18 V.S.A. § 1333 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 26 / Section 1333
§ 1333. Notification of work
Status: in_force

Any contractor performing asbestos abatement work must notify the Commissioner 10 working days prior to beginning work.
18 V.S.A. § 5214 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 107 / Section 5214
§ 5214. Duties of sexton; no burial or removal without permit
Status: in_force

A sexton or other person having the care of a cemetery, tomb, or receiving vault shall not receive or permit the burial or entombment of a dead body, or the remains of a dead body, in the cemetery or tomb of which he or she has charge, or the removal of a body from the cemetery or tomb, until there is delivered to him or her a certificate of permission issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
18 V.S.A. § 5144 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 105 / Section 5144
§ 5144. Persons authorized to solemnize marriage
Status: in_force

(a) Marriages may be solemnized by:

(1) a Supreme Court Justice, a Superior judge, a judge of Probate, an assistant judge, a justice of the peace, a magistrate, a Judicial Bureau hearing officer, or an individual who has registered as a temporary officiant with the Vermont Secretary of State pursuant to section 5144a of this title;

(2) a member of the clergy ordained, licensed, or otherwise regularly authorized by the published laws or discipline of the general conference, convention, or other authority of his or her faith or denomination who:

(A) resides in this State;

(B) resides in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or New York or in the adjacent province of Quebec, Canada, whose parish, church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization lies wholly or in part in this State; or

(C) resides in some other state of the United States or in Canada and whose parish, church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization lies wholly outside this State, provided he or she has first secured from the Probate Division of the Superior Court in the unit within which the marriage is to be solemnized a special authorization, authorizing him or her to certify the marriage if the Probate judge determines that the circumstances make the special authorization desirable.

(b) Marriage among the Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia, and the Baha'i Faith may be solemnized in the manner used in such societies.

(c) This section does not require a member of the clergy authorized to solemnize a marriage as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, nor societies of Friends or Quakers, the Christadelphian Ecclesia, or the Baha'i Faith to solemnize any marriage, and any refusal to do so shall not create any civil claim or cause of action.
18 V.S.A. § 2155 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 49 / Section 2155
§ 2155. Appeal
Status: in_force

Any applicant or licensee, or the State acting through the Attorney General, aggrieved by the decision of the Department of Health after a hearing may, within 30 days after entry of the decision as provided in section 2154 of this title, appeal to the Superior Court for the district in which the appellant is located. The court may affirm, modify, or reverse the Department's decision, and either the applicant or licensee or the Department or State may appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court for such further review as is provided by law. Pending final disposition of the matter, the status quo of the applicant or licensee shall be preserved, except as the court otherwise orders in the public interest.
18 V.S.A. § 1128 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1128
§ 1128. Access to health services and testing
Status: in_force

(a) No health care provider or facility shall request or require any applicant for care or services or any client or patient to have an HIV-related blood test as a condition for receiving unrelated treatment or service nor shall any such provider or facility discriminate against any applicant, client, or patient on the basis of a person's having a positive test result from an HIV-related blood test. Nothing in this section shall preclude health care providers or facilities from recommending testing for medically appropriate diagnostic purposes or from administering to clients or patients who consent to have an HIV-related blood test.

(b) Failure of a health care provider to comply with any provision of this section shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action or any other regulatory action authorized by law. Failure of a health care facility to comply with any provision of this section shall constitute grounds for modification, suspension, or revocation of the facility's license, authority to operate, or any other regulatory action authorized by law. Any such regulatory action shall be taken in accordance with the disciplinary, licensing, or other procedures established by law for the board or agency having jurisdiction over the health care provider or facility.

(c) A person aggrieved by a violation of this section or the Attorney General on behalf of such a person may bring an action for injunctive relief and damages in the Superior Court of the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The court may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to an aggrieved person who prevails in an action brought under this subsection.
18 V.S.A. § 9403a — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9403a
§ 9403a. Health Care Delivery Advisory Committee
Status: in_force

(a) There is created the Health Care Delivery Advisory Committee to:

(1) establish health care affordability benchmarks;

(2) evaluate and monitor the performance of Vermont's health care system and its impacts on population health outcomes;

(3) collaborate with the Agency of Human Services and other interested stakeholders in the development and maintenance of the Statewide Health Care Delivery Strategic Plan developed pursuant to section 9403 of this title;

(4) consider the recommendations of the Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Health Care established pursuant to section 9403b of this title;

(5) advise the Green Mountain Care Board on the design and implementation of an ongoing evaluation process to continuously monitor current performance in the health care delivery system; and

(6) provide coordinated and consensus recommendations to the General Assembly on issues related to health care delivery, including primary care, and population health.

(b)(1) The Advisory Committee shall be composed of the following 18 members:

(A) the Secretary of Human Services or designee;

(B) the Chair of the Green Mountain Care Board or designee;

(C) the Chief Health Care Advocate from the Office of the Health Care Advocate or designee;

(D) two members of the Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Health Care, selected by the Steering Committee;

(E) one representative of commercial health insurers offering major medical health insurance plans in Vermont, selected by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation;

(F) two representatives of Vermont hospitals, selected by the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, who shall represent hospitals that are located in different regions of the State and that face different levels of financial stability;

(G) one representative of Vermont's federally qualified health centers, selected by Bi-State Primary Care Association;

(H) one representative of physicians, selected by the Vermont Medical Society;

(I) one representative of independent physician practices, selected by HealthFirst;

(J) one representative of advanced practice registered nurses, selected by the Vermont Nurse Practitioners Association;

(K) one representative of Vermont's designated and specialized service agencies, selected by Vermont Care Partners;

(L) one preferred provider from outside the designated and specialized service agency system, selected by the Commissioner of Health;

(M) one Vermont-licensed mental health professional from an independent practice, selected by the Commissioner of Mental Health;

(N) one representative of Vermont's home health agencies, selected jointly by the VNAs of Vermont and Bayada Home Health Care;

(O) one representative of long-term care facilities, selected by the Vermont Health Care Association; and

(P) one representative of small businesses, selected by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

(2) The Advisory Committee shall consult with and solicit input from the Health Equity Advisory Commission; physician assistants, physical therapists, and other health care professionals who are not members of the Advisory Committee; Vermont's free clinic programs; the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care; and other relevant stakeholders.

(3) The Secretary of Human Services or designee shall be the Chair of the Advisory Committee.

(4) The Agency of Human Services shall provide administrative and technical assistance to the Advisory Committee.

(c) Members of the Advisory Committee shall not receive per diem compensation or reimbursement of expenses for their participation on the Advisory Committee.
18 V.S.A. § 1765 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 38 / Section 1765
§ 1765. Liability insurance
Status: in_force

(a) If the Commissioner of Financial Regulation determines that lead hazards have substantially diminished the availability of liability insurance for owners of rental target housing or child care facilities and that a voluntary market assistance plan will not adequately restore availability, the Commissioner shall order liability insurers to provide or continue to provide liability coverage or to participate in any other appropriate remedial program as determined by the Commissioner, provided the prospective insured is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b) A determination pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be made by the Commissioner after a hearing held in accordance with 3 V.S.A. chapter 25. Upon a finding that emergency action is required to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, the Commissioner shall issue an appropriate summary order pending completion of administrative proceedings. No order issued under this section may be stayed pending appeal.
18 V.S.A. § 203 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 5 / Section 203
§ 203. Contributions
Status: in_force

The Commissioner is authorized to receive voluntary contributions for the purposes of this chapter and of section 116 of this title from any source other than the State Treasury and any sums allotted to and received by the State or the Commissioner from the federal government for such purposes and to administer and expend the same for the purposes specified.
18 V.S.A. § 4605 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 91 / Section 4605
§ 4605. Alternative drug or biological product selection
Status: in_force

(a)(1) When a pharmacist receives a prescription for a drug that is listed either by generic name or brand name in the most recent edition of or supplement to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' publication Approved Drug Products With Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (the Orange Book) of approved drug products, the pharmacist shall select the lowest priced drug from the list that is equivalent as defined by the Orange Book, unless otherwise instructed by the prescriber, or by the purchaser if the purchaser agrees to pay any additional cost in excess of the benefits provided by the purchaser's health benefit plan if allowed under the legal requirements applicable to the plan, or otherwise to pay the full cost for the higher-priced drug.

(2) When a pharmacist receives a prescription for a biological product, the pharmacist shall select the lowest-priced interchangeable biological product unless otherwise instructed by the prescriber, or by the purchaser if the purchaser agrees to pay any additional cost in excess of the benefits provided by the purchaser's health benefit plan if allowed under the legal requirements applicable to the plan, or otherwise to pay the full cost for the higher priced biological product.

(3) Notwithstanding subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, when a pharmacist receives a prescription from a Medicaid beneficiary, the pharmacist shall select the preferred brand-name or generic drug or biological product from the Department of Vermont Health Access's preferred drug list.

(b) The purchaser shall be informed by the pharmacist or his or her representative that an alternative selection as provided under subsection (a) of this section will be made unless the purchaser agrees to pay any additional cost in excess of the benefits provided by the purchaser's health benefit plan if allowed under the legal requirements applicable to the plan, or otherwise to pay the full cost for the higher-priced drug or biological product.

(c) When refilling a prescription, pharmacists shall receive the consent of the prescriber to dispense a drug or biological product different from that originally dispensed and shall inform the purchaser that a substitution shall be made pursuant to this section unless the purchaser agrees to pay any additional cost in excess of the benefits provided by the purchaser's health benefit plan if allowed under the legal requirements applicable to the plan, or otherwise to pay the full cost for the higher-priced drug or biological product.

(d) Any pharmacist substituting a generically equivalent drug or interchangeable biological product shall charge no more than the usual and customary retail price for that selected drug or biological product. This charge shall not exceed the usual and customary retail price for the prescribed brand.

(e)(1) Except as described in subdivision (4) of this subsection, within five business days following the dispensing of a biological product, the dispensing pharmacist or designee shall communicate the specific biological product provided to the patient, including the biological product's name and manufacturer, by submitting the information in a format that is accessible to the prescriber electronically through one of the following:

(A) an interoperable electronic medical records system;

(B) an electronic prescribing technology;

(C) a pharmacy benefit management system; or

(D) a pharmacy record.

(2) Entry into an electronic records system as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be presumed to provide notice to the prescriber.

(3)(A) If a pharmacy does not have access to one or more of the electronic systems described in subdivision (1) of this subsection (e), the pharmacist or designee shall communicate to the prescriber the information regarding the biological product dispensed using telephone, facsimile, electronic transmission, or other prevailing means.

(B) If a prescription is communicated to the pharmacy by means other than electronic prescribing technology, the pharmacist or designee shall communicate to the prescriber the information regarding the biological product dispensed using the electronic process described in subdivision (1) of this subsection (e) unless the prescriber requests a different means of communication on the prescription.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, a pharmacist shall not be required to communicate information regarding the biological product dispensed in the following circumstances:

(A) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any interchangeable biological products for the product prescribed; or

(B) the pharmacist dispensed a refill prescription in which the product dispensed was unchanged from the product dispensed at the prior filling of the prescription.

(f) The Board of Pharmacy shall maintain a link on its website to the current lists of all biological products that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined to be interchangeable biological products.
18 V.S.A. § 9378 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 220 / Section 9378
§ 9378. Public process
Status: in_force

The Green Mountain Care Board shall provide a process for soliciting public input. The process may include receiving written comments on proposed new or amended rules or holding public hearings, or both.
18 V.S.A. § 4058 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 82 / Section 4058
§ 4058. Rules; standards
Status: in_force

Whenever in the judgment of the Commissioner such action will promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers, the Department shall adopt rules fixing and establishing for any food or class of food a reasonable definition and standard of identity, or reasonable standard of quality or fill of container. In prescribing a definition and standard of identity for any food or class of food in which optional ingredients are permitted, the Department shall, for the purpose of promoting honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers, designate the optional ingredients that shall be named on the label. The definitions and standard so adopted shall conform so far as practicable to the definitions and standards promulgated under authority of the federal act.
18 V.S.A. § 9710 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 231 / Section 9710
§ 9710. Consent for hospice care
Status: in_force

(a) A family member of a patient or a person with a known close relationship to the patient may elect hospice care on behalf of the patient if the patient does not have an agent or guardian or the patient's agent or guardian, or both, if applicable, are unavailable. Decisions made by the family member or person with a known close relationship shall protect the patient's own wishes in the same manner as decisions made by an agent as described in subsection 9711(d) of this title.

(b) As used in this section, “hospice care” means a program of care and support provided by a Medicare-certified hospice provider to help an individual with a terminal condition to live comfortably by providing palliative care, including effective pain and symptom management. Hospice care may include services provided by an interdisciplinary team that are intended to address the physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of the individual and his or her family.
18 V.S.A. § 5250x — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250x
§ 5250x. Honoring donor intent
Status: in_force

A person's decision to make a donation of that person's own organ or tissue after death shall be honored. In the absence of a revocation or amendment of an anatomical gift, health care providers and procurement organizations shall act in accordance with the donor's decision and may take appropriate actions to effect the anatomical gift.
18 V.S.A. § 4025 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 81 / Section 4025
§ 4025. Regulation of the sale of poisonous drugs
Status: in_force

A person other than a registered pharmacist or physician who sells or keeps for sale arsenic, corrosive sublimate, chloroform, aconite, strychnine, morphine, opium, cocaine, eucaine, heroin, carbolic acid, prussic acid, paregoric, chloral hydrate, belladonna, cyanide potassium, digitalis, nux vomica, or any salts, solutions, extracts, or tinctures of such drugs, shall keep and offer them for sale only in original and sealed packages or bottles that shall have been prepared by a registered pharmacist or manufacturing chemist, and under a label on which shall be plainly printed the name and nature of the drug therein contained, the proper antidote to be given when taken in dangerous or poisonous quantities, and the name of the pharmacist, manufacturing chemist, or wholesale house that prepared or put up the same, with the name of the place where it was manufactured or prepared for sale. A person who sells any of such drugs shall have affixed to the bottle, box, or wrapper containing the article sold a label of white paper upon which shall be printed in red letters the name and place of business of the vendor, and the words “Poison” and “Antidote.” The label shall also contain the name of an antidote, if any, for the poison sold.
18 V.S.A. § 5250m — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250m
§ 5250m. Delivery of document of gift not required; right to examine
Status: in_force

(a) A document of gift need not be delivered during the donor's lifetime to be effective.

(b) Upon or after an individual's death, a person in possession of a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift with respect to the individual shall allow examination and copying of the document of gift or refusal by a person authorized to make or object to the making of an anatomical gift with respect to the individual or by a person to which the gift could pass under section 5250k of this title.
18 V.S.A. § 1048 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1048
§ 1048. Examination; report; treatment
Status: in_force

A physician, licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State, shall immediately after examination of an indigent person wishing treatment for tuberculosis or other chronic respiratory disease make a report of the physician's findings to the Commissioner of Health. Upon receipt of such report, the Commissioner may authorize treatment of the person who has tuberculosis or other chronic respiratory disease. Such person's physician shall then prescribe the time of treatment and designate the facility at which treatment shall be given; provided, however, that in a case of tuberculosis suspected of being infectious, the Commissioner may apply all the laws and rules of communicable disease control.
18 V.S.A. § 9485 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9485
§ 9485. Prohibition on sale or reporting of medical debt
Status: in_force

(a)(1) No large health care facility shall sell its medical debt except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection.

(2) A large health care facility may sell or otherwise transfer its medical debt to an organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code for the specific purpose of the tax-exempt organization abolishing the medical debt of one or more patients by cancellation of the indebtedness.

(b) No large health care facility or medical debt collector shall report or otherwise furnish any portion of a medical debt to a credit reporting agency.
18 V.S.A. § 4226 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4226
§ 4226. Minors; treatment; consent
Status: in_force

(a)(1) If a minor 12 years of age or older is suspected to be dependent upon regulated drugs as defined in section 4201 of this title, to have venereal disease, or to be an alcoholic as defined in section 8401 of this title, and the finding of such dependency, disease, or alcoholism is verified by a licensed physician, the minor may give:

(A) his or her consent to medical treatment and hospitalization; and

(B) in the case of a drug dependent or alcoholic person, consent to nonmedical inpatient or outpatient treatment at a program approved by the Agency of Human Services to provide treatment for drug dependency or alcoholism if deemed necessary by the examining physician for diagnosis or treatment of such dependency or disease or alcoholism.

(2) Consent under this section shall not be subject to disaffirmance due to minority of the person consenting. The consent of the parent or legal guardian of a minor consenting under this section shall not be necessary to authorize care as described in this subsection.

(b) The parent, parents, or legal guardian shall be notified by the physician if the condition of a minor child requires immediate hospitalization as the result of drug usage, alcoholism, or for the treatment of a venereal disease.
18 V.S.A. § 1755 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 38 / Section 1755
§ 1755. Universal testing
Status: repealed

(a) All health care providers who provide primary health care to children shall test children one and two years of age for elevated blood lead levels in accordance with rules adopted by the Commissioner.

(b) [Repealed.]

(c) All health care providers who provide primary medical care shall ensure that parents and guardians of children six years of age or younger are advised of the availability and advisability of screening and testing their children for lead in accordance with the Commissioner's guidelines. No health care provider shall be liable for not performing a screening or confirmation test for blood lead level when a parent or guardian has refused to consent or has failed to follow through in response to a referral for a screening or confirmation test. Not later than 120 days after the Department has notified health care providers that it has implemented lead screening reports within the immunization registry, a health care provider shall report to the Department regarding lead screening of children ages one and two pursuant to the guidelines in subsection (a) of this section in a form and as required by the Department.

(d) Any laboratory that analyzes blood samples of Vermont residents for lead levels shall report to the Department all information required by the Department. All health care providers who analyze blood samples for lead levels or who use laboratories outside Vermont to analyze blood samples for lead levels shall report all information required by the Department to the Department immediately by telephone if the result of any analysis is 45 micrograms or more of lead per deciliter of blood, or by electronic means within 14 days after analysis if the result of the analysis is less than 45 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. All blood lead data reports to the Department shall include the name, date of birth, date of blood test, and address of the individual whose blood is analyzed and, if known, the owner of the residence of the individual.

(e) Not later than 120 days after the Department has notified laboratories that it has implemented lead screening reports within the immunization registry, a laboratory shall report to the Department regarding lead screening of children ages one and two pursuant to the guidelines in subsection (a) of this section in a form and as required by the Department.
18 V.S.A. § 4685 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 91 / Section 4685
§ 4685. No conflict with federal law
Status: in_force

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed or applied to conflict with or to be less restrictive than federal law for a person regulated by this subchapter.
18 V.S.A. § 1808 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 41 / Section 1808
§ 1808. State plan
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a State plan that shall include the hospital and medical facilities construction program developed under sections 1805–1807 of this title and that shall provide for the establishment, administration, and operation of hospital and medical facilities construction activities in accordance with the requirements of the federal act and regulations promulgated pursuant to the act. The Commissioner shall, prior to the submission of such plan to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, give adequate publicity to a general description of all the provisions proposed to be included therein and hold a public hearing at which all persons or organizations with a legitimate interest in such plan may be given an opportunity to express their views. After approval of the plan by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner shall publish a general description of the provisions thereof in newspapers having general circulation in the State and shall make the plan or a copy thereof available upon request to all interested persons or organizations. The Commissioner shall, from time to time, review the construction program and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services any modifications to the program as the Commissioner may find necessary and may submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services such modifications of the State plan, not inconsistent with the requirements of the federal act, as the Commissioner may deem advisable.
18 V.S.A. § 1060 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1060
§ 1060. Rights of a person in compulsory medical management
Status: in_force

Any person in compulsory medical management by order of the court who believes his or her physical condition is such as to warrant his or her discharge, if the discharge is refused by the Commissioner of Health, is entitled to a physical examination by a qualified physician of his or her own choice. If as a result of examination the physician feels that the continued compulsory medical management is no longer justified and the Commissioner of Health does not concur in that opinion, the person may appeal by petition to the court issuing the original order for his or her compulsory medical management. Proceedings before the court shall be de novo, and the court may require such further examination as it considers necessary and may, in its discretion, at the expense of the State appoint no less than three independent physicians, at least one of whom shall have had special experience in respiratory diseases, to examine the person. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the court shall make findings of fact and issue such order as it considers proper. The order of the court may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner provided by law for appeals from a Criminal Division of the Superior Court generally. A person may not petition for release from medical management within six months from the date a court order is made, whether an appeal is taken or not.
18 V.S.A. § 5147 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 105 / Section 5147
§ 5147. Solemnization by unauthorized person; penalty; validity of marriage
Status: in_force

(a) An individual who, knowing that he or she is not authorized so to do, undertakes to join others in marriage, shall be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than $300.00 nor less than $100.00, or both.

(b) A marriage solemnized by an individual who was not authorized to do so under this chapter shall not be void or invalid, provided that the marriage is in other respects lawful and is consummated with a belief on the part of either party so married that the couple were lawfully joined in marriage.
18 V.S.A. § 4475 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 89 / Section 4475
§ 4475. Definitions
Status: in_force

(a) As used in this chapter:

(1) The term “drug paraphernalia” means all equipment, products, devices, and materials of any kind that are used, or promoted for use or designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a regulated drug in violation of chapter 84 of this title. “Drug paraphernalia” does not include needles, syringes, or other harm reduction supplies distributed or possessed as part of an organized community-based needle exchange program.

(2) “Organized community-based needle exchange program” means a program approved by the Commissioner of Health under section 4478 of this title, the purpose of which is to provide access to clean needles and syringes. Such programs shall be operated in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of 10 V.S.A. chapter 159 (waste management; hazardous waste), and any other applicable laws.

(b) In determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court or other authority may consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:

(1) statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use;

(2) the proximity of the object to regulated drugs;

(3) the existence of any residue of regulated drugs on the object;

(4) direct or circumstantial evidence of the intent of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, to sell to persons intending to use the object in violation of this chapter;

(5) instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use;

(6) descriptive materials accompanying the object which explain or depict its use;

(7) national and local advertising concerning its use;

(8) the manner in which the object is displayed for sale;

(9) whether the owner, or anyone in control of the object, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;

(10) direct or circumstantial evidence of the ratio of sales of the object to the total sales of the business enterprise;

(11) the existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community;

(12) expert testimony concerning its use.
18 V.S.A. § 157 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 4 / Section 157
§ 157. Vermont Mammography Registry
Status: in_force

The confidentiality, disclosure, and liability provisions of sections 154, 155, and 156 of this title shall likewise apply to all mammography and pathology data relating to breast cancer and any associated identifying information acquired by the Vermont Mammography Registry (VMR). In the case of VMR, the rights and obligations of the Commissioner of Health shall be assumed by the appropriate VMR governing body or official.
18 V.S.A. § 7402 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 177 / Section 7402
§ 7402. Records and reports
Status: in_force

The Commissioner shall keep records of all commitments and admissions to a hospital and shall secure compliance with the laws relating thereto. The Commissioner shall report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on the condition of hospitals, on the physical and medical treatment of patients in hospitals, on the need for community services to former patients and persons with a mental condition or psychiatric disability not hospitalized, and on any other matters the Commissioner deems advisable.
18 V.S.A. § 1917 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 43A / Section 1917
§ 1917. Protection and disclosure of information
Status: in_force

(a) All information made available to the Department and its designees under this chapter shall be confidential and privileged, exempt from the public access to records law, and, in any civil or administrative action against a provider of professional health services arising out of the matters that are subject to evaluation and review by the Department, immune from subpoena or other disclosure and not subject to discovery or introduction into evidence.

(b) No person with access to information made available to the Commissioner or his or her designees under this chapter shall be permitted or required to testify as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions of the Department in any civil or administrative action against a provider of professional health services arising out of the matters that are subject to evaluation and review by the Department.

(c) Within the Department, access to peer review protected information shall be limited to individuals responsible for verifying compliance with the safety system and for providing necessary consultation and supervision to that program.

(d) Reports made to the Department pursuant to subdivision 1915(4) of this chapter shall not constitute a waiver of peer review or any other privilege.

(e) Hospitals may replace health care provider identifying information in peer review materials with a surrogate identifier that allows for tracking of adverse events involving the same provider without disclosing the provider's identity.

(f) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section:

(1) Hospitals and the Department staff responsible for verifying compliance with the safety system are authorized to disclose information necessary to comply with their reporting obligations in section 1916 of this chapter.

(2) The Department staff responsible for verifying compliance with the patient safety surveillance and improvement system may disclose information to others in the Department and others responsible for carrying out the Department's enforcement responsibilities with respect to this chapter if the Department reasonably believes that a hospital deliberately or repeatedly has not complied with the requirements of this chapter and any rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. The Commissioner and others responsible for carrying out the Department's enforcement responsibilities with respect to this chapter are authorized to disclose such information during the course of any legal or regulatory action taken against a hospital for deliberate or repeated noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter and any rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. Information disclosed under this subdivision shall otherwise maintain all applicable protections under this section and otherwise provided by law.

(g) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a hospital from making a good faith report to regulatory or law enforcement authorities based on information, documents, or records known or available to it from original sources. Information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any other action merely because they were made available to the Department's patient safety surveillance and improvement system.
18 V.S.A. § 4248 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4248
§ 4248. Records
Status: in_force

(a) Law enforcement departments and agencies, and other State departments and agencies that have custody of any property subject to forfeiture under this subchapter, or that dispose of such property, shall keep and maintain full and complete records including the following:

(1) from whom the property was received;

(2) description of the property, including the exact kinds, quantities, and forms of the property;

(3) value of the property;

(4) if the property is deposited in an interest-bearing account, the location of the account and the amount of interest;

(5) under what authority the property was held or received or disposed;

(6) to whom the property was delivered;

(7) the date and manner of destruction or disposition of the property.

(b) Those records shall be submitted to the State Treasurer and shall be open to inspection by all federal and State departments and agencies charged with enforcement of federal and State drug control laws. Persons making final disposition or destruction of the property under court order shall report, under oath, to the court the exact circumstances of that disposition or destruction and a copy of that report shall be sent to the State Treasurer.
18 V.S.A. § 5017 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 101 / Section 5017
§ 5017. Fees for copies
Status: in_force

(a) For a certified copy of a vital event certificate, the fee shall be $10.00.

(b) The State Registrar shall waive the fee for certified copies of vital event certificates issued to:

(1) an individual attesting to a lack of fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and

(2) an individual between 18 and 24 years of age who resided in a foster home or residential child care facility between 16 and 18 years of age pursuant to placement by a child-placing agency.
18 V.S.A. § 155 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 4 / Section 155
§ 155. Disclosure
Status: in_force

(a) The Commissioner may enter into agreements to exchange confidential information with other cancer registries in order to obtain complete reports of Vermont residents diagnosed or treated in other states and to provide information to other states regarding their residents diagnosed or treated in Vermont.

(b) The Commissioner may furnish confidential information to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, other states' cancer registries, federal cancer control agencies, or health researchers in order to collaborate in a national cancer registry or to collaborate in cancer control and prevention research studies. However, before releasing confidential information, the Commissioner shall first obtain from such state registries, agencies, or researchers an agreement in writing to keep the identifying information confidential and privileged. In the case of researchers, the Commissioner shall also first obtain evidence of the approval of their academic committee for the protection of human subjects established in accordance with 45 C.F.R. part 46.
18 V.S.A. § 5009 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 101 / Section 5009
§ 5009. Certified copies to town of residence
Status: in_force

On the first day of each month, the town clerk shall make a certified copy of each original, corrected, or amended civil marriage certificate or amended civil union certificate filed in the clerk's office during the preceding month, whenever a party to a civil marriage or a civil union was a resident in any other Vermont town at the time of the civil marriage or civil union, and shall transmit the certified copy to the clerk of the other Vermont town, who shall file the same.
18 V.S.A. § 1132 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 21 / Section 1132
§ 1132. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
Status: in_force

A health care practitioner administering vaccinations shall report to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, in consultation with the patient, or if a minor, the patient's parent or guardian, all significant adverse events that occur after vaccination of adults and children, even if the practitioner is unsure whether a vaccine caused the adverse event.
18 V.S.A. § 1792 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 40 / Section 1792
§ 1792. Single-user restrooms
Status: in_force

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any single-user toilet facility in a public building or place of public accommodation shall be made available for use by persons of any gender and designated for use by not more than one occupant at a time or for family or assisted use. A single-user toilet facility may be identified by a sign, provided that the sign marks the facility as a restroom and does not indicate any specific gender.

(b) The Commissioner of Public Safety may inspect for compliance under subsection (a) of this section during any inspection conducted pursuant to 20 V.S.A. § 2731(b) or 26 V.S.A. § 2173 or 2174.
18 V.S.A. § 5386 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5386
§ 5386. Report
Status: in_force

The town treasurer or trustees of public funds shall annually report the condition of such funds to the town.
18 V.S.A. § 5221 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 107 / Section 5221
§ 5221. Definition
Status: in_force

As used in this subchapter, “fetal death” means a death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a product of conception; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.
18 V.S.A. § 4230g — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 84 / Section 4230g
§ 4230g. Dispensing cannabis to a person under 21 years of age; civil action for damages
Status: in_force

(a) A spouse, child, guardian, employer, or other person who is injured in person, property, or means of support by a person under 21 years of age who is impaired by cannabis, or in consequence of the impairment by cannabis of any person under 21 years of age, shall have a right of action in his or her own name, jointly or severally, against any person or persons who have caused in whole or in part such impairment by knowingly dispensing cannabis to a person under 21 years of age or enabling the consumption of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age.

(b) Upon the death of either party, the action and right of action shall survive to or against the party's executor or administrator. The party injured or his or her legal representatives may bring either a joint action against the impaired person under 21 years of age and the person or persons who knowingly dispensed the cannabis or enabled the consumption of the cannabis, or a separate action against either or any of them.

(c) An action to recover for damages under this section shall be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues, and not after.

(d) In an action brought under this section, evidence of responsible actions taken or not taken is admissible if otherwise relevant.

(e) A defendant in an action brought under this section has a right of contribution from any other responsible person or persons, which may be enforced in a separate action brought for that purpose.

(f) A person who knowingly dispenses cannabis to a person under 21 years of age or who enables consumption of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age may be held liable under this section if the person knew, or a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have known, that the person who received the cannabis was under 21 years of age.
18 V.S.A. § 1741 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 37 / Section 1741
§ 1741. Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Tobacco products” shall have the meaning given in 7 V.S.A. § 1001.

(2) “A place of public access” means any place of business, commerce, banking, financial service, or other service-related activity, whether publicly or privately owned and whether operated for profit or not, to which the general public has access or which the general public uses. The term includes:

(A) buildings;

(B) offices;

(C) means of transportation;

(D) common carrier waiting rooms;

(E) arcades;

(F) restaurants, bars, and cabarets;

(G) retail stores;

(H) grocery stores;

(I) libraries;

(J) theaters, concert halls, auditoriums, and arenas;

(K) barber shops and hair salons;

(L) laundromats;

(M) shopping malls;

(N) museums and art galleries;

(O) sports and fitness facilities;

(P) planetariums;

(Q) historical sites;

(R) common areas of nursing homes and hospitals, including the lobbies, hallways, elevators, restaurants, restrooms, and cafeterias; and

(S) buildings or facilities owned or operated by a social, fraternal, or religious club.

(3) “Hospital” means a place devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for inpatient medical or surgical care of individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury, or deformity, or for obstetrics.

(4) “Publicly owned buildings and offices” means enclosed indoor places or portions of such places owned, leased, or rented by State, county, or municipal governments, or by agencies supported by appropriation of, or by contracts or grants from, funds derived from the collection of federal, State, county, or municipal taxes.

(5) “Tobacco substitutes” shall have the same meaning as in 7 V.S.A. § 1001.
18 V.S.A. § 5250c — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 110 / Section 5250c
§ 5250c. Applicability
Status: in_force

This chapter applies to an anatomical gift or amendment to, revocation of, or refusal to make an anatomical gift, whenever made.
18 V.S.A. § 5148 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 105 / Section 5148
§ 5148. Evidence of marriage
Status: in_force

A copy of the record of the civil marriage made by a person required by law at the time the marriage was solemnized to make and keep the record certified by such person, or by the town or county clerk or the State Registrar or the State Archivist, if the record is in his or her office, shall be in all courts presumptive evidence of the fact of such marriage.
18 V.S.A. § 9422 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 221 / Section 9422
§ 9422. Credit card payments optional for providers
Status: in_force

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Credit card payment” means a type of electronic funds transfer in which a health insurer or its contracted vendor issues a single-use series of numbers associated with payment for health care services delivered by a health care provider and chargeable for a predetermined dollar amount and in which the health care provider is responsible for processing the payment using a credit card terminal or Internet portal. The term includes virtual or online credit card payments in which no physical credit card is presented to the health care provider and the single-use credit card number expires upon payment processing.

(2) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as in section 9402 of this title.

(3) “Health insurer” means an insurance company that provides health insurance as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 3301(a)(2), a nonprofit hospital or medical service corporation, a managed care organization, a health maintenance organization, and, to the extent permitted under federal law, any administrator of an insured, self-insured, or publicly funded health care benefit plan offered by a public or private entity, as well as any entity offering a policy for specific disease, accident, injury, hospital indemnity, dental care, disability income, long-term care, or other limited benefit coverage.

(b) A health insurer or its contracted vendor shall not require a health care provider, including a dentist or ambulance service provider, to accept reimbursement by credit card payment unless the health care provider has affirmatively elected to receive payments in this manner. If a health care provider, including a dentist or ambulance service provider, does not affirmatively elect to receive reimbursement by credit card payment, the health insurer or its contracted vendor shall make payments to the provider in another manner.
18 V.S.A. § 5431 — VT Code / Title 18 / Chapter 121 / Section 5431
§ 5431. Cemetery associations; corporations
Status: in_force

Every cemetery established after June 1, 1933 that is not owned and operated by a town or by a religious or ecclesiastical society shall be established, owned, and operated by a corporation as prescribed in this subchapter.