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2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250f. Amending or revoking anatomical gift before donor’s death

§ 5250f. Amending or revoking anatomical gift before donor’s death
(a) Subject to section 5250h of this title, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 5250d of this title may amend or revoke an anatomical gift by:
(1) a record signed by:
(A) the donor;
(B) the other person; or
(C) subject to subsection (b) of this section, another individual acting at the direction of the donor or the other person if the donor or other person is physically unable to sign; or
(2) a later-executed document of gift that amends or revokes a previous anatomical gift or portion of an anatomical gift, either expressly or by inconsistency.
(b) A record signed pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(C) of this section must:
(1) be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the donor or the other person; and
(2) state that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(c) Subject to section 5250h of this title, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 5250d of this title may revoke an anatomical gift by the destruction or cancellation of the document of gift, or the portion of the document of gift used to make the gift, with the intent to revoke the gift.
(d) A donor may amend or revoke an anatomical gift that was not made in a will by any form of communication during a terminal illness or injury addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.
(e) A donor who makes an anatomical gift in a will may amend or revoke the gift in the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills or as provided in subsection (a) of this section. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250g. Refusal to make anatomical gift; effect of refusal

§ 5250g. Refusal to make anatomical gift; effect of refusal
(a) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual’s body or part by:
(1) an advance directive executed pursuant to chapter 231 of this title;
(2) a record signed by:
(A) the individual; or
(B) subject to subsection (b) of this section, another individual acting at the direction of the individual if the individual is physically unable to sign;
(3) the individual’s will, whether or not the will is admitted to probate or invalidated after the individual’s death; or
(4) any form of communication made by the individual during the individual’s terminal illness or injury addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.
(b) A record signed pursuant to subdivision (a)(2)(B) of this section must:
(1) be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the individual; and
(2) state that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(c) An individual who has made a refusal may amend or revoke the refusal:
(1) in the manner provided in subsection (a) of this section for making a refusal;
(2) by subsequently making an anatomical gift pursuant to section 5250e of this title that is inconsistent with the refusal; or
(3) by destroying or canceling the record evidencing the refusal, or the portion of the record used to make the refusal, with the intent to revoke the refusal.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5250h(h) of this title, in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the individual set forth in the refusal, an individual’s unrevoked refusal to make an anatomical gift of the individual’s body or part bars all other persons from making an anatomical gift of the individual’s body or part. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250h. Preclusive effect of anatomical gift, amendment, or revocation

§ 5250h. Preclusive effect of anatomical gift, amendment, or revocation
(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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250i. Who may make anatomical gift of decedent’s body or part

§ 5250i. Who may make anatomical gift of decedent’s body or part
(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section and unless barred by section 5250g or 5250h of this title, an anatomical gift of a decedent’s body or part for purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education may be made by any member of the following classes of persons who is reasonably available, in the order of priority listed:
(1) an agent of the decedent at the time of death who could have made an anatomical gift under subdivision 5250d(2) of this title immediately before the decedent’s death;
(2) the spouse of the decedent;
(3) [Repealed.]
(4) adult children of the decedent;
(5) parents of the decedent;
(6) adult siblings of the decedent;
(7) adult grandchildren of the decedent;
(8) grandparents of the decedent;
(9) an adult who exhibited special care and concern for the decedent;
(10) the persons who were acting as the guardians of the person of the decedent at the time of death; and
(11) any other person having the authority to dispose of the decedent’s body.
(b) If there is more than one member of a class listed in subdivision (a)(1), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (10) of this section entitled to make an anatomical gift, an anatomical gift may be made by a member of the class unless that member or a person to which the gift may pass under section 5250k of this title knows of an objection by another member of the class. If an objection is known, the gift may be made only by a majority of the members of the class who are reasonably available.
(c) A person may not make an anatomical gift if, at the time of the decedent’s death, a person in a prior class under subsection (a) of this section is reasonably available to make or to object to the making of an anatomical gift. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2015, No. 23, § 46.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250j. Manner of making, amending, or revoking anatomical gift of decedent’s body or part

§ 5250j. Manner of making, amending, or revoking anatomical gift of decedent’s body or part
(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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250l. Search and notification

§ 5250l. Search and notification
(a) The following persons shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:
(1) a law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other emergency rescuer finding the individual; and
(2) if no other source of the information is immediately available, a hospital, as soon as practical after the individual’s arrival at the hospital.
(b) If a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift is located by the search required by subdivision (a)(1) of this section and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is taken to a hospital, the person responsible for conducting the search shall send the document of gift or refusal to the hospital.
(c) A person is not subject to criminal or civil liability for failing to discharge the duties imposed by this section but may be subject to administrative sanctions. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250m. Delivery of document of gift not required; right to examine

§ 5250m. Delivery of document of gift not required; right to examine
(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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250o. Coordination of procurement and use

§ 5250o. Coordination of procurement and use
Each hospital in this State shall enter into agreements or affiliations with procurement organizations for coordination of procurement and use of anatomical gifts. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250p. Sale or purchase of parts prohibited

§ 5250p. Sale or purchase of parts prohibited
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall, for valuable consideration, knowingly purchase or sell a part for transplantation or therapy if removal of a part from an individual is intended to occur after the individual’s death.
(b) A person may charge a reasonable amount for the removal, processing, preservation, quality control, storage, transportation, implantation, or disposal of a part.
(c) 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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250q. Other prohibited acts

§ 5250q. Other prohibited acts
(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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250r. Immunity

§ 5250r. Immunity
(a) A person who acts in accordance with this chapter or with the applicable anatomical gift law of another state or attempts in good faith to do so is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding. An act that relies upon a document of gift in a donor registry, a signed statement by a donor in an advance directive, or a donor card shall be presumed to be in good faith.
(b) Neither the person making an anatomical gift nor the donor’s estate is liable for any injury or damage that results from the making or use of the gift.
(c) In determining whether an anatomical gift has been made, amended, or revoked under this chapter, a person may rely upon representations of an individual listed in subdivision 5250i(a)(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), or (9) of this title relating to the individual’s relationship to the donor or prospective donor, unless the person knows that the representation is untrue. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250s. Law governing validity; choice of law as to execution of document of gift; presumption of validity

§ 5250s. Law governing validity; choice of law as to execution of document of gift; presumption of validity
(a) A document of gift is valid if executed in accordance with:
(1) this chapter;
(2) the laws of the state or country where it was executed; or
(3) the laws of the state or country where the person making the anatomical gift was domiciled, has a place of residence, or was a national at the time the document of gift was executed.
(b) If a document of gift is valid under this section, the law of this State governs the interpretation of the document of gift.
(c) A person may presume that a document of gift or amendment of an anatomical gift is valid unless that person knows that it was not validly executed or was revoked. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250t. Donor registry

§ 5250t. Donor registry
(a) The Department of Health shall ensure that a registry is developed and maintained to identify people who have authorized a document of gift.
(b) The Department of Motor Vehicles is authorized to enter into a data use agreement with an organ procurement organization for the purpose of transmitting information identifying persons who have authorized a document of gift at the time of issuance of a driver’s license or driver’s license renewal and incorporating such information into a donor registry maintained by the organ procurement organization. Such information shall constitute the Vermont Donor Registry. The Department of Motor Vehicles may secure grants from public and private sources, and receive and disburse funds that are assigned, donated, or bequeathed to the Department to cover the costs of receiving and transmitting the document of gift data. As funds become available, documents of gift may be accepted and data forwarded from persons 16 and 17 years of age and persons being issued nondriver identification cards.
(c) The Vermont Donor Registry shall:
(1) contain a database that includes donors who have authorized an anatomical gift and provide a mechanism for an anatomical gift to be removed from the database;
(2) be accessible to other organ procurement organizations to allow them to obtain relevant information from the donor registry to determine, at or near the time of the death of the donor or a prospective donor, whether the donor or prospective donor has authorized an anatomical gift; and
(3) be accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week for the purposes specified in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection.
(d) [Repealed.]
(e) Personally identifiable information contained in a donor registry about a donor or prospective donor may not be used or disclosed by any organ procurement organization except with the express consent of the donor, prospective donor, or other person making the anatomical gift for any purpose other than to determine, at or near the time of the death of the donor or prospective donor, whether such donor or prospective donor has made, amended, or revoked an anatomical gift.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person from creating or maintaining a donor registry that is not established under this section, provided that any such registry shall comply with the provisions of subsections (c) and (e) of this section. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 6, § 165, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250v. Cooperation between Medical Examiner and procurement organization

§ 5250v. Cooperation between Medical Examiner and procurement organization
The Chief Medical Examiner shall cooperate with procurement organizations to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education, except when the Chief Medical Examiner believes such cooperation would be inconsistent with death investigation procedures or would negatively affect a death investigation. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250x. Honoring donor intent

§ 5250x. Honoring donor intent
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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250y. Uniformity of application and construction

§ 5250y. Uniformity of application and construction
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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 110 - Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act › § 5250z. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act

§ 5250z. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
This act modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(a) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b). (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5281. Definitions

§ 5281. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Bona fide physician-patient relationship” means a treating or consulting relationship in the course of which a physician has completed a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination.
(2) “Capable” means that a patient has the ability to make and communicate health care decisions to a physician, including communication through persons familiar with the patient’s manner of communicating if those persons are available.
(3) “Health care facility” shall have the same meaning as in section 9432 of this title.
(4) “Health care provider” means a person, partnership, corporation, facility, or institution licensed or certified or authorized by law to administer health care or dispense medication in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession.
(5) “Impaired judgment” means that a person does not sufficiently understand or appreciate the relevant facts necessary to make an informed decision.
(6) “Interested person” means:
(A) the patient’s physician;
(B) a person who knows that he or she is a relative of the patient by blood, civil marriage, civil union, or adoption;
(C) a person who knows that he or she would be entitled upon the patient’s death to any portion of the estate or assets of the patient under any will or trust, by operation of law, or by contract; or
(D) an owner, operator, or employee of a health care facility, nursing home, or residential care facility where the patient is receiving medical treatment or is a resident.
(7) “Palliative care” shall have the same definition as in section 2 of this title.
(8) “Patient” means a person who is 18 years of age or older and under the care of a physician.
(9) “Physician” means an individual licensed to practice medicine under 26 V.S.A. chapter 23 or 33.
(10) “Terminal condition” means an incurable and irreversible disease which would, within reasonable medical judgment, result in death within six months.
(11) “Health care services” means services for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or relief of a health condition, illness, injury, or disease.
(12) “Telemedicine” means the delivery of health care services such as diagnosis, consultation, or treatment through the use of live interactive audio and video over a secure connection that complies with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013; amended 2021, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 27, 2022; 2023, No. 10, § 1, eff. May 2, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5282. Right to information

§ 5282. Right to information
The rights of a patient under section 1871 of this title to be informed of all available options related to terminal care and under 12 V.S.A. § 1909(d) to receive answers to any specific question about the foreseeable risks and benefits of medication without the physician’s withholding any requested information exist regardless of the purpose of the inquiry or the nature of the information. A physician who engages in discussions with a patient related to such risks and benefits in the circumstances described in this chapter shall not be construed to be assisting in or contributing to a patient’s independent decision to self-administer a lethal dose of medication, and such discussions shall not be used to establish civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5284. No duty to aid

§ 5284. No duty to aid
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. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5285. Limitations on actions

§ 5285. Limitations on actions
(a) A physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other person shall not be under any duty, by law or contract, to participate in the provision of a lethal dose of medication to a patient.
(b) A health care facility or health care provider shall not subject a physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other person to discipline, suspension, loss of license, loss of privileges, or other penalty for actions taken in good faith reliance on the provisions of this chapter or refusals to act under this chapter.
(c) No physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other person licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by law to deliver health care services in this State shall be subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for acting in good faith compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this section and sections 5283, 5289, and 5290 of this title, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit liability for civil damages resulting from negligent conduct or intentional misconduct by any person. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013; amended 2021, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 27, 2022.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5286. Health care facility exception

§ 5286. Health care facility exception
A health care facility may prohibit a physician from writing a prescription for a dose of medication intended to be lethal for a patient who is a resident in its facility and intends to use the medication on the facility’s premises, provided the facility has notified the physician in writing of its policy with regard to the prescriptions. Notwithstanding subsection 5285(b) of this title, any physician who violates a policy established by a health care facility under this section may be subject to sanctions otherwise allowable under law or contract. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5287. Insurance policies; prohibitions

§ 5287. Insurance policies; prohibitions
(a) A person and his or her beneficiaries shall not be denied benefits under a life insurance policy, as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 3301, for actions taken in accordance with this chapter.
(b) The sale, procurement, or issue of any medical malpractice insurance policy or the rate charged for the policy shall not be conditioned upon or affected by whether the physician is willing or unwilling to participate in the provisions of this chapter. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5288. No effect on palliative sedation

§ 5288. No effect on palliative sedation
This chapter shall not limit or otherwise affect the provision, administration, or receipt of palliative sedation consistent with accepted medical standards. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5292. Statutory construction

§ 5292. Statutory construction
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize a physician or any other person to end a patient’s life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia. Action taken in accordance with this chapter shall not be construed for any purpose to constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing, or homicide under the law. This section shall not be construed to conflict with section 1553 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-152. (Added 2013, No. 39, § 1, eff. May 20, 2013.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 113 - Patient Choice at End of Life › § 5293. Reporting requirements

§ 5293. Reporting requirements
(a) The Department of Health shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to facilitate the collection of information regarding compliance with this chapter, including identifying patients who filled prescriptions written pursuant to this chapter. Except as otherwise required by law, information regarding compliance shall be confidential and shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act.
(b) Beginning in 2018, the Department of Health shall generate and make available to the public a biennial statistical report of the information collected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, as long as releasing the information complies with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191. (Added 2015, No. 27, § 2, eff. May 20, 2015.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5300. Statutory purposes

§ 5300. Statutory purposes
The statutory purpose of the exemption for cemeteries in sections 5317 and 5376 of this title is to lower the cost of establishing and maintaining cemeteries. (Added 2013, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5302. Definitions

§ 5302. Definitions
As used in this chapter and unless otherwise required by the context:
(1) “Agencies” means town cemeteries; religious or ecclesiastical society cemeteries; cemetery associations; and any person, firm, corporation, or unincorporated association engaged in the business of a cemetery.
(2) “Cemetery” means any plot of ground used or intended to be used for the burial or permanent disposition of the remains of the human dead in a grave, a mausoleum, a columbarium, a vault, or other receptacle.
(3) “Cemetery association” means any corporation now or hereafter organized that is or shall be authorized by its articles to conduct the business of a cemetery.
(4) “Columbarium” means a structure or room or other space in a building or structure of durable and lasting fireproof construction, containing niches, used or intended to be used, to contain the permanent disposition of human remains.
(5) “Community mausoleum” means a structure or building of durable and lasting construction used or intended to be used for the permanent disposition of the remains of deceased persons in crypts or spaces, provided such crypts or spaces are available to or may be obtained by individuals or the public for a price in money or its equivalent.
(6) “Cremated remains” means remains of a deceased person after incineration in a disposition facility.
(7) “Cremation” means the reducing of the remains of deceased persons, by the use of retorts, to cremated remains and the disposal thereof in a columbarium, niche, mausoleum, grave, or in any other manner not contrary to law.
(8) “Crypt” means the chamber in a mausoleum of sufficient size to contain the remains of deceased persons.
(9) “Disposition facility” means a building or structure for the reducing of human remains by means of cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction.
(10) “Ecological land management practices” means utilization of land stewardship decision-making processes that account for the best available understanding of ecosystem functions and biological diversity.
(11) “Natural burial ground” means a cemetery maintained using ecological land management practices and without the use of vaults for the burial of unembalmed human remains or human remains embalmed using nontoxic embalming fluids and that rest in either no burial container or in a nontoxic, nonhazardous, plant-derived burial container or shroud.
(12) “Natural organic reduction” means the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.
(13) “Niche” means a recess in a columbarium used, or intended to be used, for the permanent disposition of human remains of one or more deceased persons.
(14) “Temporary receiving vault” means a vault or crypt in a structure of durable and lasting construction used, or intended to be used, for the temporary deposit of the remains of a deceased person for a period of time not exceeding one year. (Amended 2015, No. 24, § 1; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 94; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5303. Policy declared

§ 5303. Policy declared
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. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 166, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5304. Limitation of powers

§ 5304. Limitation of powers
The business of cemeteries shall not include among its corporate powers, either by express grant or as an incident thereto, the right to engage in any business enterprise or occupation such as is usually pursued by private individuals. Nevertheless, this provision shall not exclude the right of cemeteries to sell corner posts and other implements to define the boundaries of lots or other subdivisions of such cemeteries, and articles incident to the care and maintenance of lots and burial spaces, and the right of cemeteries to furnish or sell materials necessary for a complete cemetery burial service.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5305. Right to make rules and regulations

§ 5305. Right to make rules and regulations
The right of an agency engaged in the business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium to make rules and regulations for the use, care, management, and protection thereof is hereby affirmed, and such agencies may by rule or regulation determine who may be buried or deposited in the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 167, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5306. Perpetual care funds

§ 5306. Perpetual care funds
An agency engaged in the cemetery business shall have the right to acquire by gift, devise, or otherwise, land and property of every name and nature and to set aside surplus funds, to be held in trust as a perpetual care fund, the income thereof to be used according to the directions of the trust, where such directions are given, and where no specific directions are given, or, where given, and the purpose is incapable of performance, or there is a surplus of income after the directions of the trust have been fully complied with and performed, to use the same for the purpose of building, repairing, maintaining, adorning, and beautifying buildings or parts thereof, fences, graves, vaults, mausoleums, monuments, walks, cemetery lots, grounds, drives, or avenues, as the interests of the lot owners and cemetery shall appear. The duty upon all agencies organized to establish a perpetual care fund according to the terms set forth in this chapter is hereby imposed. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 168, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5308. Custodian of funds; bond

§ 5308. Custodian of funds; bond
When such funds are not deposited with a bank chartered by the State or a national bank, the custodian or depositary thereof, unless otherwise directed by the terms of the trust or other provisions of this chapter, shall be the treasurer of the agency owning, operating, or controlling the cemetery in which lots or burial spaces are sold, or in which mausoleums or columbariums are located, who shall furnish and file with such agency, at its expense, a good and sufficient bond or bonds with surety or sureties approved by the Probate Division of the Superior Court, indemnifying and securing such agency against loss occasioned by the failure of the treasurer to properly protect, preserve, and administer such funds under the treasurer’s control. Such funds shall be invested and the income from the funds expended upon the written orders of the directors or trustees of such agency. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 169, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5309. Investment of funds

§ 5309. Investment of funds
The principal sum of such funds shall be invested in bonds of the United States or the State of Vermont, or in the bonds or in notes issued in anticipation of taxes and authorized by vote of any town, village, or city in this State, or loaned upon first mortgage on real estate in this State a sum not in excess of 60 percent of the value of such real estate, or upon collateral of any of the above securities of equal value with the loan, or in shares of a savings and loan association of this State or share accounts of a federal savings and loan association with its principal office in this State and to the extent to which the withdrawal or repurchase value of such shares or accounts may be insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, or stock in a federal bank, a safe deposit company, or a national bank or state bank or trust company organized and doing business in the United States. Up to 35 percent of the association’s assets may be invested in common or preferred stocks of corporations organized and existing under the laws of any state of the United States of America, or may be invested in the manner required for the investment of trust funds, unless otherwise authorized by the donor. No assets of the association may be loaned to a member, officer, trustee, or director of any such cemetery agency. (Amended 1979, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.).)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5310. Plats

§ 5310. Plats
An agency engaged in any business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall cause to be made a plat of its grounds, showing the part thereof improved or in use and that part held for future cemetery use. The plat of the improved part shall show the land laid out in sections, lots, driveways, walks, and paths, sections to be designated by symbols, and the lots shall be numbered. All additions to such improved areas, and all new cemetery grounds hereafter established, shall be platted in the manner provided above. It is further provided that in case of a community mausoleum or columbarium, every agency shall cause to be made a plat thereof on which shall be set forth the sections, halls, rooms, corridors, elevators, or other subdivisions thereof with their descriptive names and numbers. The agency making such plat shall file the same for record in the office of the town clerk of the town in which the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium is located.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5311. Recording of plats

§ 5311. Recording of plats
It shall be the duty of the town clerk to receive and insert or bind in a book provided for that purpose all original plats or photostatic copies thereof, made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, of such cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, which shall constitute the recording thereof. The fees therefor shall not exceed the cost of the work of such recording, plus $3.00. The making or recording of a cemetery plat by any agency other than those specified in this chapter, or the recording of any cemetery plat which does not conform to and with the provisions of this chapter shall be void and of no effect.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5312. Limitation of sales

§ 5312. Limitation of sales
A lot, section, subdivision, crypt, niche, or any part of the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall not be sold, contracted for sale, or offered for sale, until and unless a plat shall be made and recorded in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5313. Records; burial records open to public

§ 5313. Records; burial records open to public
An agency engaged in the business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall provide and maintain a suitable place of deposit for the records and files of such cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, of such character as will safely keep and preserve such records and files from loss and destruction, and it shall make and file proper records in such place. The record of the permanent disposition of human remains shall at all reasonable times be open to the public. (Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. January 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5314. Sale of property for interment purposes; disposition of receipts

§ 5314. Sale of property for interment purposes; disposition of receipts
After recording the plat as provided in this chapter, and subject to the further provisions of this chapter relating to the sale of lots, crypts, and niches, the sale of lots, crypts, and niches may be made for the sole purpose of interments under such rules and regulations as may be imposed by the agency owning the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, and no part of the proceeds from such sales or other income shall ever be divided among its members, but shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, or placed in the perpetual care fund thereof, the income thereof to be so used. (Amended 2023, No. 6, § 170, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5315. Sale of property for other than burial purposes; disposition of proceeds

§ 5315. Sale of property for other than burial purposes; disposition of proceeds
Either before or after the recording of the plat, as provided in this chapter, whenever it is determined that such lands acquired for cemetery purposes, except those acquired by condemnation proceedings, are unsuitable for the permanent disposition of human remains, such lands may be sold for purposes other than permanent disposition and conveyed in fee simple in such manner and upon such terms as may be provided by the agencies owning the same. The proceeds thereof shall be applied to the purchase of other lands or to general cemetery purposes. When such sales are made, the land so sold shall be returned by the agencies to the tax lists for taxation. In the case of land acquired by condemnation proceedings, it shall be disposed of under the law governing the disposal of land acquired by condemnation proceedings. (V.S. 1947, § 4021. 1947, No. 202, § 4022. P.L. § 3853. 1933, No. 49, § 16; amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. January 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 171, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5316. Encumbrance of cemetery property prohibited

§ 5316. Encumbrance of cemetery property prohibited
A public mausoleum, crematorium, columbarium, the land or lot or right of burial shall not be mortgaged, pledged, or in any manner encumbered by the agency owning or controlling the same.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5317. Tax exemptions

§ 5317. Tax exemptions
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all cemetery lands, buildings, and property, and the proceeds thereof, as defined in this chapter, which have been platted and devoted to or held exclusively for cemetery purposes, including donations or gifts and held in trust or otherwise, and all other funds held for the improvement, maintenance, repair, and ornamentation of such cemetery, together with the income therefrom and all other revenues and income shall be exempt from taxation.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5320. Temporary vaults

§ 5320. Temporary vaults
A town may construct and maintain, on land owned by such town, temporary receiving vaults for the temporary disposition of dead bodies, if approved by a majority of voters present and voting at an annual or special town meeting duly warned for that purpose. Such temporary disposition shall be for a period not to exceed one year.
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5321. Improvement of private burial grounds; duties of officers

§ 5321. Improvement of private burial grounds; duties of officers
When the use and care of a private burial ground has been abandoned and such ground becomes unsightly from any cause, or when headstones or monuments have been displaced, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners having charge of the public cemeteries in the town where such burial ground is located, on written request of three legally qualified voters of such town, shall immediately cause a notice to be published once a week on the same day of the week for three successive weeks in some newspaper circulating in the town, calling upon any person interested in such burial ground to cause the same to be put in proper condition within three months after the date of such notice. At the expiration of such time, if such demand is not complied with, the selectboard or board shall proceed then and thereafter as if such ground were a public burial place. (Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2023, No. 6, § 173, eff. July 1, 2023.)
2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 18 - Health › Chapter 121 - Cemeteries › § 5322. Temporary access to cemeteries

§ 5322. Temporary access to cemeteries
(a) Any person wishing to have a temporary right of entry over private land in order to enter a graveyard enclosure to which there is no public right-of-way may apply in writing to the selectboard or cemetery commissioners, as the case may be, state the reason for such request and the period of time for which such right is to be exercised. The applicant shall also notify in writing an owner or occupier of the land over which the right-of-way is desired. If the selectboard or cemetery commissioners find that the request is reasonable, they shall issue a permit for a temporary right of entry designating the particular place where, and the manner in which, the land may be crossed. The owner or occupier of the land may recommend a place of crossing which, if reasonable, shall be the place designated by the selectboard or cemetery commissioners.
(b) An owner or occupier of the land who refuses to comply with a permit issued under subsection (a) of this section may be liable for reasonable costs and attorney’s fees expended to enforce the permit. (Added 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; amended 1993, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)