[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6220822,"mediaKeyId","3616143-1243f47380f0294ed22275eb35de6bb9","parentId",3616143,"title","LCAR approves several Fish & Wildlife fisheries rules covering panfish limits, commercial angling and baitfish","audioSeconds",161,"startMs",405000,"endMs",566000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3616143-1243f47380f0294ed22275eb35de6bb9&start=405&end=566","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3616143-1243f47380f0294ed22275eb35de6bb9/thumbnail_405000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6220822/Vermont/LCAR-approves-several-Fish-Wildlife-fisheries-rules-covering-panfish-limits-commercial-angling-and-baitfish","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6220822-14bfe89684e3d7fe67b8dfd72670c62d/orig.mp4?Expires=1775742067&Signature=H9Rw9pySJ07NcLAScCkivYt3qYFgAq8iK2yMkOhXKviY1jXS8yUk1i8xS6UZpQXTaZaYZ4h9xyMKiaj0BsimbeQU9V4zlSK8VzM4B6vRM~kqL-C3O25pLEKz7u5uRyTIVhmAOHs7IJpJae~pJk-TWk5YVvxORZxPVZfMSkTHe8vbFodLt2AwlggkDLGOGy1jgLvAtiSW-UYu~0~f64lc9mf~ROSuYiJ72lYVCa~IXjwUnMVZk773DHAMjb9wuXLwNizmdVyWM8YJbUgwumeiltkegUnSlwGEF8PDFsYTfRq-tH5F0mKfrosmzxS5oF7-KwNpnZt~QJSYSGXxink2xQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Vermont Legislature Joint Committees","date","2025-05-30T00:39:09Z","article","The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved four fisheries-related rule changes from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife on May 29, 2025, covering fish management, commercial angling, removal of a seasonal closure, and baitfish use.

Hannah Smith, general counsel for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Eric Palmer, director of the fisheries program, presented the package. Smith said the changes are board rules administered by the Fish and Wildlife Board and summarized the principal changes: adding Mud Pond to the list of seasonally closed waters, adding a segment of the Deerfield River to the list of trophy-trout streams, and amending bag limits and species lists for panfish. \"They'll add mud pond to the list of seasonally closed waters,\" Smith said.

On panfish, the department described two rounds of changes. The proposed rule initially set an aggregate daily panfish limit of 50 fish and a sublimit of no more than 25 per individual listed species. The Fish and Wildlife Board amended that change so the daily aggregate remains 50, but the final proposed rule allows anglers to take up to 50 of any single listed panfish species in inland waters where limits apply. The agency also removed white perch from the list of panfish subject to the new bag limits, saying white perch are not native to Vermont and occur only in Lake Champlain, the Connecticut River, Memphremagog and Parker Lake.

Senator Wiggs asked whether the 50-per-day aggregate will keep populations at appropriate levels; Smith and Palmer said existing limits for some species remain in place (the department cited a 50-fish daily limit for yellow perch) and described the changes as measures to help maintain age and size structure of panfish populations while responding to anglers’ interest in bag limits.

The commercial-angling rule (25 P 08) creates a fish-sellers endorsement added to a Vermont fishing license (no fee) and prohibits the commercial sale of crappie species. Smith said the department proposed the crappie sale ban in response to constituent petition and data showing crappie constitute a small portion of commercial panfish sales (about 4% based on 2014–2024 data) but command a higher price per pound. The department told the committee that higher commercial prices can incentivize moving fish to new waters, potentially encouraging illegal overharvest or transfer of fish from states where commercial angling is restricted. The final rule removes a proposed new section requiring separate reporting by fish sellers and instead adds reporting language into an existing section requiring fish sellers to submit biological data on fish sold.

The committee approved a full repeal of the Valley Brook seasonal closure (25 P 09). Smith said the closure was originally adopted in an effort to establish landlocked Atlantic salmon spawning in some waters; those efforts were unsuccessful and the department concluded the seasonal closure for Valley Brook is no longer necessary.

The baitfish rule (section 1-41) makes several housekeeping changes the department describes as a modest relaxation of restrictions: allowing larger minnow traps, permitting transport of personally harvested baitfish between nonrestricted waters within the same east/west zone, modifying rules for personally harvested baitfish and fish eggs, and removing an administrative requirement that commercial bait sellers keep carbon copies of receipts. Smith said the two-zone approach divides the state roughly along watershed lines to reduce risk of moving invasive species or pathogens between major watersheds while allowing greater baitfish use in most waters.

Committee votes on each rule were voice votes with no opposed voices recorded in the transcript. Representative Bode moved approval of the fish-management rule; Senator Weeks moved approval of the rule repealing the Valley Brook closure; Senator Wake moved approval of the baitfish rule. The commercial-angling rule was moved and approved during the same panel discussion.

Implementation notes: The department said Berlin Pond and Stiles Pond previously operated under more restrictive, trial bag limits after public-access changes; the final rules make some of those limits permanent. The department also indicated the trophy-trout designation for the Deerfield River corresponds to a stocking program that targets larger, two-year-old trout for accessible public waters.

For readers: The package changes adjust how anglers may harvest panfish, formalizes certain trial limits where they proved successful, prohibits commercial sale of crappie to reduce incentives for illegal transfers, and eases some baitfish restrictions while preserving protections for waters with known invasive species.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","LCAR 5/29/25 8:05AM","oneSentenceSummary","The committee approved four Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries rules: changes to fish management (including panfish bag limits and trophy trout designations), a commercial angling rule adding a fish-sellers endorsement and restrictions on sale of crappie, repeal of a seasonal closure for Valley Brook, and amendments to baitfish rules.","taxTitle","Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules/LCAR, Joint, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",69806,"location","Vermont","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6220827,"LCAR approves Agency of Human Services rule shortening Medicaid prior-authorization timelines",134,114000,248000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3616143-1243f47380f0294ed22275eb35de6bb9&start=114&end=248","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3616143-1243f47380f0294ed22275eb35de6bb9/thumbnail_114000.jpg","/articles/6220827/Vermont/LCAR-approves-Agency-of-Human-Services-rule-shortening-Medicaid-prior-authorization-timelines","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6220827-20b6aaddfacbacaddbb05d76e73be347/orig.mp4?Expires=1775742067&Signature=c5kiIOxo-qEwOnODnaNRoFh~iuumd8jpkaaJcTzD7Uxs2DBd6P2Qseq8h2naEs7RJ7kfAisicq6~VHu-7O9FZn2rtyK3vSGnOSph~4xFnN0GMAGSwZd1OHnmfCj1pwBU9ZAwgUzXGEkRcdmOBiU9IR9DyJFwOynjXGnmoyolbqWVDXfZoGBN2R7b8-VlCScQXaZxokK1q1IwQZGjePGPfAZubcLtMBWqhKmOztRTU2jad6IAygDgC1rm~LemvBdjJx0PulKzkQp8BRKzVGwgGUWornWlG6oNajpkyO84I77kI5V1V9Cjm5lhn3YdG4G3Fchc3dXo7DMPPg2znO4qpg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved a change to prior-authorization rules for Vermont Medicaid on May 29, 2025, moving the decision deadline for standard prior-auth requests from 14 days to seven and aligning the expedited prior-authorization deadline with a federal 72-hour requirement.

The change, filed as HCAR Rule 4.10324 P30 by the Agency of Human Services, implements a new federal regulation effective Jan. 1, 2026. Ashley Berliner, director of Medicaid policy for the Agency of Human Services, told the committee the rule “provides that standard authorizations must be decided within 7 days of request instead of the current 14 days” and that expedited requests must be decided within 72 hours.

The rule clarifies that the seven-day timeline for standard prior-authorizations does not apply to pharmacy prior-authorizations and adds prior-authorization requirements for routine patient costs related to beneficiary participation in clinical trials. Berliner said the agency moved Medicaid rules into the Healthcare Administrative Rules (HCAR) style and that the change reflects a federal timeline that will begin in 2026.

Berliner told the committee the agency shared the proposed rule with internal and external stakeholders including Vermont Legal Aid, the Vermont Medical Society, the Vermont Hospital Association and the Medicaid and Exchange Advisory Committee. The agency filed the rule with the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules in July 2024, held a public hearing on Sept. 11, 2024 (no attendees), and received written public comments from the Vermont Medical Society and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings. Berliner said the agency made some revisions based on stakeholder feedback and that no changes were made in response to the written public comments submitted during the public hearing process.

Committee discussion was brief. A committee member moved to approve the rule; the committee approved it by voice vote with no opposed voices recorded.

Background: Berliner said LCAR granted an extension that moved the legislative deadline from April 1, 2025, to June 15, 2025, to allow time for final consideration. The effective date in the rule is Jan. 1, 2026, matching the federal requirement.

Implementation details and next steps: The rule text clarifies scope and timelines for prior-authorization decisions, distinguishes pharmacy prior-authorization procedures, and adds prior-authorization language for routine costs related to clinical trials. The agency confirmed the seven-day standard timeline applies to non-pharmacy prior-authorizations only. The committee did not request additional materials before the vote.

For readers: The change implements a federal requirement and will affect how quickly non-pharmacy prior-authorizations are decided for Medicaid beneficiaries starting Jan. 1, 2026. The committee recorded no roll-call vote; approval was by voice vote.","The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved Agency of Human Services Rule 4.10324 P30 to align Vermont prior-authorization timelines with a new federal requirement that shortens standard and expedited decision deadlines for Medicaid services.","actionData","errors"]

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LCAR approves several Fish & Wildlife fisheries rules covering panfish limits, commercial angling and baitfish

LCAR approves Agency of Human Services rule shortening Medicaid prior-authorization timelines