Lawmakers press health department oversight of syringe disposal during H.218 amendment review

Members of a House legislative committee discussed adding language on syringe service programs and safe syringe disposal to H.218, the bill governing uses of opioid abatement settlement funds, during a pre-floor meeting; committee counsel said the amendment would expand authorized services, and legislators said they will pursue oversight with the Health Department rather than press an immediate change.

Katie MacLenn, Office of Legislative Counsel, told the committee that the proposed amendment would add a subdivision to H.218 “expanding syringe service programs, specifically providing comprehensive syringe services programs with more wraparound services, including linkages to opioid use disorder treatment, access to sterile syringes, safe syringe disposal, and linkages to care and treatment of infectious diseases.”

Representative Candace Swate, who said she lives in Waitsfield and represents five towns and surrounding areas, described constituent concerns about used syringes appearing on land near the Howard Center and on private property in Burlington. “They had expressed real concern that the current syringe program is providing clean syringes but not handling safe disposal of syringes,” Swate said, adding that residents have noticed “numerous used syringes on the land of the Howard Center, also on their private land.” Swate said she would not press the amendment because she believes the existing statute already addresses disposal and asked the committee to pursue oversight instead.

Committee members pointed to existing law. Chair Wood (committee chair) asked staff to display Act 22 from 2024; a committee member noted that H.222 became Act 22 and that law already includes language about syringe disposal. “We actually specifically added language about syringe disposal when we adopted H.222, which became Act 22,” Chair Wood said, and the committee agreed to add the issue to its oversight and accountability review this year.

Representative McGuire described local disposal and cleanup efforts as complementary actions, noting that some communities run exchange and cleanup programs and that “it is difficult to hold things accountable and be able to monitor when the needles are on the streets.” McGuire said community partnerships—citing Project Vision in Rutland as an example—organize periodic cleanups and that the Health Department had appropriated resources for communities to locate disposal bins.

Other legislators urged the committee to hear from local implementers and the Health Department. Representative Bishop asked that Burlington or Rutland be invited to describe on-the-ground efforts, citing concerns for preschool teachers and children who use downtown sidewalks. Lawmakers suggested the committee ask the Health Department what outreach it conducted, how communities can request technical assistance, and whether local programs received state resources for disposal bins.

The committee did not adopt the amendment at the meeting. Laurie (committee staff) was told no action was needed at that time; members said they would invite the Health Department to a future oversight hearing to review implementation, outreach, and placement of disposal boxes in communities.

The discussion occurred as part of floor preparations for H.218, the bill that implements uses of opioid abatement settlement funds and creates an advisory committee for a special fund; members reiterated that statutory language has generally been guided to match settlement parameters.