House Human Services Committee reviews Senate changes to H.91 establishing statewide emergency housing program

At a House Human Services Committee meeting, members reviewed the Senate’s amended version of H.91, the bill that creates the Viharth emergency housing program and stages the transition of existing General Assistance (GA) emergency housing and HOP into the new program. Committee staffer Katie—presenting the Senate changes—said the Senate added phased effective dates, new regional advisory councils, consolidated “core services” into one statutory section, and shifted some reporting deadlines earlier.

The discussion matters because H.91 would change how Vermont provides emergency shelter and supportive services, set new reporting and reauthorization requirements for community action agencies, and redirect one‑time fiscal year 2026 funding to planning, shelter capacity, and related services.

Committee members focused on three implementation points the Senate version added or altered: staggered effective dates for program components, expanded reporting and oversight, and a legislative mandate to reduce reliance on hotels and motels as emergency shelter. Under the Senate language presented, the statutory chapter and certain planning provisions take effect on July 1, 2025; the core Viharth program and many operational provisions take effect July 1, 2026; and HOP (the House Operational Program referenced in the bill) would be folded into Viharth beginning fiscal year 2028 (July 1, 2027). Katie said regional advisory councils—created to advise the community action agency in each region—would take effect July 1, 2025 so they could operate during the year prior to Viharth’s full implementation.

The bill consolidates required services into a single “core services” section that lists three service categories: supportive services (intake, diversion, needs assessments, individualized plans, housing navigation and retention, landlord outreach, and referrals to health and disability services); extreme‑weather shelters (time‑limited congregate accommodations, agreements with municipalities and use of data to prioritize funding); and emergency shelters (community‑based shelters, strategic temporary use of hotels and motels, master lease arrangements and other options).

The Senate version includes a clear statement that “annually, as shelter capacity increases in each region of the state, the use of hotel and motel rooms for emergency housing in that region shall decrease.” Committee members asked whether that sentence is a binding mandate or aspirational; Katie said the committee that reported the bill intended it as a mandate as written and that the General Assembly would have to adjust funding or law to change the outcome if circumstances changed.

The proposal would require the Department (AHS/DCF) and the statewide network to produce staggered implementation and progress reports: an initial implementation plan due Oct. 1 (to inform FY27 planning), a second implementation plan due Jan. 15, and periodic consolidated reports to policy and appropriations committees on or before the last day of every third month with detailed service, capacity and outcome data. The committee also heard that community action agencies must submit regional needs assessments and that the department would consolidate and forward those results to policy committees; community action agencies will be subject to reauthorization reviews not less often than every three years.

Committee members raised questions about several provisions they said are vague or could create practical or legal issues. Questions included: what counts as an “act consistent with intent” for defining a Vermont household; the lack of a statutory definition for when a community action agency “has failed to adequately meet the needs of households”; whether required “community connections” that include faith‑based organizations could force state contractors to maintain ties to religious providers; and how the department would staff a reauthorization and corrective action process. Katie acknowledged several items were intentionally left to rulemaking or report back and said the department would recommend processes and performance measures in the Oct. 1 and Jan. 15 implementation submissions.

The Senate amended the one‑time FY26 appropriation originally in the House version but kept the total at $10,000,000. The Senate‑reported split shown to the committee was: a little over $5,000,000 to the Department for planning and implementation (which may be distributed to community action agencies), $3,000,000 to DCF to expand shelter and permanent supportive housing capacity (with a subset for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board for infrastructure investments), $1,000,000 to DCF for municipal grants to plan and implement local services, $515,000 to the Department of Health for distribution for services, and $400,000 to the statewide organization that serves households experiencing domestic violence. Katie said the bill also contains language directing previously appropriated funds for GA emergency housing to be redesignated to Viharth, but the Senate intentionally removed a clause that would have fixed the redesignation to a specific prior fiscal year amount.

On process, committee members were told the Senate version had cleared Senate Appropriations and could appear on the Senate floor calendar imminently; the committee cannot take official action on the Senate amendments until it receives the bill back, and there may be limited time for additional amendments before the end of session. The chair said, “we will need to be acting very quickly,” and described conference committee or negotiated amendments between chamber chairs as possible next steps depending on floor action.

Committee members asked the presenter to provide the Senate’s implementation timeline document; Katie agreed she would share that timeline with committee members. The committee also requested clarity on several definitional and oversight items that the presenter said would be covered in rulemaking or the department’s implementation reports.