House Human Services committee approves S.36 with amendment to expand public inebriate services, prioritize Chittenden County

The House Committee on Human Services voted 11-0 to approve S.36 as amended, adding a Section 6 that requires the Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health to expand public inebriate services and prioritize Chittenden County, and to report back to the committee next February. The committee also directed the Department of Corrections to present on Feb. 15 next year about efforts to reinstate the practice of connecting individuals with community-based substance use and recovery services.

The amendment — drafted after the Senate-passed version and labeled “House Human Services Amendment” in the committee packet — was first subject to a straw poll and then included in the final bill considered by the committee. The committee’s clerk recorded an 11-0 vote in favor of the amendment in the straw poll, and the committee subsequently approved S.36 as amended with an 11-0 roll call vote. The clerk read the roll: Representative Bishop, Representative Cole, Representative Donahue, Representative Heeses, Representative Garfano, Representative McGuire, Representative McGill,…