House committee hears H.91 to create V‑HEART emergency shelter system; committee report 8-2-1

The House Appropriations Committee on March 25, 2025 heard testimony on H.91, a bill to create the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing Program (V‑HEART) and to shift administration of emergency shelter services from the state’s General Assistance model to regional community action agencies. Committee members also reviewed a one-time $10 million appropriation in fiscal year 2026 to support the transition.

V‑HEART would establish a new chapter in Title 33 that directs the Department for Children and Families (DCF) to operate the program and distribute funds and subgrants to community action agencies. Under the proposal, community action agencies would administer supportive services, extreme-weather shelters, temporary and transitional shelter (including community‑based shelters, master leases and negotiated blocks of hotel/motel rooms), and case management and housing navigation services. The bill preserves a carve‑out for a statewide organization to continue shelter and case management services specific to households experiencing domestic violence.

Why it matters: The bill is intended to reorganize existing shelter and emergency housing money into a single statewide program run regionally, with the goal of building continuity between short‑term shelter and longer‑term housing supports. Committee sponsors said the change aims to reduce discrepancies between people placed in hotels and people placed in shelters that offer wraparound services and to expand local planning and accountability.

Program structure and duties - Administration: DCF would have statewide responsibility for planning, system development, rulemaking and oversight; community action agencies would operate or contract to provide direct services in their regions. DCF must consult with community action agencies and other partners to develop an allocation formula, accountability measures and technical support. - Services: Required components include supportive services (intake, diversion, individualized plans, landlord outreach, housing navigation, referrals and peer supports), extreme‑weather shelters, emergency temporary shelters (temporary and transitional) and coordinated entry integration. - Domestic violence: Services for households experiencing or having experienced domestic violence would be provided through an existing statewide organization with population‑specific experience; those services are included in V‑HEART but are identified as a distinct delivery path. - Hotels/motels: Use of hotels or motels must comply with lodging, fire and building safety rules. The bill directs DCF to propose annual hotel/motel rates in its budget presentation; community action agencies may not pay rates that exceed the General Assembly‑approved rate. The bill favors negotiated blocks of rooms over ad hoc per‑room purchases when appropriate.

Implementation timeline and governance - Implementation advisory committee: The bill creates a V‑HEART Implementation Advisory Committee to advise DCF and community action agencies on design, allocation, accountability and operational questions. The committee must reflect demographic and geographic diversity, include individuals with lived experience and representatives from community action agencies, the two Continuums of Care and local housing coalitions, and be convened by July 15, 2025. The advisory group would sunset two years after program launch (statutory text sets the sunset in 2029). - Implementation plan and reporting: DCF, in collaboration with community action agencies and the advisory committee, must submit an implementation plan to the General Assembly by Feb. 1 (year following enactment). That plan must address allocation methodology among community action agencies, other state and federal funding sources, measures of accountability, appeals procedures (including hearings before the Human Services Board), expanded use of 2‑1‑1 for intake, and whether participation requirements or time limits apply for specific shelter types. - Effective date: The bill as drafted delays the statutory creation of the V‑HEART chapter so the program would take effect July 1, 2026; earlier transcribed year references are clerical errors and the committee discussed FY2026/FY2027 timing.

Fiscal provisions and oversight - FY26 appropriation: Section 7 of H.91 appropriates $10 million one‑time from the general fund for FY26: $6.5 million to DCF for distribution to community action agencies and the statewide organization serving households impacted by domestic violence; $500,000 for contractual systems transformation assistance; and $3.0 million for continued shelter capacity development. - Existing funds in the system: Joint Fiscal Office staff noted multiple existing line items and grants that currently support emergency housing, the Housing Opportunity Program (HOP) and other shelter supports. JFO compared FY25 and FY26 totals and reported roughly $36–37 million in certain DCF general assistance and related line items plus HOP and other grants that together yield tens of millions in system funding; JFO summarized that roughly $70–82 million of funding appears in the broader set of shelter‑related programs across FY25–FY26 depending on line‑by‑line treatment. JFO cautioned the bill’s transfer language may not have captured every administrative cost and advised the committee to expect additional implementation details in the February plan.

Discussion highlights and concerns - Point‑in‑time counts and scale: Several members questioned reliance on point‑in‑time counts (which JFO and witnesses described as an imperfect snapshot) to justify scale. Committee members and staff discussed how counts rose during the COVID period when emergency placements increased and how counting methods affect policy decisions. - Residency and eligibility: Members asked whether the bill imposes a durational residency or domicile requirement. Legislative counsel and committee sponsors said the draft avoids durational residency language and follows precedent limiting state ability to require multi‑month residency before benefits; the bill instead treats someone as intending to remain in Vermont if they present at a local intake point and state law and past court precedent limit stricter residency requirements. - Capacity and funding stability: Multiple speakers—including community action agency advocates on the record and committee members—requested clarity about administrative funding, workforce and whether community action agencies will receive sufficient funding and transition support to absorb program responsibilities. Sponsors said the bill requires DCF to consult with community action agencies on allocation methodology and that transition funding is included in the appropriation and other existing resources could be reallocated.

Formal action The committee reported H.91 out of committee by a voice vote recorded as 8‑2‑1. Committee members described the tally as 8 in favor, 2 opposed and 1 recorded differently (a present/abstention or excused); a committee member noted Representative McGuire was absent but had communicated support such that the result would have been 9‑2 if present. That committee report advances H.91 to subsequent floor consideration and additional legislative steps (sponsors indicated a more detailed implementation bill would follow next year after the advisory committee’s recommendations).

Next steps Committee sponsors said they expect further work on allocations, eligibility and operational details and that DCF and the advisory committee will return with the implementation plan by Feb. 1. The committee discussed scheduling a floor vote later in the week and indicated additional appropriations or statutory adjustments for FY27 would be addressed in subsequent budget deliberations.

(Reporting note: direct quotations in this article are verbatim excerpts from committee testimony by Teresa Wood, chair of the House Human Services Committee; Katie Glitz, Legislative Counsel; and Nolan Langwell, Joint Fiscal Office, as captured in the committee transcript.)