Committee advances H.218 opioid-settlement spending package, authorizes $1.1 million carryforward for Burlington project

A legislative Human Services committee met to finish work on H.218, the opioids abatement settlement bill, and agreed to a package of grant allocations across Vermont while authorizing a carryforward of $1,100,000 appropriated last year for a Burlington project into fiscal 2026.

The committee discussed and signaled approval—by informal thumbs-up consensus—for funding recommendations that would be included in H.218. Committee members emphasized geographic distribution of grants and asked staff to add clearer reporting and grant-agreement language. The group also directed staff to add language authorizing carryforward of $1.1 million that the Legislature appropriated in fiscal year 2025 for Burlington; committee members said the city may return for a budget adjustment (BAA) in fiscal 2026 if it needs more operating funds once implementation begins.

Why it matters: the allocations are drawn from the statewide opioid-abatement settlement and are intended to fund harm-reduction, treatment and reentry supports across multiple counties. The carryforward decision affects whether Burlington can use funds already appropriated in 2025 to start operations if its provider selection and site approval occur late in the current fiscal year.

The committee reviewed and signaled approval for the following grant amounts to be included in H.218: $100,000 to Friends of Change Youth Center (Bellows Falls) for youth services; $170,000 to Spectrum Youth and Family Services for screening, treatment and case management in Chittenden and Franklin counties; $80,000 to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont for parenting supports aimed at parents with opioid use disorder; $850,000 to a HireAbility vocational rehabilitation expansion to Rutland and Bennington (described by staff as Vocational Rehabilitation services funded under the Rehabilitation Act); $550,000 to Northeast Kingdom Community Action for peer support specialists serving people with opioid use disorder who are experiencing homelessness; $150,000 to Connecticut Valley Addiction Services for opioid-use treatment in rural Windsor County; $300,000 to continue a partnership between Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform and the Johnson Health Center that serves people returning from corrections; $30,000 to Treatment Associates of Washington County Mental Health to hire an embedded recovery coach; and $20,824 to Umbrella (based in St. Johnsbury and Newport) for family-based services and prevention work in the Northeast Kingdom. Committee members also noted conforming language changes in the bill (for example replacing the term MAT with MOUD) and a technical insertion allowing the committee to elect a vice chair.

Committee members asked staff to add language requiring grant agreements and outcome measurements to be reported back to the committee and to clarify performance expectations, and they discussed concerns about program sustainability—particularly for one-time hires such as recovery coaches—and about overlapping services with existing recovery centers. Members asked staff to track where each grantee is located and to note whether funds support startup costs, ongoing operations, or both.

On the Burlington appropriation, the committee discussed that the Legislature had previously appropriated $1,100,000 for a Burlington project in fiscal 2025 but that no grant agreement has yet been executed and no funds have been drawn. Committee members agreed to include language that authorizes the carryforward of the full $1,100,000 into fiscal 2026 so the city may use those previously appropriated funds if implementation begins late in the current fiscal year. Committee members also agreed that Burlington should return to the Legislature via the BAA process if additional funds beyond the carried-forward amount are needed for operations after implementation begins.

Members discussed city milestones reported in a Burlington memorandum—committee members referenced a March 2025 timeline for provider selection and noted that city council approval and site selection remained outstanding steps. Several members urged prudence about appropriating additional funds before those approvals and implementation milestones are met; others stressed the original legislative intent to provide startup support for the Burlington project and recommended language that preserves flexibility while avoiding “doubling up” an appropriation across two fiscal years.

The committee chair instructed staff (Katie) to draft updated bill language reflecting: (1) the geographic tags and specific grantees discussed; (2) updated terminology (MOUD); and (3) authorization to carry forward the $1,100,000 appropriated in 2025, with a direction that Burlington may request a BAA for additional operating funds if needed. The committee indicated it would send the revised language to the Appropriations Committee for review and expected to bring H.218 to the floor after that review.

The committee noted that several items in the package had been piloted in specific communities (for example HireAbility pilots in Burlington and Newport) and that grantees were required to submit reports that the committee could use to assess outcomes. The chair said members should send any outstanding language or dollar-amount changes to staff by close of business so staff could circulate a consolidated document before the committee reconvened.

Ending: The committee planned to transmit the updated H.218 language to Appropriations and signaled it would return for floor action after that review. Members asked staff to prepare reporting language in the bill and to clarify grant-agreement timing and carryforward mechanics before the bill advanced.