House Human Services reviews H.218, a single bill to appropriate opioid settlement fund awards

Lawmakers on the House Human Services Committee discussed H.218 on Tuesday, a bill to appropriate one-time and recurring expenditures from the state's opioid abatement special fund for fiscal year 2026.

The bill compiles recommendations from the state's Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee and the Department of Health into a single appropriation measure so the funds and programs are easier to track than when they are scattered across the annual budget (Act 113). Committee staff said the measure is intended to consolidate appropriations that have been funded in prior legislation and to present one place where the advisory committee's recommendations and department proposals can be considered together.

The advisory process and H.218's contents

Katie (Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel) told the committee that H.218 contains two kinds of allocations: recurring appropriations the legislature has signaled it intends to continue and one-time appropriations for new or pilot projects. The bill, as presented, includes recurring appropriations with intent language that those items be funded annually from the opioid abatement special fund "unless and until the special fund does not have sufficient monies to fund this expenditure."

Commissioner of Health Mark Levine described the advisory committee's updated process for reviewing proposals. The committee used a Johns Hopkins University framework adapted to emphasize geographic equity, issued a request for applications, permitted committee members to independently review proposals, and voted twice: first to determine which proposals merited further consideration, and later on final recommendations. The committee then compiled its recommendations into a letter and the commissioner submitted a separate department letter; this year both letters aligned, Levine said. Levine also said votes and recusal decisions were made public during meetings and via public-records requests.

Committee members and the department discussed several line items included in H.218. Katie and department staff walked through specific appropriations listed in the draft bill, including (amounts approximate as written in the draft): - $1,976,000 to the Department of Health to fund 26 outreach or case-management positions within the preferred provider network for engagement with people with substance use disorder in places such as police stations, shelters and social service organizations (recurring intent language attached). - $1,100,000 for grants to the City of Burlington to establish an overdose prevention center if the city submits an approved grant proposal and meets statutory requirements and department guidelines (with recurring intent language through FY2028). - $1,200,000 for certified recovery residences (Vermont Alliance for Recovery Residences), including funding to add at least two new recovery residences. - $1,050,000 for syringe service programs (recurring intent language at FY2025 levels). - Other listed grants and pilots for contingency management ($800,000), training for opioid antagonist administration to first responders, wound care pilot via Champlain Housing Trust, shelter supports, county and region-specific programs (Project Connection Works in Windham County; Pathways Vermont contingency management pilot in Chittenden County for people under Department of Corrections supervision), judicial training ($50,000), outreach worker positions, youth-focused programs, peer-support hires in the Northeast Kingdom, rural treatment expansion in Windsor County and an embedded recovery coach pilot, among others.

Committee members pressed staff to verify whether amounts and intent language in H.218 precisely match prior budget language (Act 113 and other budget acts) and asked the administration to supply account balances, to help the committee assess sustainability of the intent to continue recurring items. Committee staff agreed to provide side-by-side comparisons of FY2025 appropriations and the H.218 text.

Advisory committee members' perspectives

Jess Kirby, director of client services at Vermont Center for Criminal Justice Reform and a member of the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, told the committee she supports the committee's newly formalized process. Kirby said committee members helped design the RFA and voting steps, that votes were taken using Microsoft Forms and made public, and that she and other committee members want better outcome reporting on items that receive continuing funding (for example, contingency management). Kirby urged future steps to include processes for tracking outcomes so the committee and public can see whether ongoing investments are delivering measurable results.

Committee process and next steps

Committee members asked how long settlement funds will continue to be available; staff recalled an initial 10- or 20-year expectation and said they would provide a definitive schedule. Members also requested the current balance of the opioid abatement special fund and clarified that some programs listed in H.218 (for example, the overdose prevention center in Burlington) have not yet executed grant agreements and therefore will take time to stand up.

The committee chair said the committee will take testimony on H.218 from the advisory committee and Department of Health staff in upcoming hearings, and committee staff will include the bill in the work plan ahead of crossover. No formal committee votes on H.218 were recorded during this session.

Ending

Committee staff and department witnesses agreed to supply the committee with supporting documents requested during the hearing: a side-by-side comparison of H.218 appropriations and prior budget language, the special fund balance, and clarifications about recurring versus one-time language in the bill. The committee signaled intent to take formal testimony on H.218 in a subsequent meeting prior to crossover.