The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved several administrative rule filings on Jan. 9, voting to adopt permanent notary rules from the Office of Professional Regulation, a consolidated set of Medicaid dental rules and three associated repeals from the Agency of Human Services, and amendments to the chiropractic-services rule.

The committee approved the Office of Professional Regulation's permanent administrative rule for notaries (24 P 41). Emily Treito, identified in testimony as a staff attorney at the Office of Professional Regulation, said the permanent rule implements and expands on previously filed emergency rules and clarifies the scope of notarial practice, especially for remote and electronic notarization. Treito told the committee the agency revised the rule in response to public comments, including a letter from Sheila Etzinger asking about a requirement that the notary certificate be on the same page as the signer's identity; the agency amended the rule and explained the change in its summary of comments and responses.

The committee next approved a package from the Agency of Human Services that combines and updates dental coverage rules (filed as 24 P 036) and repeals three older rules (24 P 037, 24 P 038 and 24 P 039). Ashley Berliner, director of Medicaid policy for the Agency of Human Services, said the consolidated dental rule gathers benefits that formerly lived across several Health Care Administrative Rules, reflects current coverage and implements changes from Act 51 of 2023. Berliner said Act 51 increased the adult annual cap on dental expenditures from $1,000 to $1,500 and allowed emergency dental services for adults to be covered in excess of the annual cap. Berliner also said there is no annual cap on adult dental services for individuals receiving a developmental disability waiver or those on the Community Rehabilitation and Treatment (CRT) program; dentures are covered for beneficiaries in those two programs.

Berliner told the committee that references to the Vermont Global Commitment Section 1115 demonstration waiver were removed from the filing to provide clarity; the agency said removing that reference does not change coverage but reflects that those benefits are no longer described in the Global Commitment language within the rule text. The agency reported it held a public hearing with no attendees and closed the public comment period Oct. 28, 2024.

The committee also approved HCAR amendments to chiropractic services (24 P 040). Berliner said updates reflect current Medicaid coverage; prior authorization remains for children ages 0–5 and 6–11 who see chiropractors who are not certified pediatric chiropractors. Committee members were told federal Medicaid regulation limits covered chiropractic services to manual manipulation of the spine.

Votes at a glance:
- 24 P 41, Office of Professional Regulation, Notaries public — motion to approve: moved by Senator Bray; outcome: approved (voice vote; no roll-call recorded).
- 24 P 036, Agency of Human Services, Dental services consolidation and update — motion to approve: moved by Senator Bridal; outcome: approved (voice vote; no roll-call recorded).
- 24 P 037, 24 P 038, 24 P 039 — repeals related to dental rules — motions to approve repeals: moved by Senator Bridal; outcomes: approved (voice votes; no roll-call recorded).
- 24 P 040, Agency of Human Services, Chiropractic services — motion to approve: moved by Senator Bray; outcome: approved (voice vote; no roll-call recorded).

Discussion versus decision: Committee members asked questions about technical details, including where medical-necessity limits apply for orthodontic coverage and which beneficiary groups are exempt from adult caps. Ashley Berliner clarified that orthodontic treatment is covered only when medically necessary and that dentures remain limited to beneficiaries in the developmental services waiver population or CRT recipients; expansions beyond current coverage would require additional legislative action.

Ending: Committee members scheduled the next meeting and noted upcoming emergency and permanent housing rules on the agenda for the following week.