Senate panel advances language for S.157 on recovery residences, leaves exemptions for later

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee reviewed revisions to S.157 on recovery residences on Feb. 19, discussing changes that remove a statutory voluntary certification program and instead add a definition of “recovery residence” while delegating certification standards to the Vermont Department of Health through rulemaking.

Legislative Council attorney Katie McLennanoff told the committee the introduced bill’s section creating a voluntary certification program had been removed; section 1 now inserts a definition of a recovery residence into Title 18, and section 2 adds recovery residences to the Division of Substance Use Programs’ list of responsibilities. McLennanoff said the draft requires the Health Department to file an initial proposed rule by Sept. 1, 2027, and to adopt permanent rules by Dec. 1, 2028, and that the rule text must, at minimum, require compliance with VITAR or another department‑approved certification organization and set minimum data‑collection and reporting requirements.

Stakeholders including representatives from recovery organizations told the committee they broadly support the Department of Health taking the lead on rulemaking but asked for specific technical changes. Candace Scalise (Vermont Foundation of Recovery) and others asked the committee to consider two additional exemptions from landlord‑tenant law and to ease the administrative burden on new operators. One requested exemption would remove the landlord‑entry provisions in the statute governing notice and permitted hours; the other would remove statutory remedies tied to illegal evictions (and related damage and attorney‑fee provisions) as applied to recovery residences. Stakeholders also asked that a current statutory requirement that residents reaffirm consent to residency agreements after seven days be satisfied by verbal reaffirmation or posted signage rather than a separate written attestation to be filed with VITAR.

Committee members expressed concern about adding exemptions at this stage. Several senators said late changes could send the bill to additional committees in the House and complicate passage. The Department of Health’s representative told members the agency has capacity and recent experience with comparable rulemaking. The chair proposed reconvening the next morning to finalize volunteer‑related language and prepare the bill for potential passage to the full Senate, while reserving the requested landlord‑tenant exemptions for further consideration or for the House.

The committee did not take a formal vote during the session. Members asked staff and agencies to work with stakeholders on technical language and signaled a preference not to adopt the landlord‑tenant exemptions immediately, instead carrying them forward for later review.