Vermont S 77: An act relating to creating an exemption from the land gains tax for land sold to a governmental entity

Bill Text

BILL AS INTRODUCED S.77
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VT LEG #380743 v.1
S.77 1
Introduced by Senators Lyons, Gulick and Harrison 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Human services; opioid use disorder; Opioid Abatement Special 5
Fund; expenditures 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to appropriate 7
funds from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund for use in fiscal year 2026. 8
An act relating to fiscal year 2026 appropriations from the Opioid 9
Abatement Special Fund 10
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11
Sec. 1. APPROPRIATIONS; OPIOID ABATEMENT SPECIAL FUND 12
(a) In fiscal year 2026, the following sums shall be appropriated from the 13
Opioid Abatement Special Fund established in 18 V.S.A. § 4774: 14
(1)(A) $1,976,000.00 to the Department of Health to fund 26 outreach 15
or case management staff positions within the preferred provider network for 16
the provision of services that increase motivation of and engagement with 17
individuals with substance use disorder in settings such as police barracks, 18
shelters, social service organizations, and elsewhere in the community. 19

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(B) It is the intent of the General Assembly that these positions shall 1
be funded annually by the Opioid Abatement Special Fund unless and until the 2
Special Fund does not have sufficient monies to fund this expenditure. 3
(2)(A) $1,100,000.00 to the Department of Health for the purpose of 4
awarding grants to the City of Burlington for establishing an overdose 5
prevention center upon submission of a grant proposal that has been approved 6
by the Burlington City Council and meets the requirements of 18 V.S.A. 7
§ 4256, including the guidelines developed by the Department of Health. 8
(B) It is the intent of the General Assembly to continue to appropriate 9
funds from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund through fiscal year 2028 for 10
the purpose of awarding grants to the City of Burlington for the operation of 11
the overdose prevention center, unless and until the Special Fund does not have 12
sufficient monies to fund this expenditure. 13
(3)(A) $1,200,000.00 to the Department of Health for recovery 14
residences certified by the Vermont Alliance for Recovery Residences, 15
including at least two new recovery residences certified by the Vermont 16
Alliance for Recovery Residences. 17
(B) It is the intent of the General Assembly that recovery residences 18
be funded annually at not less than fiscal year 2025 levels, unless and until the 19
Special Fund does not have sufficient monies to fund this expenditure. 20
(4)(A) $1,050,000.00 to the Department of Health for syringe services. 21

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(B) It is the intent of the General Assembly that syringe services be 1
funded annually at not less than fiscal year 2025 levels, unless and until the 2
Special Fund does not have sufficient monies to fund this expenditure. 3
(5) $800,000.00 to the Department of Health for grants to providers for 4
ongoing support for contingency management. 5
(6) $32,157.00 to the Department of Health for distribution to the 6
Brattleboro Fire Department to establish community training programs on the 7
administration of opioid antagonists, CPR, first aid, and Stop the Bleed 8
protocols. 9
(7) $44,229.00 to the Department of Health for distribution to the 10
Champlain Housing Trust to continue a pilot program providing access to 11
wound care and preventative health care in three low-barrier shelters within 12
Chittenden County. 13
(8) $800,000.00 to the Department for Children and Families’ Office of 14
Economic Opportunity to support long-term programs at shelters for 15
individuals experiencing homelessness, including harm-reduction supports and 16
clinical nursing programs. 17
(9) $309,000.00 to the Department of Health for HCRS’ Project 18
Connectionworks to reduce opioid use disorder morbidity and mortality in 19
Windham County through prevention, treatment, and recovery services. 20

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(10) $35,000.00 to the Department of Corrections for distribution to 1
Pathways Vermont to implement a contingency management pilot program in 2
Chittenden County for individuals under the supervision of the Department of 3
Corrections. 4
(11) $50,0000.00 to the Judicial Branch to train Vermont’s judges on 5
issues related to opioid use disorder and strategies for use in dockets statewide. 6
(12) $76,000.00 to the Department of Health for distribution to 7
Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform to fund an outreach worker position. 8
(13) $200,000.00 to the Department of Health for distribution to Elevate 9
Youth Services to establish Healthy Youth Program counselors at the 10
Basement Teen Center at Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Washington County. 11
(14) $100,000.00 to the Department of Health for distribution to Friends 12
for Change’s Y