Crossover is the deadline for bills to move from one legislative chamber to the other in order to be passed into law that same year. Since 2025 is the first of a two-year legislative biennium, bills that did not make the crossover deadline can still be worked on but likely won't be able to pass through the whole legislature until next year.
Now that the dust has settled and we have approximately six weeks left in the session, here’s where several key pieces of legislation stand. The firewall for freedom bills are pieces of legislation that directly relate to increasing protections for the people of Vermont against federal executive overreach.
H.2 Raise the Age:
This bill is the primary piece of legislation addressing Vermont’s Raise the Age initiative and other changes to our juvenile justice system. Vermont is the first state in the nation to ajudicate 18-year-olds in the juvenile justice system, and we are set to expand that to age 19 this April. The Scott administration has called for a full repeal of this initiative, while we and other advocates have been calling for full implementation of the program as soon as possible. The bill that passed the House keeps the program in place but delays expansion to 19 year olds until 2026. One positive aspect of the bill that passed the house and senate is it raised the age that a child could be brought into juvenile court from 10-12, a change we strongly supported.
Status: The bill has now passed out of both chambers and on the Governor’s desk.
H.91 Emergency housing:
An act relating to the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program is a new bill developed by the House Human Services committee. The purpose of the bill is to transform Vermont’s statewide shelter system to one that is more coordinated, resourced, and equitable. Through this bill, the GA emergency housing program would be shifted away from a benefit negotiated every year through the budget into a formalized program, addressing many persistent issues such as arbitrary time limits for participants, night-by-night shelter, or relocation between interim shelter sites. We testified in support of extending emergency housing and provided in depth suggestions on how the bill could be improved to better meet these goals.
Status: The bill passed out of the House and is heading to the Senate where many program details will be further defined.
H.98 Confirmatory adoptions (Firewall for Freedom):
This bill simplifies the process for parents who did not give birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction to file a petition for adoption. Notably, the bill allows for the adoption process to proceed without requiring additional consent from donors of gametes or embryos, and it eliminates the need for certain procedural requirements such as in-person hearings or criminal record checks unless the court finds good cause.
Status: This bill is a priority of our partners at GLADD and has passed the House and is currently in the Seante Judiciary Committee
H.141& H.489 Budget adjustment act (BAA) - Emergency housing:
The Budget adjustment act (BAA) makes adjustments to the statewide budget to account for budgetary changes and emergent funding needs. This year, the budget included a line item to extend GA emergency housing for current participants through the end of the fiscal year while the legislature works towards long-term solutions this session. We provided written testimony in support of the bill and generated over 600 actions asking the governor to sign it into law. Unfortunately, Governor Scott has chosen to veto the BAA in order to deny this extension of shelter, despite agreement on nearly all other BAA budget changes. Following this veto, a new version of the BAA was passed, removing appropriations for the ga emergency housing program, and asking the state to continue providing shelter for participants through June using existing funds. Should Governor Scott choose to veto this updated budget bill, roughly 457 households- including 590 adults and 160 children who have been vetted by the state and determined to be “vulnerable”- will be exited from the program come April 1.
Status: Currently, negotiations are underway between key legislators and the administration to ensure shelter for the most vulnerable Vermonters.
H.169 Housing access for immigrant families (Firewall for Freedom):
The Housing Access for Immigrant Families bill adds citizenship and immigration status as a protected class to Vermont's Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, creating new protections for those facing discrimination. Brought forward by Migrant Justice, the bill is supported by dozens of organizations and agencies as well as over 40 legislative sponsors. This bill would additionally prevent landlords from requiring a Social Security number during the rental application process, and instead directs them to accept any government-issued identification. These changes are vital to allowing immigrant families to access housing in our state, and will be supporting efforts to pass the bill out the House during this legislative session and it could be paired with outer housing legislation that has already passed the Senate.
S.28 Shield law updates (Firewall for Freedom):
The bill aims to enhance consumer protection in health care services, allows physicians and advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for terminating pregnancies electronically and it establishes confidentiality provisions for prescriber information related to gender-affirming and reproductive health care services.
Status: The bill passed the Seante and is now in the House Health Care Committee.
S.44 Information sharing and collaborative immigration enforcement agreements (Firewall for Freedom):
This bill aims to limit the opportunities for state officials to enter into collaborative agreements with federal immigration enforcement. We are advocating that it be amended to further limit information that can be disclosed to the federal government and provide guidance on assessing requests for information. Specifically, the proposed amendments generally prohibit state employees from voluntarily complying with a request to provide information if it is in furtherance of an investigation or prosecution to impose liability for accessing legally protected healthcare services, engaging in First Amendment-protected activity, providing assistance to non-citizens, or prosecuting individuals for offenses related to immigration status. Combined, these amendments will offer greater protections to communities have been or are likely to be targeted by the Trump administration.
Status: S.44 passed the senate but only with language that eliminates loopholes that allow law enforcement to enter into collaborative immigration enforcement agreements. Further testimony is expected in the House Judiciary Committee.
S.56 Office of New Americans (Firewall for Freedom):
This bill proposes the establishment of the Office of New Americans Study Committee tasked with studying and making recommendations for the creation of an independent Office of New Americans in Vermont. Creation of an Office of New Americans is a priority for our partners including the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project and we have signed on in support of the bill.
Status: The bill passed out of the Senate and is now in the House Committee on Military and Government Affairs.
S.66 Excessive motor vehicle noise:
This bill aims to regulate noise levels from motor vehicles, prohibit certain exhaust system modifications, and set requirements for engine compression brake devices. We testified in front of the Senate Transportation committee to share our concerns about the fact that this bill could lead to more roadside traffic stops for equipment violations that disproportionately impact people of color. Some of the goals of the bill as introduced ran contrary to the goals of our smarter stops campaign, and after hearing our testimony the committee amended the bill to remove specific penalties and to create a work group to discuss the issue further.
Status: The bill has passed out of the Senate and has been referred to the House Transportation Committee.
S.71 Data privacy (Firewall for Freedom):
This bill is a comprehensive privacy bill that aims to strengthen data privacy and online surveillance protections for residents by establishing the "Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act." The bill emphasizes the necessity of obtaining clear and informed consent from consumers before processing their personal data, particularly for sensitive categories like health and biometric data. The legislation outlines specific rights for consumers, including the ability to access, correct, and delete their personal data, as well as opt out of certain processing activities. We have been working with experts from ACLU national to provide input on the bill from the drafting stage, as well as providing testimony to the Senate Institutions Committee.
Status: While the committee did not incorporate all of our suggestions, we are pleased to see the bill pass out of the Senate and is headed to the House.
S.123 Miscellaneous transportation (Firewall for Freedom):
The bill makes many changes to miscellaneous motor vehicle laws, but importantly it includes provisions that allow for early renewal of existing licenses, driver privilege cards, and non-driver identification cards. It also includes sections requiring the DMV to publicize opportunities for early renewal and the fact that individuals can self-attest as to gender when registering for identification. This bill addresses some of the concerns raised by members of the immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities that they might not be able to get access to identification with their correct information due to federal changes.
Status: The bill has passed the Senate, and there are efforts to improve the bill on the House side by incorporating more elements of H.351 which is a bill related to access to accurate IDs which is a priority of the Queer Legal Professionals Network.