STATE BUDGET

Vermont’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and end on June 30 the following year.  Agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in October.  Agency hearings are held in October and November.  The governor submits a proposed budget to the state legislature in January.  The legislature typically passes a budget in May.  In Vermont, the governor cannot exercise veto authority over the budget.  There are no requirements for the state to pass a balanced budget.

STATE LEGISLATURE

The state’s Assembly has 30 Senators and 150 members of the House of Representatives.  Both Senators and Representatives serve two year terms.  The legislature convenes in regular sessions on the first Wednesday following the first Monday in the month of January of odd numbered years. It also meets usually on the first Tuesday of even numbered years for an Adjourned Session. There is no time limit on the length of the sessions, although they usually end between the middle of April and the middle of May.  Bills carry over from odd to even years.

KEY RESOURCES

• Vermont General Assembly
• Vermont Attorney General
• Governor of Vermont
• Information on Healthcare Policy in Vermont
• Vermont Healthcare Claims Uniform Reporting and Evaluation System

2025 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

Vermont enacted legislation on reference-based pricing and certificate of need. H.96 increases the threshold to require a certificate of need, and explicitly excludes fully depreciated medical equipment, ambulance and emergency medical equipment, and new state facilities from requiring need certificates. S.126 requires the Green Mountain Care Board to implement reference based pricing and global hospital budgets.