The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 3 Appendix: Executive Orders

Chapter 018: Health

• Executive Order No. 18-1 (No. 35-79) [State Center for Health Statistics]

  WHEREAS, the planning and development of an improved health care delivery system in Vermont requires data on health status and the availability of health manpower, facilities, and other health resources; and

  WHEREAS, the problems of inadequate information, lack of comparability, and duplication of data collection efforts in these areas have been addressed by the Health Services Research, Health Statistics, and Medical Libraries Act of 1974 (PL 93—353), the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 (PS 93—641), the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Act of 1976 (PL 94—484) and the Health Services Research, Health Statistics, and Health Care Technology Act of 1978 (PL 95—623); and

  WHEREAS, the Health Services Research, Health Statistics and Health Care Technology Act of 1978 establishes the Cooperative Health Statistics System and requires that states participating in the system designate a state agent to administer statistical activities under the system; and

  WHEREAS, the Vermont Department of Health, through its Division of Public Health Statistics, is both the primary and coordinating agency for Cooperative Health Statistics System activities within Vermont;

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, Richard A. Snelling, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor, in order to carry into effect the action referred to above, do hereby designate the Vermont Department of Health as the Official State Center for Health Statistics in Vermont.

  Dated July 18, 1979.

• Executive Order No. 18-2 (No. 42-79) [State Employee Medical Benefit Plan Special Fund]

  WHEREAS, the State of Vermont is obligated to provide a certain program of medical care benefits to its eligible employees, and

  WHEREAS, the state wishes to self-fund this program to achieve greater economic benefits for itself and its employees, and

  WHEREAS, the state has contracted with a medical care benefit plan administrating company to administer the plan on behalf of the state, effective January 1, 1980, and

  WHEREAS, to facilitate the administration of such health benefit plan, the state desires to establish a special fund account with the State Treasury,

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, Richard A. Snelling, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor, do hereby order and direct that:

  1. A special fund entitled “State Employee Medical Benefit Plan Special Fund” be established and a depository designated by the State Treasurer; and

  2. The health insurance premium equivalents paid both by the state and its employees covering the period starting January 1, 1980 be deposited to this Special Fund as soon as practical after each pay period, and

  3. Any interest or other earnings of the Special Fund shall be deposited into the Special Fund, and

  4. Withdrawals from the Special Fund shall be made only for the purpose of paying medical benefits in accordance with the provisions of the state employees medical benefit plan and for paying certain administrative costs associated with the medical benefit plan which are determined appropriate by the Secretary of Administration.

  FURTHER, BE IT ORDERED:

  That the operation of this Special Fund be subject to the same legal compliance responsibilities and accountabilities as other state accounts under the direction of the State Treasurer, and

  That appropriate and timely reports of Special Fund activity, including deposits, earnings, and withdrawals, be made by the Commissioner of Finance and the State Treasurer to the Secretary of Administration who shall have overall responsibility for the operation of the medical benefit plan and this Special Fund.

  Dated November 30, 1979.

• Executive Order No. 18-3 (No. 48-80) [State Employee Dental Assistance Plan]

  WHEREAS, the State of Vermont is obligated to provide a certain program of dental care benefits to its eligible employees, and

  WHEREAS, the State has contracted with a licensed insurance company to provide these dental benefits beginning July 6, 1980, and

  WHEREAS, the State wishes to achieve economic benefits for itself by choosing a minimum premium type funding, and

  WHEREAS, such minimum premium insured plan requires certain special banking arrangements,

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, Richard A. Snelling, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor, do hereby order and direct that:

  1. A special fund entitled “State of Vermont Employee Dental Assistance Plan” be established and a depository designated by the State Treasurer; and

  2. The portion of the total plan cost designated by the insurance company be deposited to this special fund at the required intervals as necessary reserves for claims; and

  3. A separate account be established by the Treasurer in a bank designated by the insurance company to facilitate the operation of the claim payment system established by the insurer.

  FURTHER, BE IT ORDERED:

  That the operations of these Special Fund accounts be subject to the same legal compliance responsibilities and accountabilities as other state accounts under the direction of the State Treasurer, and

  That appropriate and timely reports of account activity, including deposits, earnings and withdrawals, be made by the Commissioner of Finance and the State Treasurer to the Secretary of Administration who shall have overall responsibility for the operation of the dental assistance plan and this Special Fund.

  Dated May 7, 1980.

• Executive Order No. 18-4 (No. 73A-89) [Compensation of Members of Vermont Mental Health Planning Council]

  Rescinded by Executive Order 6-99 (codified as Executive Order No. 18-12), dated June 11, 1999.

• Executive Order No. 18-5 (No. 14-91) [Rabies Task Force]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 18-6 (No. 01-92) [Transfer of Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports from Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to Department of Health]

  WHEREAS, The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports was created through Executive Order by Governor Snelling in 1981 and given legislative authority by Act 173 in 1985; and

  WHEREAS, the Council has been attached since its beginning to the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for administrative purposes; and

  WHEREAS, there has been a significant growth of public interest in health and fitness since the Council began; and

  WHEREAS, the Council has a number of programs that are helping to further promote fitness and health among Vermonters; and

  WHEREAS, the Department of Health is in a better position to provide the support that the Council needs to further its goals;

  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, Howard Dean, M.D., by virtue of the power vested in me as Governor, do hereby order as follows:

  The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is transferred from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to the Department of Health for administrative purposes.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing.

  Dated January 14, 1992.

• Executive Order No. 18-7 (No. 03-93) [Drug Utilization Review Board]

  Superseded and replaced by Executive Order 08-10 (codified as Executive Order No. 33-20), dated September 8, 2010.

• Executive Order No. 18-8 (No. 03-94) [Drug Policy Cabinet]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 3-46 (codified as Executive Order 06-05), dated September 13, 2005.

• Executive Order No. 18-9 (No. 07-94) [Pilot Program to Eliminate Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing]

  WHEREAS, the State of Vermont has received a grant of $2,534,293 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in housing which is, or will be, occupied by children under the age of six (the “HUD Grant”); and

  WHEREAS, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (“Board”) is a public instrumentality of the State of Vermont established to create affordable housing and preserve agricultural land, historic properties, important natural areas and recreational lands; and

  WHEREAS, the Board, in active partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (“DHCA”), the Department of Health (“DOH”) and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (“VHFA”), has implemented a policy which requires grantees to develop housing which is lead safe for children under six; and

  WHEREAS, the HUD Grant will allow Vermont to start a pilot program to provide grants and loans to property owners to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in approximately 500 rental housing units and five owner-occupied single-family homes throughout the state; and

  WHEREAS, effective and timely implementation of the HUD Grant will be a major step toward guaranteeing all Vermont children a lead-safe home and complementing the work already begun by the Board, DHCA, VHFA, DOH Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, the Abatement Coordination Team and the Lead Paint Hazard Commission.

  NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, Howard Dean, by virtue of the power vested in me as Governor, do hereby order the following actions:

  The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (hereinafter the “Board”) is authorized to sign a Grant Agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) for the purpose of receiving HUD funds under the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Grant Program (the “HUD Grant”). The Board is authorized to use the HUD Grant to establish and administer a Vermont program to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in housing which is, or will be, occupied by children under age six.

  The Board shall work closely with DHCA, the Department of Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and the Abatement Coordination Team to develop and manage a successful Pilot Program for Vermont and, as part of its Annual Report to the General Assembly, shall include a description of activities supported by the HUD Grant.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing.

  Dated April 24, 1994.

• Executive Order No. 18-10 (No. 09-96) [Governor’s Health Care Financing Review Panel]

  Expired by its own terms, effective January 1, 1997.

• Executive Order No. 18-11 (No. 13-98) [Commission on Public Health Care Values and Priorities]

  Superseded by Executive Order No. 02-01, effective January 23, 2001.

• Executive Order No. 18-12 (No. 06-99) [State Program Standing Committee]

  WHEREAS, the Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services (DDMHS) promulgated regulations that require DDMHS to establish a State Program Standing Committee for each population receiving funding from DDMHS; and

  WHEREAS, each State Program Standing Committee has specific responsibilities for monitoring and evaluating the service system as well as for planning and decision-making with regard to DDMHS policy; and

  WHEREAS, these Standing Committees share many of the responsibilities of the current seven-member Board of Mental Health; and

  WHEREAS, on November 7, 1998, the Board of Mental Health approved a motion to advise the Commissioner of Developmental and Mental Health Services to disband the Board of Mental Health.

  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, Howard Dean, M.D., by the power vested in me as Governor of the State of Vermont, to hereby rescind Executive Order #73A-89, dated March 13, 1989.

  The State Program Standing Committees will assume the functions of the Planning Council referred to in Executive Order #73A-89. Current members of the Board of Mental Health will be offered slots on the new State Program Standing Committees.

  Dated June 11, 1999.

• Executive Order No. 18-13 (No. 02-01) [Commission on Public Health Care Values and Priorities]

  Expired by its own terms, effective July 1, 2002.

• Executive Order No. 18-14 (No. 04-01) [Bipartisan Commission on Health Care Availability and Affordability]

  Expired by its own terms, effective June 30, 2002.

• Executive Order No. 18-15 (No. 10-02) [Reestablishment of the Commission on Public Health Care Values and Priorities]

  Expired by its own terms, effective January 1, 2003.

• Executive Order No. 18-16 (No. 01-06) [Hunger Task Force]

  Expired by its own terms, effective November 15, 2009.

• Executive Order No. 18-17 (No. 08-09) [Governor’s Health Care Cabinet]

  Superseded and replaced by Executive Order No. 06-10 (codified as Executive Order No. 18-19), dated July 30, 2010.

• Executive Order No. 18-18 (No. 11-09) [Interagency Council on Hunger]

  Expired by its own terms, effective November 30, 2015.

• Executive Order No. 18-19 (No. 06-10) [Governor’s Health Care Cabinet]

  Expired by its own terms, effective June 30, 2011.

• Executive Order No. 18-20 (No. 10-11) [Blue Ribbon Commission on Nursing]

  Expired by its own terms, effective September 30, 2012.

• Executive Order No. 18-21 (No. 12-11) [Designation of VSH at Springfield, Vermont]

  Revoked and rescinded by Executive Order No. 01-15 (codified as Executive Order 3-66), dated February 13, 2015.

• Executive Order No. 18-22 (No. 07-13) [Governor’s Health Care Workforce Work Group]

  WHEREAS, successful transformation of Vermont’s health care system is essential to improve the access to care for, and the quality of care provided to, Vermonters; and

  WHEREAS, to achieve this transformation depends on having a health care workforce with the right skills in the right place at the right time; and

  WHEREAS, a properly equipped health care workforce will require health reform initiatives that cut across traditional lines of state agency and department responsibility and will require maximum involvement of the community of educational and health professional stakeholders.

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, Peter Shumlin, by virtue of the power vested in me as Governor of the State of Vermont, do hereby establish the Governor’s Health Care Workforce Work Group as set forth below.

  I. Composition, Appointments, Process.

  The Secretary of Administration shall select and appoint the members of the Workforce Work Group, as called for in the Health Care Workforce Strategic Plan, dated January 15, 2013, and adopted by the Green Mountain Care Board. The Work Group shall include state government interagency representation as well as representation from health care employers, clinicians, membership organizations, secondary and higher education, and other relevant interest groups.

  Each member of the Work Group shall serve a three-year term and may be reappointed to subsequent terms by the Secretary.

  The Work Group shall have two co-chairs, one selected by the Secretary of Administration and one elected by the members of the Work Group from among its members. The Work Group shall designate the term of each chair.

  The Work Group shall meet at the call of the co-chairs.

  Administrative and staff support shall be provided by the Agency of Administration.

  II. Charge.

  The Work Group shall be advisory to the Governor and the Secretary of Administration and shall:

  A. provide statewide direction and planning for health workforce initiatives and activities;

  B. monitor health workforce trends and needs;

  C. develop strategic health workforce objectives and activities that could be pursued by state government and stakeholders;

  D. advise the Secretary of Administration and relevant state agencies on the development of short and long term workforce supply, demand, and performance measures in order to provide the information needed for strategic workforce development and investment;

  E. research and recommend to the Governor and the Secretary public and private opportunities for funding health workforce initiatives;

  F. serve as the workforce advisory group for the State Innovation Model grant; and

  G. report at least annually to the Governor and the Secretary on progress in developing a health workforce and provide workforce recommendations to ensure health care reform success.

  III. Effective Date.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing and shall continue in full force and effect until further order by the Governor.

  Dated August 1, 2013

• Executive Order No. 18-23 (No. 05-21) [Decriminalized Buprenorphine Task Force]

  Signed June 1, 2021; expired by its own terms effective June 30, 2023.