The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 3 Appendix : Executive Orders

Chapter 033 : Human Services

• Executive Order No. 33-28 (No. 03-25) [General Assistance Emergency Housing]

  WHEREAS, Vermont’s long-standing General Assistance emergency housing program (also known as the hotel/motel program), was originally intended as a temporary safety net providing hotel rooms to Vermonters with emergency needs for a limited duration; and

  WHEREAS, as an emergency alternative to congregate shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont lifted all eligibility requirements and all caps on length of stay and paid for this expansion with $115 million in FEMA funds for the period March 2020 through June 2022; and

  WHEREAS, despite the pandemic-specific intent of this expansion, the discontinuation of federal funding for it, and every other state ending similar programs, the Vermont Legislature has maintained an expanded number of emergency hotel/motel rooms; and

  WHEREAS, the hotel/motel program will cost Vermont taxpayers an estimated $45 million for Fiscal Year 2025 as compared to less than $5 million per year prior to the pandemic; and

  WHEREAS, the hotel/motel program does not provide any services or wrap around supports, including substance use disorder and mental illness, and the isolation of hotel rooms makes it difficult for service providers to engage with those who refuse the services they need to become stable and exit homelessness; and

  WHEREAS, the hotel/motel system puts vulnerable and predatory populations — children under 19, individuals transitioning from incarceration, those in early recovery and others actively selling and abusing drugs and alcohol — all together; and

  WHEREAS, there have been 135 deaths in the hotel/motel program over the last 5 years, with almost half of those attributable to overdoses, many others attributable to untreated health conditions and 2 homicides; in 2024 alone 29 lives were lost; and

  WHEREAS, the program is legislatively capped at 1,100 available rooms for a maximum 80-day per year stay to allow for individuals and families to seek suitable shelter and housing options except during the months of November 1, 2024-March 31, 2025 when the program ballooned to 1,461 households at a cost of almost $16 million for that period; and

  WHEREAS, the Legislature’s established eligibility criteria for the hotel/motel program is, a first-come, first-served approach for those seeking to enter or be reauthorized for GA, which does not allow priority to be given to children under 19 and the medically most vulnerable; and

  WHEREAS, for the period April 1 to June 30, 2025, the State shall implement a process for prioritizing the allocation of a maximum of 1,100 rooms for families with children under 19 and the most medically vulnerable, as set forth in this Executive Order; and

  WHEREAS, for the period April 1 to June 30, 2025, for the families with children under 19 and households verified by DCF as the most medically vulnerable in accordance with this Executive Order, and who are currently in the hotel/motel program, the 80 day maximum shall be waived for the period April 1 to June 30, 2025, to allow time for DCF to ensure these households have access to existing social services, healthcare and the supports needed to transition to suitable long-term housing, a family shelter placement or transition to a skilled nursing facility, as appropriate; and

  WHEREAS, I have determined these actions are necessary to manage and administer the hotel/motel program in an efficient, effective and fiscally prudent manner that substantially accomplishes the legislative purposes for which these taxpayer funds were appropriated.

  NOW THEREFORE, I, Philip B. Scott, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of Vermont by the Constitution of the State of Vermont, Chapter II, Section 3 and Section 20, 33 V.S.A. § 101, 33 V.S.A. § 105, Act 113 of the laws of 2024, section E.321 (“Act 113”), and 32 V.S.A. § 704a, do hereby ORDER AND DIRECT AS FOLLOWS:

  1. I hereby direct the Commissioner of DCF to implement the following for the period April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025:

  Priority eligibility: DCF shall identify the households currently in the hotel/motel program with custody of children under 19, and the most medically vulnerable as of March 31, 2025 and reauthorize those households for the period April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025, subject to the terms of this Executive Order.

  DCF shall immediately notify those households with priority eligibility that they may remain in place through June 30, 2025, subject to the terms of this Executive Order.

  “Medically vulnerable” for purposes of priority eligibility shall mean an individual who:

  i. meets the Medicare definition of “homebound,” such as someone who relies on the medically necessary assistance of another person or medical equipment such as a wheelchair for mobility and other essential functions;

  ii. who requires a lifesaving device that requires access to electricity, such as an oxygen concentrator;

  iii. is in active cancer treatment or treatment for severe kidney/renal disease, or severe liver or heart conditions;

  iv. is actively receiving Medicaid-eligible or Medicare-eligible “home-based” nursing services (like VNA visits, or hospice); or

  v. is a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy or a woman who will enter the third trimester of pregnancy during the period April 1, 2025 to June 30 2025.

  This Executive Order shall take effect upon signing and shall continue in full force and effect until midnight on June 30, 2025, at which time the Governor, in consultation with the Vermont Agency of Human Services shall assess the hotel/motel program and determine whether to amend or extend this Executive Order.

  Dated March 28, 2025.