Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bills, passed by the General Assembly.

Reflecting on the bills coming to his desk this year, Governor Scott said:

“Over the last few years, I’ve tried to meet legislators in the middle, so we can achieve shared priorities. Unfortunately, due to a lack of balance in the Legislature, opposing perspectives and data are often not listened to, or even invited, in the debate. This means some bills are passed without thinking through all the consequences, and therefore, could do more harm than good. Due to the sheer number of bills passed in the last three days of the session, there are many that will fall into this category.

“Please know, as Governor – and therefore the final check before a bill becomes law – I have an obligation to carefully weigh the good against the bad for each, making decisions based on whether the benefits outweigh the negative impacts for our entire state. That is what I’ve been elected to do, and I will follow through.”

On May 20, Governor Scott signed a bill of the following title:

• H.659, An act relating to banking, insurance, and securities
• H.766, An act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, health insurance claims, and provider contract

When signing H.659, Governor Scott issued the following statement:

“Vermont continues to strengthen the captive insurance industry in the state through strong partnerships between the Department of Financial Regulation and industry. This bill continues to modernize laws, bringing more captives to the state and positioning Vermont as a worldwide leader in this respect.”

When signing H.766, Governor Scott issued the following letter:

May 20, 2024

Dear Ms. Wrask:

On May 20th, I’m signing H.766, An act relating to prior authorization and step therapy requirements, health insurance claims, and provider contracts, into law.  

The intent of this bill is to improve the health care outcomes of Vermonters – which could lower overall healthcare costs – by increasing access to timely and essential health care services. It’s an important goal, and I see how requirements for pre-authorization can add delays and stress for patients, as well as additional administrative burden on providers focused on providing better and more effective patient care.

I also appreciate the insurance companies’ perspective; they have warned this bill could add to already-high rate increase requests, if providers do not use this flexibility to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

Put more simply: Health care providers need to prove the insurance companies wrong and show how reducing these barriers to care saves both time and money.

To alleviate concerns cited by the insurance companies, I’m directing the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) and the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to jointly study and report to me on the impacts of the bill on health care outcomes, costs and insurance rates; as well as how this effort fits into our overarching health care reform goals. This study shall include a cost impact analysis of prior authorization laws in other states, such as Michigan and Illinois, to evaluate whether they have been successful in improving outcomes and/or reducing health care costs by reducing this burden for providers, and how we can apply successful strategies to the implementation and improvement of this law.

I will also request that the Green Mountain Care Board use its authority to identify cost savings associated with reduced administrative burdens and ensure these savings pass all the way through to Vermonters in the form of lower costs.

While this bill will expedite access to care, and help us recruit and retain primary care professionals, I look forward to additional efforts to improve health care access and outcomes in ways that ensure long-term quality and affordability.

Sincerely,

/s/

Philip B. Scott
Governor

On May 20, Governor Scott returned without signature and vetoed H.706, An act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, and sent the following letter to the General Assembly:

May 20, 2024

Dear Ms. Wrask:

Pursuant to Chapter II, Section 11 of the Vermont Constitution, I’m returning H.706, An act relating to banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, without my signature because of my objections described herein. 

Pollinators are essential to growing food and maintaining a healthy, thriving ecosystem. The same is true of farmers, who are also critical contributors to our economy, but altogether, this legislation is more anti-farmer than it is pro-pollinator.

It’s important to note, the honeybee population has grown, while the use of neonics has persisted. In fact, the USDA Census for 2017-2022 shows Vermont’s honeybee population has grown about 30 percent. Additionally, the science is not conclusive on whether this ban will achieve the desired results, but the bill has the potential to produce severe unintended environmental and economic consequences—particularly for Vermont’s dairy farmers.

Although neonics are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and used on a variety of crops, this bill would ban neonic-treated seeds of corn, soybean, and all other cereal grains (wheat, rice, oats, etc.) and it bans outdoor uses on soybeans, cereal grains, ornamental plants, any plant in bloom and certain vegetables after bloom.

To put the impacts of this bill into context, Vermont grows about 90,000 acres of corn, while the U.S. grows 90 million acres of corn, and almost all corn seed sold in the U.S. is treated with neonics. This would put Vermont farmers at a significant disadvantage.

This is especially concerning given the fact Vermont is struggling to keep dairy farmers, and many more have been put at risk through higher taxes and energy prices, crop losses associated with last year’s spring frost, and summer and winter floods.

This bill unfairly targets dairy farmers reliant on corn crops and will harm farmers without achieving its goals for pollinators. For these reasons I cannot sign it into law.

Rather than eliminating an important EPA-approved tool, we should continue to closely monitor and study the issues and science to protect both family farms – and the food they produce – and pollinators.

Sincerely,

/s/

Philip B. Scott
Governor

To view a complete list of action on bills passed during the 2024 legislative session, click here.