Prevention-Related Policy Changes
Thank you to all our Vermont legislators who work long hours in our statehouse each year to try to improve our state and outcomes for Vermonters. A few notable changes happened this legislative session that are very relevant to BPHC’s work.
TOBACCO RELATED: One that we consider to be the most exciting is that, S.198 passed and was signed into law! S.198 was a tobacco retail licensing bill that aimed to stop the tobacco industry from targeting kids and make it easier to regulate the products coming into Vermont. The bill had unanimous legislative support and was signed into law by Governor Scott this month. A few things the bill does:
prohibits the tobacco industry to market or sell nicotine products that look like toys, video games, or school supplies in Vermont.
expands the definition of tobacco substitute to include nicotine pouches
removes ineffective penalties on youth
increases fines for selling nicotine without a license, selling to someone under 21, and revokes a retail tobacco license if someone has had 5 violations.
creates a new position to support tobacco regulation enforcement
closes loopholes and improves system to ensure all nicotine products are taxed
CANNABIS RELATED: S.278, a miscellaneous cannabis bill, also passed and was signed by the governor this week. When originally introduced this bill included variety of components that removed regulation of cannabis sales. Leaders in prevention from across the state, including the Vermont Medical Society and the VT Dept. of Health urged legislators to consider the negative public health impacts of removing things like caps on potency of THC in products, increasing package size, and reducing advertising restrictions. Over the session many of these reduced regulations were removed from the bill. Below are a few changes that did remain and passed in the final version of the bill:
It creates a pilot program for up to 10 event permits for licensed cannabis retail establishments to sell products yearly (cannabis still cannot be consumed on site).
The bill doubles the current limit for adult-use possession from one ounce to two ounces of cannabis and from five to 10 grams of hashish. Effective July 1.
The bill lowers the licensing fee for Outdoor Cultivators. Effective July 1.
ALCOHOL RELATED: H.921 passed and was signed into law on June 15th. This bill sought to make changes to Vermont’s alcohol laws. Many different parties from the prevention field to the alcohol retailers had concerns with pieces of this bill and potentially negative impacts on public safety. In the version of the bill the passed the following will take effect on July 1, 2026:
Repeal of statutory restrictions that limit certain alcohol sales to 10am - 11pm.
Reduced the amount of days required to notify to get a retail tasking permit from 5 days to 1 business day.
Make special venue serving permits for galleries, museums, libraries, and retail establishments permanent, rather than sunsetting after a certain time limit.
