Veto of essential emergency housing program reforms endorses a continuation of under-resourced hotel/motel voucher program
Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday, Governor Phil Scott vetoed H. 91: An act relating to the Vermont Homeless Emergency Assistance and Responsive Transition to Housing Program. The act would have transformed Vermont’s homelessness response system and represented the most comprehensive plan to address homelessness in recent years. Vermont currently holds the 4th highest rate of homelessness in the country, with over 4,971 individuals, including more than 1,105 children, experiencing homelessness nightly.
The following statement can be attributed to Alexandra Karambelas, Policy Advocate of the ACLU of Vermont.
“We are deeply disappointed by Governor Scott’s decision to veto H. 91. After repeated calls for reform, H. 91 proposed a viable path forward for transitioning away from the state’s current hotel/motel system without abandoning those most impacted by the homelessness crisis in our state. Without the essential reforms contained within H.91, we can expect more unsheltered people on our streets, and more of the same drastic threats to emergency housing services in the coming years.
“In the face of a growing emergency, calls to reduce the scale of our homelessness response will put more unsheltered people at risk of severe harm or death. Homelessness in Vermont has risen 356% since 2019, and our communities are feeling the impact. Now is the time to respond to this crisis with vision and compassion, rather than simply hoping that these issues will somehow fix themselves.
“We agree that there needs to be accountability for our emergency housing system, but the governor should start by looking to his own administration, which is responsible for the oversight and outcomes of the existing program. The results we have seen were entirely predictable due to the continual calls to reduce resources and supports for those this program serves. H.91 advances the kinds of evidence-backed reforms that this moment calls for, while the governor’s veto of this vital legislation endorses a continuation of the existing under-resourced program.
“The people of Vermont broadly agree that we need humane, long-term solutions to the state’s homelessness crisis. We greatly appreciate the lawmakers who worked together this session to find solutions that can best serve the people of Vermont. With the Governor’s actions, the fate of the state’s emergency housing response returns once more to the legislature. We urge lawmakers to override this disastrous decision and continue fighting to provide the support needed by communities grappling with the state’s growing homelessness crisis.”
Vermont House Democrats Statement
For five years, the Legislature has asked Governor Scott to work with us on a responsible, phased end to the emergency hotel/motel voucher program. Time and again, he has failed to present any viable option. He’s chosen press conferences over partnership, theatre over solutions, and rhetoric over results.
With his veto of H. 91—a carefully negotiated, fiscally responsible transition plan developed with input from all parties and stakeholders—the Governor has once again abandoned any pretense of leading on this issue let alone any pretense about caring for the most vulnerable.
H. 91 is not an expansion of the status quo. It is is an off-ramp that places clear limits on the use of motels, mandates accountability, builds real shelter capacity, focuses on preventing homelessness, helps municipalities and prioritizes long-term, cost-effective housing solutions over expensive short-term fixes. It includes workforce engagement, treatment, and community-based solutions.
“Every one of the Governor’s talking points was addressed directly in the bill. Rather than acknowledging that progress, Governor Scott has chosen to maintain the very system he has repeatedly reminded us he wants to end. “The 135 tragic deaths he cites happened under the current system, on his watch. And now, his veto leaves more than 1,100 children without shelter,” said Human Services Chair, Theresa Wood.
If we fail to act, the next preventable death, the next ballooning hotel invoice, and the next shattered family will be on the Governor—not on the Legislature that offered a path forward. Vermonters deserve better than political posturing. They deserve leadership rooted in reality and compassion.
With this veto, the Governor has made clear he’s not interested in either.
6.12.2025. ACLU of Vermont, Montpelier, acluvt.org. Vermont House Democrats. [email protected]
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