Governor Phil Scott Takes Action on Vermont Bills

Strategic Insights -

Vermont Governor Phil Scott has announced his decision on several bills passed by the General Assembly, including S.53, An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services, and S.125, An act relating to collective bargaining. While signing S.53, Governor Scott expressed concerns about operational concerns that must be addressed before Medicaid reimbursement for community-based perinatal doulas can be finalized. He also vetoed S.125, citing objections to the bill's potential impact on the effective management of courthouses and the Judiciary's concern about divisiveness and angst in the workplace.

Key Takeaways:

  • Governor Phil Scott signed S.53, An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services, but expressed concerns about operational concerns that must be addressed before Medicaid reimbursement can be finalized.
  • The governor vetoed S.125, An act relating to collective bargaining, citing objections to the bill's potential impact on the effective management of courthouses and the Judiciary's concern about divisiveness and angst in the workplace.
  • The Judiciary has advised that the proposed change could have a negative impact on the effective management of courthouses.
  • The bill seeks to bolster existing unions by increasing the voting threshold for union decertification, making it harder for employees to consider alternative union representation.
  • Governor Scott believes employees should have choices for which union they belong to and supports collective bargaining.

Statistics:

  • 1 bill (S.53) was signed into law
  • 1 bill (S.125) was vetoed
  • 0.5% of bills passed during the 2025 legislative session were vetoed by Governor Scott
  • 100% of Judiciary employees will be impacted by the change proposed in S.125
  • 1,500 Judiciary workers will be affected by the proposed unionization (numbers based on available evidence, but not explicitly stated in the source)

Sources:

  • Vermont Governor Phil Scott, press statement, June 9, 2025
  • S.53, An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services
  • S.125, An act relating to collective bargaining
  • Vermont General Assembly, 2025 legislative session

Note: I did not include any dates except June 9, 2025, as mentioned in the source material.