Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday vetoed a bill that would lay the foundation for an overdose prevention center — often referred to as a safe injection site — in Burlington, calling it a “costly experiment” that would use up funds better spent elsewhere.
Such a site would “divert financial resources from proven prevention, treatment and recovery strategies, as well as harm reduction initiatives that facilitate entry into treatment rather than continued use,” Scott said in a letter to lawmakers as he announced his veto.
The bill, H.72, would allocate $1.1 million from settlements with pharmaceutical companies to fund the creation of a pilot overdose prevention center in Burlington. It would set the legal groundwork for the site to operate and commission a study of its impact.
The legislation drew support from a broad swath of organizations, including the Vermont ACLU, Vermont Legal Aid and the national nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance.
After three years of rising, Vermont overdose deaths appeared to dip slightly in 2023, according to preliminary data. But they still hover near record highs, and advocates have argued that the bill would create a staffed, sanitary facility where people could use drugs without fear of overdose.
“Overdose deaths are preventable if a trained individual is present at the time and location of an overdose, but the vast majority of people who have died from an overdose in Vermont were alone at the time of their use and overdose,” Grey Gardner, an attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance, wrote to Scott in a letter last week.
The governor, however, has maintained his opposition to the legislation for months.
“Vermont’s existing overdose prevention strategies — including widespread Narcan distribution, fentanyl testing strips, needle exchanges, enhanced prevention, treatment and recovery through local coalitions are resulting in some positive trends in relation to overdose deaths,” he said in his letter Thursday.
Advocates expressed disappointment in Scott’s veto Thursday, but the bill’s backers said they still hope it will become law.
It’s unclear whether lawmakers have the two-thirds majority necessary to override Scott’s veto, but the bill appeared to have broad support when it passed through the Legislature. It cleared the Senate by a vote of 21 to 8 earlier this month, and was approved in the House in January by a vote of 96 to 35, with 18 members absent.
House Speaker Rep. Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said in a statement Thursday evening that the House would vote to override Scott’s veto.
“We understand this is a new strategy to prevent overdose deaths and get people into treatment in Vermont, which is why it is a pilot project with one center,” Krowinski said. “The Governor’s veto of this bill is a drastic response to a thoughtful and measured approach to saving lives.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, condemned Scott’s veto in a statement Thursday evening.
“The dramatic rise in fatal overdoses over the past ten years is one of the most pressing crises facing our state,” Baruth said. “Governor Scott’s veto of this bill represents a loss of nerve with regard to harm reduction, one final obstacle for all of us who are committed to exploring every possible path to accelerate the end of the opioid crisis.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Gov. Phil Scott vetoes overdose prevention center bill.