Bill > H0816

This bill aims to protect individuals seeking mental health services in Vermont by ensuring that mental health professionals, not artificial intelligence (AI), are responsible for therapeutic judgment, clinical decision-making, and communication, while also respecting patient choice and allowing the responsible use of AI for administrative and operational tasks that improve access and efficiency. The bill defines "artificial intelligence" broadly as any machine-based system that can infer and generate outputs, including "generative artificial intelligence" which can create synthetic content like text or images, and "mental health services" as support, counseling, therapy, or psychotherapy provided by licensed professionals, excluding religious counseling. It prohibits offering or advertising mental health services where AI is presented as providing therapeutic judgment, diagnosis, treatment, or communication, with violations treated under the Consumer Protection Act. However, AI can be used for administrative support (like scheduling and billing), supplementary support, and operational or quality-improvement functions, as long as the mental health professional retains sole responsibility for all therapeutic decisions and patient consent is obtained for recording identifiable therapeutic communications. The bill also clarifies that AI cannot independently make therapeutic decisions, diagnose, determine treatment, or generate treatment plans, and it exempts religious counseling, certain peer support, and general educational resources from these regulations.