Bill > H0903

Introduced Session

This bill proposes to authorize a licensed physician issuing a certificate pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7504 and a psychiatrist conducting an examination pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7508 to consider relevant, credible, specific behavioral information about the prospective patient, including information from the days and weeks prior to being seen by the licensed physician or psychiatrist, from caregivers, family members, friends, peers, school employees, workplace colleagues, treating providers, law enforcement, or other first responders. This bill further proposes to prevent a licensed physician issuing a certificate pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7504 and a psychiatrist conducting an examination pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7508 from solely relying on a prospective patient’s presentation at the time of the certification or examination to determine whether a person meets the statutory definition of a “person in need of treatment.” Instead, a licensed physician issuing a certificate pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7504 and a psychiatrist conducting an examination pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 7508 shall also H.903 rely on information that may indicate an ongoing risk that is not observable in a clinical setting, which, if relied on, shall be documented in the prospective patient’s medical record.

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Michael Boutin (R)*, 

Read first time and referred to the Committee on Human Services (on 02/17/2026)

Official Document