The Senate Health & Welfare committee voted to report H.91 favorably to the full Senate on a motion to adopt draft 7.1 after agreeing to a November 1 implementation report and to move a previously earmarked $500,000 into the Department for Children and Families for planning and phased distribution to community action agencies.

Committee members said the changes are meant to assure the administration that funds will be released in phases as readiness is demonstrated and to produce a concrete timetable for program roll‑out.

The bill as amended requires a department report due Nov. 1, 2025, that “shall submit for consideration a detailed written plan, including a timeline to accelerate implementation” and assess whether the program is expected to be operable by July 1, 2026. The amendment also consolidates a previously separate $500,000 appropriation into the larger appropriation in the bill and directs the Department for Children and Families (DCF) to plan for implementation and distribute funds to community action agencies as needed.

Katie, a committee staff member, described the working draft presented to the panel as “a draft 7.1 that has not been edited yet” and walked members through the new clause requiring the November report and the readiness assessment for providers. Amy Schallenberg of VCAP asked whether staff hired by the community action agencies would be funded to do the planning described in the bill; Schallenberg warned that if DCF did not intend to allocate money to community action agencies for planning, “the caps will not be able to accomplish the things that are mandated in the bill.”

A committee participant explained that the appropriation approach is intended to phase funding: initial dollars would support convening, planning and capacity building, with later dollars used for hiring once readiness is demonstrated. The discussion referenced an estimate of roughly six positions per community action agency as part of longer‑term staffing plans for full implementation, though the transcript did not specify a final personnel count nor exact hiring timelines.

After discussion, a committee member moved to adopt draft 7.1 and report the bill favorably to the full Senate. The roll call recorded the following votes captured in the transcript: Senator Gillick — yes; Senator Lyons — yes; Senator Harris — yes; Senator Cummings — no; Senator Rollins — yes. The motion passed; committee leaders said the bill will move next to appropriations and then to conference committee for further work.

The committee emphasized that the November report is intended to give the Legislature notice about additional legislative steps that might be needed before July 1, 2026, including possible budget amendments in the fiscal‑year 2026 process. Members also repeatedly warned that eligibility language tied to the budget could not be inserted into the bill at this stage because the budget itself is not yet a law and therefore not amendable within this bill.

The committee chair said the draft is not perfect but contains provisions members described as potentially life‑saving. With draft 7.1 accepted, the bill will proceed to the next stages of review and the committee signaled it expects further work in appropriations and conference committee to resolve outstanding implementation and funding details.