An act relating to establishing a support service program for individuals who are DeafBlind
H.143 is a short-form Vermont bill that would require the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to establish a support service program for individuals who are DeafBlind. The bill’s stated purpose is to create a state-administered program focused on support services for people who are both deaf and blind, a population that often needs specialized communication, mobility, and daily-living assistance.
Because the bill text is in short-form and the operative language is omitted, the exact program design, eligibility rules, funding mechanism, and service scope are not specified in the available text. Based on the caption and purpose statement, the bill would likely direct the department to develop or oversee services tailored to DeafBlind Vermonters, potentially including coordination, case support, and access assistance.
If enacted, H.143 would add a new responsibility to the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to create and administer a DeafBlind support service program. It would affect state human services administration and could lead to new or expanded services for individuals who are DeafBlind, along with any associated rules, staffing, contracts, or appropriations needed to implement the program. The bill does not identify specific statutes to be amended in the short-form text provided.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided material, so the bill’s support or opposition cannot be directly measured from discussion or roll-call data. The bill’s subject matter suggests a targeted disability-services measure intended to address a specialized need, which often indicates a policy focus on service access rather than controversy, but that inference is not confirmed by the available record.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or voting history. Potential issues, if discussed later in the legislative process, would likely center on program cost, administrative burden, service eligibility, and whether the department should create a dedicated DeafBlind program versus using existing disability-service structures. However, none of those concerns are reflected in the materials provided here.