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Act 156 (H.816) of 2026: An act relating to regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the provision of mental health services
Record US-VT-01 · Act No. 156 (2026), H.816
- Issued by
- Vermont General Assembly (2025-2026 session; lead sponsor Rep. Daisy Berbeco); approved by the Governor
- Jurisdiction
- Vermont (US)
- Level · region
- Sub-national · North America
- Country
- United States
- Published / adopted
- 2026-06-17
- In force
- 2026-06-17
- Language
- English
- Official identifier
- Act No. 156 (2026), H.816
Summary
Prohibits a corporation or entity from providing, advertising or offering mental health services to the public, including through artificial intelligence, unless the services are provided by a mental health professional or form part of an approved institutional review board or privacy board study. Professionals may use HIPAA-compliant AI tools within their scope of practice only if they first review and approve any resulting services. Entity violations are enforceable under the Consumer Protection Act and prohibited AI use by professionals is unprofessional conduct. The AI Advisory Council must report by 15 Jan 2027 on regulating AI use by mental health professionals.
Safety topics
human oversightprohibited practicesaccountability & liability
Status notes
Approved by the Governor on 17 Jun 2026; the act takes effect on passage, so it has applied since that date. Its stated purpose is to protect people seeking mental health services in Vermont from psychological harm, including death by suicide, by ensuring that the services are delivered by mental health professionals and not independently by AI systems. It creates 18 V.S.A. § 7115 (prohibited uses of artificial intelligence), makes prohibited AI use by a mental health professional unprofessional conduct under 3 V.S.A. § 129a and 26 V.S.A. § 1354, and adds the Director of Professional Regulation and the Executive Director of the Vermont Board of Medical Practice to the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council (3 V.S.A. § 5023). A violation by a corporation or entity is a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, with the same powers for the Attorney General and the same remedies for private parties.
Local copy
Archived. Last attempt 2026-10-18 00:09:10 UTC
Official source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-VT-01/2026-10-17/official.html
Retrieved 2026-10-17 23:16:44 UTC
SHA-256 534496957f2ae56ec54b5f88ac4795e2063de34f942ca04d4e68ca69e0637422
Linked document (PDF) (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-VT-01/2026-10-12/document-1.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:11 UTC
SHA-256 e0a0f0e0dc1eda4d6da50de1f1edd9a45d7d14a354063c76a237e9a94f8b58b2
Linked document (PDF) (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-VT-01/2026-10-12/document-2.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:14 UTC
SHA-256 f5eefbaee23b74dae740e40b2d20f5c3138229eeaac2676731e20844e85c3d9f
Secondary source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-VT-01/2026-10-12/secondary.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:49:16 UTC
SHA-256 a75a56f6e21cecaba3b54f1c98ab82adc85f5a3d6d4ec207517893564d77ef02
Verification
AThe instrument's own official text, or an official register, was stored and confirms the title, date and status. checked 2026-10-18 · official-url-fetched
Recheck of 18 Oct 2026: re-read the Vermont General Assembly status page for H.816 (stored again 17 Oct 2026), the Committee of Conference report on H.816 and the Office of Legislative Counsel act summary for Act 156 (both stored 12 Oct 2026), and Act No. 156 as enacted, stored in this run; all from legislature.vermont.gov. The enacted act confirms the title, the provisions in the summary and notes, the effective-date clause ('This act shall take effect on passage') and 'Date Governor signed bill: June 17, 2026'; its text matches the conference report. The status page confirms Act 156, the sponsors, the Governor's approval and the statutes affected; the act summary gives the 17 Jun 2026 effective date. The stored files do not name the Governor, so the issuing body no longer does. A House calendar of 29 May 2026 stored with the record does not mention H.816.
Second check: Independent check by Claude Code (claude-sonnet-5-5), 2026-10-18: 7 field(s) supported.
History
- 2026-10-18notes: Approved by the Governor on 17 Jun 2026 and effective on that date. Part of a se → Approved by the Governor on 17 Jun 2026; the act takes effect on passage, so it — rewritten from the stored files: the purpose clause, the statutes created and amended, the Advisory Council membership and the Consumer Protection Act remedies added; the sentence on other 2026 Vermont AI enactments (H.814 and a March 2026 election-media law), which no stored file supports, moved to leads2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
- 2026-10-18issuing_body: Vermont General Assembly (2025-2026 session; lead sponsor Rep. Daisy Berbeco); s → Vermont General Assembly (2025-2026 session; lead sponsor Rep. Daisy Berbeco); a — the stored files do not name the Governor; 'signed by Governor Phil Scott' becomes 'approved by the Governor', as the status page words it2026-10-18-recheck-americas-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
Citation
Vermont General Assembly (2025-2026 session; lead sponsor Rep. Daisy Berbeco); approved by the Governor. Act 156 (H.816) of 2026: An act relating to regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the provision of mental health services [Act No. 156 (2026), H.816]. 2026-06-17. https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.816. Status: In force; verified 2026-10-18 (level A). Local copy archive/US-VT-01/2026-10-17/official.html retrieved 2026-10-17 23:16:44 UTC, SHA-256 534496957f2ae56ec54b5f88ac4795e2063de34f942ca04d4e68ca69e0637422. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record US-VT-01.
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