Regulon — VT-S-0241 · VT S 241 (AI in Mental Health Services)

Summary

Broadly prohibits any person, corporation, or entity from offering, providing, or advertising mental health services in Vermont that use artificial intelligence in whole or in part, except when used by a licensed mental health professional for narrow administrative support or transcription purposes. Mental health professionals are prohibited from using AI to make therapeutic decisions, issue direct therapeutic communications, generate treatment plans, or detect or interpret emotions or mental states. AI may be used for administrative tasks only if the professional reviews and assumes responsibility for all AI outputs and data use. AI transcription requires advance written disclosure and informed, revocable consent from the patient or guardian. Violations by any person or entity are deemed Consumer Protection Act violations carrying $10,000 civil penalties per violation, enforceable by the Attorney General and through private action. Misuse by licensed professionals also constitutes unprofessional conduct subject to disciplinary action.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

Attorney General enforcement under the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. The AG has authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions. Private parties have the same rights and remedies as provided under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1. For mental health professionals, misuse of AI constitutes unprofessional conduct under 3 V.S.A. § 129a, enforceable through professional licensing disciplinary proceedings.

Penalties

Each violation of 18 V.S.A. § 7115 carries a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation as set forth in 9 V.S.A. § 2461. Private parties have the same rights and remedies as provided under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1, which includes private enforcement remedies available under Vermont's Consumer Protection Act. Nothing in the section precludes or supplants any other statutory or common law remedies. Professional disciplinary action — including license denial or revocation — is available for mental health professionals under 3 V.S.A. § 129a.

Who Is Covered

"Mental health professional" means an individual licensed, certified, or rostered, respectively, to provide mental health services as a physician pursuant to chapter 23 or 33 of this title; an advance practice registered nurse specializing in psychiatric mental health pursuant to chapter 28 of this title; a psychologist pursuant to chapter 55 of this title; a peer support provider or peer recovery support specialist pursuant to chapter 60 of this title; a social worker pursuant to chapter 61 of this title; an alcohol and drug abuse counselor pursuant to chapter 62 of this title; a clinical mental health counselor pursuant to chapter 65 of this title; a marriage and family therapist pursuant to chapter 76 of this title; a psychoanalyst pursuant to chapter 77 of this title; or an applied behavior analyst pursuant to chapter 95 of this title; and a nonlicensed or noncertified psychotherapist, noncertified psychoanalyst, or any other professional that provides mental health services.

Compliance Obligations 7 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

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18 V.S.A. § 7115(b)

Plain Language

No person, corporation, or entity may offer, provide, or advertise mental health services in Vermont that use AI in any way — whether in whole or in part — unless the use falls within the narrow exceptions available to licensed mental health professionals under 26 V.S.A. § 7101 (administrative support with professional review, and transcription with written consent). This is a near-categorical ban on AI-delivered mental health services in Vermont. The definition of 'mental health services' is extremely broad, encompassing peer support, counseling, therapy, psychotherapy, therapeutic decisions, treatment plans, emotion detection, and ongoing recovery support. Notably, the § 7115 prohibition applies to any person or entity — not just licensed professionals — meaning AI companies, platforms, and chatbot operators offering AI therapy or mental health chatbots to Vermont users are covered.

Statutory Text

(b) A person, corporation, or entity shall not offer, provide, or advertise mental health services in the State that use artificial intelligence in whole or in part, except as authorized pursuant to 26 V.S.A. § 7101.

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26 V.S.A. § 7101(d)

Plain Language

Licensed mental health professionals in Vermont are categorically prohibited from using AI to make therapeutic decisions, communicate directly with patients in a therapeutic context, generate treatment plans or recommendations, or detect or interpret emotions or mental states. They are further prohibited from offering, providing, or advertising any mental health services using AI in whole or in part, except for the narrow administrative support and transcription uses permitted under subsection (b). This means a therapist cannot, for example, use an AI tool to draft therapeutic responses, generate a treatment plan for review, or deploy emotion-recognition software during sessions — even if the professional plans to review the output before acting on it. The only permitted AI uses are purely administrative tasks and transcription with consent.

Statutory Text

(d) Prohibited uses. A mental health professional shall neither: (1) use artificial intelligence in the State to make therapeutic decisions, issue direct therapeutic communications, generate treatment plans or recommendations, or detect or interpret emotions or mental states; nor (2) offer, provide, or advertise mental health services in the State that use artificial intelligence in whole or in part, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

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26 V.S.A. § 7101(b)(1)

Plain Language

Mental health professionals may use AI for administrative support tasks — scheduling, billing, logistics communications, clinical records, deidentified data analysis, and resource organization — but only if the professional reviews and assumes full responsibility for all AI tasks, outputs, and data use. This is the primary carve-out from the otherwise categorical prohibition on AI use in mental health services. The professional responsibility obligation is absolute: there is no delegation of oversight to another staff member or automated quality check. Note that 'administrative support' is explicitly defined to exclude therapeutic communication, so any AI output that crosses into therapeutic territory — even indirectly — falls outside this safe harbor.

Statutory Text

(b) Permitted uses. (1) A mental health professional may use artificial intelligence for administrative support to the extent that the professional reviews and assumes responsibility for all tasks performed by, outputs created by, and data use associated with the artificial intelligence system employed.

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26 V.S.A. § 7101(b)(2)

Plain Language

Before using AI for transcription or recording of therapeutic sessions, the mental health professional must: (1) provide written notice to the patient, client, or their legal guardian specifying the purpose of the AI use and informing them that transcriptions and recordings remain subject to confidentiality protections; and (2) obtain explicit, affirmative, written, informed, and revocable consent. Both steps must be completed before the AI is used — not contemporaneously. Consent must be informed and revocable at any time. Unlike some jurisdictions, Vermont does not specify a 24-hour advance notice requirement, but the 'shall first' language requires completion before AI use begins.

Statutory Text

(2) If a mental health professional uses artificial intelligence for transcription and recording purposes, the mental health professional shall first: (A) inform the patient or client, or the patient's or client's legal guardian, in writing of the specific purpose for which artificial intelligence is being used and that any transcription or recording performed by artificial intelligence shall be subject to the disclosure prohibitions in subsection (c) of this section; and (B) obtain consent from the patient or client, or the patient's or client's legal guardian.

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26 V.S.A. § 7101(c)

Plain Language

All AI-generated outputs from administrative support tasks — including transcriptions and recordings — are subject to the same confidentiality protections as other mental health records under Vermont's mental health disclosure prohibition statutes (18 V.S.A. §§ 1881 and 7103). This means AI-processed clinical notes, deidentified data analyses, and transcriptions cannot be disclosed outside the protections of existing Vermont mental health privacy law. Practitioners must ensure their AI vendors and systems comply with these confidentiality requirements.

Statutory Text

(c) Confidentiality. Any administrative support tasks conducted using artificial intelligence shall be subject to the disclosure prohibitions in 18 V.S.A. §§ 1881 and 7103, including transcription and recording.

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18 V.S.A. § 7115(c)

Plain Language

Violations of the prohibition on AI-delivered mental health services are deemed violations of Vermont's Consumer Protection Act, granting the Attorney General full CPA enforcement powers (rulemaking, civil investigations, assurances of discontinuance, civil actions) and giving private parties the same rights and remedies available under the CPA. Each violation carries a $10,000 civil penalty. The savings clause preserves all other statutory and common law remedies. This is an enforcement mechanism, not an independent compliance obligation.

Statutory Text

(c)(1) A violation of this section shall be deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions, and private parties have the same rights and remedies, as provided under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1. Each violation of this section shall carry a civil penalty of $10,000.00 as set forth in 9 V.S.A. § 2461. (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude or supplant any other statutory or common law remedies.

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3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(30)

Plain Language

This amendment adds a new ground of unprofessional conduct to Vermont's general professional regulation statute: for any mental health professional, misuse of AI under 26 V.S.A. § 7101 constitutes unprofessional conduct. This exposes violating professionals to professional licensing disciplinary action — including license denial, suspension, or revocation — in addition to the Consumer Protection Act enforcement available under 18 V.S.A. § 7115. It creates no new substantive obligation but connects the § 7101 prohibitions to the existing professional discipline framework.

Statutory Text

(30) For any mental health professional, misuse of artificial intelligence pursuant to 26 V.S.A. § 7101.