# Vermont H.849: An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official

Vermont H.849, An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official, is a 2025-2026 Session House bill sponsored by Martin J LaLonde (Democratic); status became law, last action 2026-04-29 (House message: Governor allowed to become law without signature on April 27, 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H849-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Vermont H.849
- State: Vermont
- Session: 2025-2026 Session
- Title: An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official
- Status: became law
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-03
- Last action: 2026-04-29, House message: Governor allowed to become law without signature on April 27, 2026
- Sponsor: Martin J LaLonde (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (120 yes, 46 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New constitutional rights lawsuits in Vermont: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, people within Vermont’s jurisdiction can bring a state-law lawsuit when someone violates their U.S. constitutional rights. The person responsible must act under federal, state, territorial, or District of Columbia law or government practices. People can seek damages or other…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Martin J LaLonde (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-14 | Senate | 3rd reading ordered on roll call Passed -- Needed 15 of 30 to Pass -- Yeas = 23, Nays = 7 | pass | 23 | 7 |   |
| 2026-03-12 | House | Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 68 of 136 to Pass -- Yeas = 97, Nays = 39 | pass | 97 | 39 | 1 |

## Actions (28)

- 2026-04-29: House message: Governor allowed to become law without signature on April 27, 2026 (House)
- 2026-04-28: Allowed to become law without the signature of the Governor on April 27, 2026 (House)
- 2026-04-21: Delivered to Governor on April 21, 2026 (House)
- 2026-04-16: Senate Message: Passed in concurrence (Senate)
- 2026-04-15: Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence (Senate)
- 2026-04-15: New Business/Third Reading (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Roll Call, Requested by Sen. Vyhovsky (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: 3rd reading ordered on roll call Passed -- Needed 15 of 30 to Pass -- Yeas = 23, Nays = 7 (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Reported favorably by Senator Hashim for Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Read 2nd time (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Favorable report by Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Second Reading (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable report by Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Second Reading (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Read third time and passed (House)
- 2026-03-13: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Third Reading ordered (House)
- 2026-03-12: Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 68 of 136 to Pass -- Yeas = 97, Nays = 39 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Report of Committee on Judiciary agreed to (House)
- 2026-03-12: Rep. Houghton of Essex Junction demanded yeas and nays (House)
- 2026-03-12: Rep. LaLonde of South Burlington reported for the Committee on Judiciary (House)
- 2026-03-12: Read second time (House)
- 2026-03-12: Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House)
- 2026-03-11: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House)
- 2026-03-10: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House)
- 2026-02-03: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Judiciary (House)

## Bill text

- As Enacted (ACT 87)Opens in a new window, 2026-05-07: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT087/ACT087%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers, 2026-04-20: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2026-04-20: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- As Passed by the House, 2026-03-16: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- As Passed by the House (Unofficial), 2026-03-16: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- As Introduced, 2026-02-02: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Introduced.pdf)

## Related bills

- H.816: An act relating to regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the provision of mental health services (signed)
- H.841: An act relating to miscellaneous animal welfare procedures (signed)
- H.757: An act relating to manufactured homes and limited equity cooperatives (signed)
- H.657: An act relating to various programming and requirements within the Department for Children and Families (signed)
- H.648: An act relating to banking, insurance, and securities (signed)
- H.639: An act relating to genetic data privacy (signed)

## Sources
- [As Enacted (ACT 87)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT087/ACT087%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf)
- [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849 As Introduced.pdf)

## Related
- [H.816: An act relating to regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the provisi…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H816-2026)
- [H.841: An act relating to miscellaneous animal welfare procedures](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H841-2026)
- [H.757: An act relating to manufactured homes and limited equity cooperatives](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H757-2026)
- [H.657: An act relating to various programming and requirements within the Department f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H657-2026)
- [H.648: An act relating to banking, insurance, and securities](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H648-2026)
- [H.639: An act relating to genetic data privacy](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H639-2026)
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- [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H849-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).