Title 09, Commerce and Trade

§ 2494q. Prohibition of certain class B firefighting foam A person, municipality, or State agency shall not discharge or otherwise use for training or testing purposes class B firefighting foam that contains intentionally added PFAS. (Added 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. J…

§ 2494r. Restriction on manufacture, sale, and distribution; exceptions (a) A manufacturer of class B firefighting foam shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale or use in this State class B firefighting foam to which PFAS have been intentionally added. …

§ 2494s. Prohibited sale of personal protective equipment containing PFAS [Subsection (a) effective until July 1, 2029; see also subsection (a) effective July 1, 2029 set out below.] (a) A manufacturer or other person that sells firefighting equipment to any person, municipality,…

§ 2494t. Notification; recall of prohibited products (a) A manufacturer of class B firefighting foam containing intentionally added PFAS shall provide written notice to persons that sell the manufacturer’s products in this State about the restrictions imposed by this subchapter n…

§ 2494u. Certificate of compliance (a) The Attorney General may request a certificate of compliance from a manufacturer of class B firefighting foam or firefighting personal protective equipment. Within 60 days after receipt of the Attorney General’s request for a certificate of …

§ 2494v. Violations (a) A violation of this subchapter is deemed to be a violation of section 2453 of this title. (b) The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions, and pri…

§ 2494w. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Bisphenols” means any member of a class of industrial chemicals that contain two hydroxyphenyl groups. Bisphenols are used primarily in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. (2) “Department” means the Depa…

§ 2494x. Food packaging (a) A manufacturer shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute for use in this State a food package to which PFAS have been intentionally added and are present in any amount. (b)(1) Pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, the D…

§ 2494y. Certificate of compliance (a) The Attorney General may request a certificate of compliance from a manufacturer of food packaging. Within 60 days after receipt of the Attorney General’s request for a certificate of compliance, the manufacturer shall: (1) provide the Attor…

§ 2494z. Violations (a) A violation of this subchapter is deemed to be a violation of section 2453 of this title. (b) The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil actions, and pri…

§ 2495a. Definitions [Effective July 1, 2028] As used in this subchapter: (1) “Adequate documentation” means at least one of the following: (A) a copy of a report filed with a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency that identifies the coerced debt and the circumstances u…

§ 2495b. Coerced debt prohibited [Effective July 1, 2028] A person shall not cause another person to incur coerced debt. Substantiated coerced debt is not enforceable against the debtor. (Added 2025, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2028.)

§ 2495c. Creditor’s conduct pursuant to a debtor’s statement of coerced debt [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Within 10 business days following receipt of a debtor’s statement of coerced debt and adequate documentation, a creditor shall: (1) cease all collection activities and refrai…

§ 2495d. Civil legal remedies [Effective July 1, 2028] (a)(1) A debtor shall not be liable to a creditor for coerced debt. (2) In any action initiated by a creditor to seek collection of a debt from a debtor, the debtor may establish a prima facie case that the debt is coerced de…

§ 2495e. Violations [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) A person who knowingly and materially violates this subchapter commits an unfair and deceptive act in trade and commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title. (b) The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, con…

§ 2495f. Confidentiality [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this subchapter or required by law, any financial and personally identifying information related to a claim of coerced debt that is shared by a debtor pursuant to the provisions of thi…

§ 2501. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Caller” means a person who accesses a pay-per-call service. (2) “Interactive program” means a pay-per-call program that allows callers to choose between options or to communicate with other callers. (3) “Pay-per-call service” mean…

§ 2502. Requirements for disclosures in advertisements (a) A sponsor shall include in all advertisements or promotions in this State for pay-per-call services the following disclosures in a clear and conspicuous manner: (1) an accurate description of the message content and all m…

§ 2503. Requirements for preambles A sponsor of pay-per-call services for which the charge to the caller may in any case exceed $2.00 shall commence the service with a disclosure message or “preamble” provided at no charge to the caller, clearly indicating the following informati…

§ 2504. Bypass mechanisms A sponsor may offer a caller the means to bypass the preamble on subsequent calls, provided that the caller is in sole control of that capability, except that any bypass device shall be disabled for a period of 30 days following the effective date of a p…

§ 2505. Loan and credit card services It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services directly or indirectly purporting to extend callers any form of credit, loan, or charge card unless: (1) all advertisements and promotions for the …

§ 2506. Employment services It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services directly or indirectly offering employment or job-placement related services unless: (1) all advertisements and promotions for the service include an accurat…

§ 2507. Prize award services It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services that involve unsolicited notification to prospective callers that they are entitled to a prize, award, or other thing of value and with respect to which the…

§ 2508. Children’s program services (a) It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services directed at children age 12 or under. (b) The advertisement or promotion of pay-per-call services on television during a time slot used by televi…

§ 2509. Charitable solicitations It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services that involve charitable fundraising either directly or indirectly by solicitation of donations or through the sale of information, goods, or services un…

§ 2510. Pay-per-call fulfillment services It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services that involve provision of value-added information, not product sales, with a supplemental tangible item sent free of charge to the customer aft…

§ 2511. Automatic dialing devices It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to utilize equipment programmed to randomly or sequentially dial telephone numbers to advertise, promote, or initiate pay-per-call services. (Added 1993, No. 99, § 2.)

§ 2512. Chain referral services It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to sell or offer for sale pay-per-call services that require a caller to access more than one pay-per-call service in order to receive the full benefit of the service. (Added 1993, No. 99, § 2.)

§ 2513. Automatic billing arrangements It shall be an unlawful practice for a sponsor to initiate or make available pay-per-call services that impose a pay-per-call charge on persons as a result of a call placed to them, or that impose a pay-per-call charge on persons who have ma…

§ 2514. Billing for pay-per-services; Public Utility Commission authority (a) Every local exchange company and interexchange carrier providing billing and collection services for pay-per-call services doing business in this State shall: (1) list all charges for pay-per-call servi…

§ 2515. Service agent All sponsors who are doing business in this State and whose principal place of business is out-of-state shall establish within the State an authorized agent for service of process. (Added 1993, No. 99, § 2.)

§ 2516. Violations (a) A violation of this chapter is deemed to be a violation of section 2453 of this title, the State’s general civil antifraud statute. This section shall not be construed to limit a person’s liability under any other law. (b) With respect to a pay-per-call ser…

§ 2517. Charitable gift annuities (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Annuity obligation” means the present value of the charity’s payment obligation to the donor as calculated by the Internal Revenue Code actuarial tables. (2) “Charitable gift annuity” means an annuit…

§ 2518. Enforcement and remedies (a) Enforcement. The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of section 2517 of this title and may bring an action in the name of the State against a charitable organization for noncompliance, to restrain by temporary or permanent injunction…

§ 2521. Trademark defined The term “trademark” as used in this subchapter includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, adopted and used: (1) by a manufacturer or merchant to identify his or her goods and distinguish them from those manufactured or sold …

§ 2522. Registration Every person who adopts and uses any trademark for the purpose of designating, making known, and distinguishing any merchandise, goods, wares, or other products of labor, manufactured, produced, compounded, sold, or offered for sale in this State may, subject…

§ 2523. Certificate of registration; filing fee There shall be paid to the Secretary of State for the filing of such statement a fee of $35.00. The Secretary of State shall deliver to the person filing such statement or causing the same to be filed a certificate of registration u…

§ 2524. Duration and renewal Registrations recorded under the provisions of this subchapter shall be effective for 10 years and shall be renewable for like periods upon application to the Secretary of State and payment of the fee specified in section 2523 of this title. Registran…

§ 2525. Assignments Title to any trademark and its registration hereunder may be transferred and assigned to any person together with the goodwill of the business to which such trademark pertains or with that part of the goodwill of the business connected with the use of and symb…

§ 2526. Applications for registration; classification All applications for registration of a trademark and renewals or assignments thereof shall be on forms prescribed by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall establish classes of merchandise for the purpose of trad…

§ 2527. Suitability for registration (a) The Secretary of State shall not register a trademark that consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter that may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs,…

§ 2528. Fraudulent registration Any person who shall for himself, herself, or on behalf of any other person, procure the filing and registration of any trademark by making knowingly and willfully any false or fraudulent representations or declarations, verbally, or in writing, or…

§ 2529. Enjoining use of counterfeits or imitations A person who has adopted and registered a trademark as aforesaid, may proceed by suit to enjoin the manufacture, use, display, or sale of any counterfeits or imitations thereof, and the Superior Court may grant injunctions to re…

§ 2530. Violations Subject to the provisions of section 2532 of this title, no person shall knowingly and willfully: (1) falsely make, counterfeit, imitate, sell, offer for sale, or in any way utter or circulate any trademark that has been registered in accordance with the provis…

§ 2531. Penalties Subject to the provisions of section 2532 of this title, any person who violates any of the provisions of section 2530 of this title shall be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, and shall be liable to pay all damages su…

§ 2532. Prior rights Nothing in this subchapter shall adversely affect the rights or the enforcement of rights in marks acquired in good faith at any time at common law. (Amended 2021, No. 20, § 26.)