Does Vermont Act 156 — Regulating the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Provision of Mental Health Services (H.816) require Human Oversight?
Vermont • enforcing
Yes — 2 provisions
Requirements at a glance
This regulation imposes 8 specific requirements for Human Oversight across 2 provisions:
Delivery by a mental health professional — A corporation or entity shall not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer mental health services, including through the use of artificial intelligence, to the public unless the services are provided by a mental health professional (§ 7115(b)(1))
Broad professional definition — "Mental health professional" spans physicians, psychiatric APRNs, psychologists, peer support providers, social workers, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychoanalysts, applied behavior analysts, nonlicensed or noncertified psychotherapists, and "any other professional who provides mental health services" (§ 7115(a)(2))
Research exemption only — The sole alternative path is delivery as part of an approved institutional review board or privacy board study in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(i)(1)(i)(A)-(B) (§ 7115(b)(2))
Consumer-protection enforcement — A violation by a corporation or entity is deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63; the Attorney General has CPA enforcement authority and private parties have CPA rights and remedies (§ 7115(c)(1)), cumulative with other statutory and common law remedies (§ 7115(c)(2))
Review-and-approve condition — A mental health professional operating within scope of practice may use AI tools only if the professional "reviews and approves any mental health services" delivered with them (§ 7115(d))
HIPAA-compliant tools only — The safe harbor covers only AI tools compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191 (§ 7115(d))
FDA-authorized products need a professional gate — Software-based medical products — digital therapeutics or software-as-a-medical-device products authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA — qualify only if their use is prescribed or recommended by a mental health professional (§ 7115(d))
Unprofessional conduct for licensees — Engaging in the prohibited use of AI under § 7115 constitutes unprofessional conduct for any mental health professional under 3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(30), and for physicians under 26 V.S.A. § 1354(a)(3), whether the conduct occurred within or outside the State — grounds for license denial or discipline
Licensed Professional Delivery of AI Mental Health Services #
Any corporation or entity that provides, advertises, or otherwise offers mental health services to the public, "including through the use of artificial intelligence" (§ 7115(b)). "Mental health services" means services to diagnose, treat, or address mental or behavioral health through therapeutic communications and therapeutic decisions (§ 7115(a)(3)); therapeutic communication is defined broadly to include direct client interactions, clinical guidance, clinical support "including reassurance or empathy in response to emotional or psychological distress", treatment-plan collaboration, and growth-oriented feedback (§ 7115(a)(4)). Exempt: services provided as part of an approved IRB or privacy-board study under 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(i)(1)(i)(A)-(B) (§ 7115(b)(2))
high-impactcross-domain
The therapeutic-communication definition is what pulls general-purpose AI products in: "offering clinical support, including reassurance or empathy in response to emotional or psychological distress" (§ 7115(a)(4)(C)) describes the default behavior of consumer companion chatbots, not just purpose-built therapy apps. And because § 7115(b) attaches to advertising and offering, not only delivering, marketing an AI product for mental health support to Vermonters is itself the violation. Enforcement runs through the Consumer Protection Act, which brings both AG civil penalties and a private right of action (§ 7115(c)(1)) — a materially stronger remedy stack than Rhode Island's EOHHS-investigation model for the equivalent rule.
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Delivery by a mental health professional
A corporation or entity shall not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer mental health services, including through the use of artificial intelligence, to the public unless the services are provided by a mental health professional (§ 7115(b)(1))
Broad professional definition
"Mental health professional" spans physicians, psychiatric APRNs, psychologists, peer support providers, social workers, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychoanalysts, applied behavior analysts, nonlicensed or noncertified psychotherapists, and "any other professional who provides mental health services" (§ 7115(a)(2))
Research exemption only
The sole alternative path is delivery as part of an approved institutional review board or privacy board study in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(i)(1)(i)(A)-(B) (§ 7115(b)(2))
Consumer-protection enforcement
A violation by a corporation or entity is deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63; the Attorney General has CPA enforcement authority and private parties have CPA rights and remedies (§ 7115(c)(1)), cumulative with other statutory and common law remedies (§ 7115(c)(2))
Penalties
Violation
Fine
CPA violation
Enforced as a Consumer Protection Act violation under 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 1 — Attorney General civil enforcement (including civil penalties available under the CPA) plus private-party rights and remedies (§ 7115(c)(1))
Other remedies preserved
The section does not preclude or supplant any other statutory or common law remedies (§ 7115(c)(2))
Mental health professionals operating within their scope of practice who use artificial intelligence tools in delivering mental health services, and the vendors whose tools they deploy — the safe harbor is conditioned on the tool being HIPAA-compliant and on the professional reviewing and approving any mental health services (§ 7115(d))
high-impact
This is the standing human-oversight loop, the same structure as Rhode Island ch. 40.1-5.5: AI can sit in the workflow only while a professional continuously reviews and approves what reaches the patient. Vermont's version is conditioned twice over — the tool must be HIPAA-compliant, and the professional must review and approve "any mental health services" — which constrains what vendors can sell into practices (a product with no review-and-approve surface cannot be lawfully deployed). The licensure hooks give it teeth on the professional side: prohibited AI use is per se unprofessional conduct for every § 129a licensee and for physicians under § 1354, whether committed inside or outside Vermont.
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Review-and-approve condition
A mental health professional operating within scope of practice may use AI tools only if the professional "reviews and approves any mental health services" delivered with them (§ 7115(d))
HIPAA-compliant tools only
The safe harbor covers only AI tools compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191 (§ 7115(d))
FDA-authorized products need a professional gate
Software-based medical products — digital therapeutics or software-as-a-medical-device products authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA — qualify only if their use is prescribed or recommended by a mental health professional (§ 7115(d))
Unprofessional conduct for licensees
Engaging in the prohibited use of AI under § 7115 constitutes unprofessional conduct for any mental health professional under 3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(30), and for physicians under 26 V.S.A. § 1354(a)(3), whether the conduct occurred within or outside the State — grounds for license denial or discipline
Penalties
Violation
Fine
Licensure discipline
Prohibited AI use is unprofessional conduct under 3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(30) and 26 V.S.A. § 1354(a)(3) — professional discipline up to license denial or revocation through the Office of Professional Regulation or the Board of Medical Practice
Entity-side CPA exposure
Where the professional's use collapses the § 7115(d) safe harbor, the providing corporation or entity falls back into § 7115(b) and CPA enforcement (§ 7115(c))
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