An act relating to prohibiting the fluoridation of public water supplies

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Greg Burtt and 2 co-sponsors

Prohibits adding fluoride to public drinking water, bans municipal fluoride requirements, and bars schools from giving fluoride to students.

Read first time and referred to the Committee on Human Services

Summary of H.675 (2025-2026) — Vermont

Purpose

Prohibits adding fluoride to drinking water provided by a public water system.

Prohibits municipalities from enacting ordinances that require or permit fluoride in public water systems administered/maintained/operated by the municipality or its subdivisions.

Prohibits schools from providing fluoride to students as a supplement or medicine.

Overall aim: ban fluoridation of public water supplies and related fluoride provisions by local governments and schools.

Key Provisions

Definitions (amendment to 10 V.S.A. § 1671)

Clarifies terms: drinking water, department (Department of Environmental Conservation), person, public water source, public water system, and fluoride.
Public water system definition includes systems with at least 15 service connections or serving at least 25 people on average for 60 days per year, and includes piped components that affect water quality/quantity, plus bottled drinking-water systems.
Fluoride is defined to include common fluoridating chemicals: fluorosilicic acid, sodium fluorosilicate, and sodium fluoride.

Prohibitions on Fluoridation and Local Action (amendments to 10 V.S.A. § 1673)

Prohibits anyone from adding fluoride to drinking water in a public water system.
Prohibits municipalities from enacting ordinances that require or permit fluoride in a public water system they administer, maintain, or operate.
Leaves in place general permitting and operation requirements for public water systems (permits, operator certification, etc.), but explicitly bars fluoridation activities.

Fluoride Supplementation in Schools (new 16 V.S.A. § 1390)

Definitions: fluoride, school (public or approved independent school and related activities), and school nurse (as defined/credentialed).
Prohibits schools from providing fluoride to a student as a supplement (e.g., tablets, liquids, rinses).
Prohibits school nurses or other school personnel/volunteers from providing fluoride to a student as medicine.

Effective Date

The act takes effect upon passage.

Who/What Is Affected

Public water systems and public water sources in Vermont.

Municipalities and their sub-munits/districts that administer, maintain, or operate public water systems.

Schools (public and approved independent) and school nurses or individuals performing nursing duties in schools.

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (as the permitting/certification authority remains the framework, with limitations on fluoridation activities).

Procedural/Timeline Aspects

Status: Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Human Services (as of January 14, 2026).

The act is enacted by the General Assembly and would take effect on passage (no separate future effective date specified beyond passage).

Observations

The bill provides a statewide prohibition on fluoridation of public drinking water and prohibits related municipal actions and fluoride supplementation in schools.

It maintains existing regulatory structures for safe operation of public water systems but adds a specific prohibition on fluoridation and related school fluoride administration.

No funding or phase-in timeline is specified; the act becomes effective immediately upon passage.