WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

S 11

An act relating to stewardship trusts

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Thomas Chittenden

Vermont would create a legal framework for stewardship trusts, allowing trusts focused on long-term environmental, cultural, or community stewardship with defined fiduciary duties

Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Judiciary
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 11

Summary of Bill: S.11 (Session 2025-2026) – Vermont

Title

An act relating to stewardship trusts

Purpose and intent

  • The bill establishes and governs stewardship trusts in Vermont. The overarching aim is to provide a legal framework for creating and administering trusts that emphasize sustainable stewardship, potentially including environmental, cultural, or community-benefit objectives alongside traditional trust purposes.

Key provisions and changes (proposed)

  • Creation and recognition of stewardship trusts: Establishes the legality and framework for creating trusts whose primary or significant objective is stewardship—often interpreted as responsible management of resources for long-term benefit to the public or specific communities.
  • Best interest and fiduciary duties: Outlines fiduciary duties for trustees of stewardship trusts, including duties of loyalty, prudent investment, and diversification, while potentially incorporating standards that reflect stewardship goals (e.g., environmental, social, or long-term sustainability considerations).
  • Trust purpose alignment: Requires that the terms of a stewardship trust explicitly state its stewardship-related goals, and may provide guidance on how those goals interact with traditional trust objectives (e.g., income, remainder, or principal distribution strategies).
  • Investment and management standards: May prescribe or authorize investment standards that align with stewardship objectives, potentially allowing or encouraging investments that favor sustainable, responsible, or impact-focused strategies without compromising prudence.
  • Oversight and administration: Addresses administrative mechanisms, including who may serve as trustees, reporting requirements, and potential oversight to ensure adherence to stewardship goals.
  • Durational and termination provisions: Defines timelines or conditions under which stewardship trusts may be created, continued, or terminated, and how assets are distributed upon termination in a manner consistent with the stewardship purpose.
  • Compatibility with existing law: Ensures that stewardship trusts operate within the broader framework of Vermont trust law, including conflicts of interest, modification or amendment procedures, and remedies for breach.

Who would be affected

  • Trust creators (settlers and donors): Individuals or entities seeking to establish a stewardship trust would have a defined path and requirements for codifying stewardship goals in trust documents.
  • Trustees and fiduciaries: Persons appointed to administer stewardship trusts would operate under clarified duties and standards tailored to stewardship objectives.
  • Beneficiaries: Present and future beneficiaries of stewardship trusts could experience distributions and long-term planning aligned with environmental, cultural, or community stewardship goals.
  • Financial institutions and attorneys: Firms and professionals involved in drafting trust instruments, managing assets, and advising clients on stewardship-focused planning would encounter new or clarified guidelines.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Introduction and referral: The bill was read in the 1st session day and referred to the Judiciary Committee (January 17, 2025), with Co-sponsor Thomas Chittenden.
  • Status: As of the provided information, the bill has progressed to committee review. No final passage date or enacted status is shown.
  • Potential timeline considerations: If advanced, the bill would likely undergo committee study, potential amendments, and floor votes in both chambers, followed by reconciliation and enactment, with any effective dates determined in the final enacted text.

Notes for readers

  • The summary reflects the bill’s stated purpose to enable and regulate stewardship-focused trusts. Specifics such as exact statutory language, definitions of “stewardship” within the trust context, investment standards, and enforcement mechanisms would be clarified in the bill’s text and any subsequent amendments.
  • For stakeholders, monitoring the Judiciary Committee’s hearings and any floor debates will provide insight into how the framework will operate in practice and how broad or narrow the applicable scope will be.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.