H 28 Vermont House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An act relating to including an affirmation option in oath requirements in Titles 1–10 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated

This bill amends Vermont state laws to explicitly allow individuals to choose "affirmation" instead of "oath" in all legal contexts requiring such declarations, including government offices and professional licensing. It directly affects officials such as the Attorney General, Capitol Police officers, and licensing board members who currently must swear oaths under statutes. The key mechanism updates specific sections of Vermont Statutes Annotated (Titles 1-10) to replace "oath" with "oath or affirmation" in all relevant provisions. This change accommodates people who object to religious oaths while maintaining the legal requirement for sworn or affirmed declarations.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Jan 2026

House Passage

Jan 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 10, 2025 Last action Jan 15, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed By the House (UnofficialOpens in a new window) → As Passed By the House (OfficialOpens in a new window) · 3 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MINOR

This diff represents the transition from the unofficial House-passed version to the official enrolled version of H.28, which adds affirmation options throughout oath requirements in Titles 1-10 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated. The primary substantive change is a correction of the legislative session year from 2026 to 2025. The official version also adds standard metadata (introducing representatives, committee referral, subject line, and statement of purpose) that was absent from the unofficial draft.

TECHNICAL

The legislative session year was corrected from 2026 to 2025 in the official enrolled version.

The official version adds bill metadata including introducing representatives (Chapin of East Montpelier and LaLonde of South Burlington), committee referral, subject line, and a statement of purpose explaining the bill's intent to include affirmation options wherever oaths are required in Titles 1-10.

Page count changed from 65 pages (unofficial) to 69 pages (official), reflecting the added metadata header and formatting differences. The unofficial version also contained a 'VT LEG #386652 v.1' watermark that was removed in the official version.

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jan 15, 2026

Introduced

Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Judiciary

upper

Jan 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report of Committee on Judiciary agreed to

lower

Jan 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Rep. Burditt of West Rutland reported for the Committee on Judiciary

lower

Jan 9, 2026

Introduced

Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment

lower

Jan 8, 2026

Introduced

Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment

lower

Jan 10, 2025

Introduced

Read first time and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors