---
type: "Bill"
title: "An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official"
description: "An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official"
jurisdiction: "us/states/vt"
legislature: "Vermont General Assembly"
session: "2025-2026"
identifier: "H 849"
citation: "Vermont H 849 (2025-2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Martin LaLonde"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 27
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-02-03"
last_action: "2026-04-29"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/128653ae-3222-4492-9835-4ab1031d3194"
source_url: "http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/loadBillDetailedStatus/2026/2114"
source_hash: "8a1e3844e2c3c7bdc784f5489a4ead005add71182bfd3558cff40cce81bf1204"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-vt"]
---

# Vermont H 849 (2025-2026) — An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **As Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849%20As%20Introduced.pdf)
2. **Act Summary** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT087/ACT087%20Act%20Summary.pdf)
3. **As Enacted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT087/ACT087%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
4. **As Passed By the House (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849%20As%20passed%20by%20the%20House%20Official.pdf)
5. **As Passed By the House (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House%20Unofficial.pdf)
6. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Official.pdf)
7. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0849/H-0849%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf)

## Votes

- 3rd reading ordered on roll call Passed -- Needed 15 of 30 to Pass -- Yeas = 23, Nays = 7 — **23–7** (pass) · upper
- Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 68 of 136 to Pass -- Yeas = 97, Nays = 39 — **97–39** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Martin LaLonde — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-02-03** Read first time and referred to the Committee on Judiciary `introduction`
- **2026-03-10** Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2026-03-11** Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2026-03-12** Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2026-03-12** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2026-03-12** Rep. LaLonde of South Burlington reported for the Committee on Judiciary
- **2026-03-12** Rep. Houghton of Essex Junction demanded yeas and nays
- **2026-03-12** Report of Committee on Judiciary agreed to
- **2026-03-12** Which was agreed to on a Roll Call Passed -- Needed 68 of 136 to Pass -- Yeas = 97, Nays = 39
- **2026-03-12** Third Reading ordered `reading-3`
- **2026-03-13** Action Calendar: Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2026-03-13** Read third time and passed `reading-3`
- **2026-03-18** Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Judiciary `introduction`
- **2026-04-10** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2026-04-10** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2026-04-10** Favorable report by Committee on Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2026-04-14** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2026-04-14** Favorable report by Committee on Judiciary `committee-passage`
- **2026-04-14** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2026-04-14** Reported favorably by Senator Hashim for Committee on Judiciary `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-14** 3rd reading ordered on roll call Passed -- Needed 15 of 30 to Pass -- Yeas = 23, Nays = 7
- **2026-04-15** New Business/Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2026-04-15** Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence `reading-3`
- **2026-04-16** Senate Message: Passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2026-04-21** Delivered to the Governor on April 21, 2026 `passage`
- **2026-04-28** Allowed to become law without the signature of the Governor on April 27, 2026
- **2026-04-29** House message: Governor allowed to become law without signature on April 27, 2026 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/128653ae-3222-4492-9835-4ab1031d3194`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Vermont legislature records).