Can the state of Vermont impose residency requirements for its welfare programs? This was the topic of debate last week in the House Committee on Human Services when Representative Brenda Steady (R-Milton) asked if fraud could result from the “return home” provisions in H.594.
A pair of bills sponsored by the chairs of energy committees in both House and Senate would further regulate and tax the sale of fossil fuels in Vermont.
H. 276, State Wildlands, is scheduled for testimony in the House Environment Committee on Wednesday afternoon at the Vermont Statehouse. Sponsored by committee chair Rep. Amy Sheldon, the bill would create a new Wildlands designation within Vermont’s Ecological Reserves, permanently protecting certain lands from conversion, promoting natural processes and old-growth forest conditions, and permanently designating many state parks as Wildlands.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Leonora Dodge (D – Chittenden-23), proposes creating a new Legal Representation in Federal Immigration Proceedings Program within Vermont’s Office of Defender General. As written, the legislation declares it to be the public policy of the State of Vermont that covered individuals “should have the right to ongoing legal representation” in federal immigration cases.
The initial proposal would apply only to electric vehicles, swapping the current flat EV fee of $89 with a per-mile charge using odometer readings. While officials say broader expansion is not on the immediate horizon, decisions made in the next few months could shape whether MBUF becomes Vermont’s long-term transportation funding model.
A bill that would ban the sale of car and truck tires in Vermont unless the manufacturer has an approved plan to dispose of waste tires will get a hearing in House Environment at 9 AM Thursday morning.
At present, selectboards have option of voting on local pot stores – or not
An open letter to the Vermont Legislature
Many of the same reps protecting cops from Big Tech are less interested in protecting them from doxxing by protesters.
“Prior to administering the recommended immunization, the health care professional shall obtain written acknowledgement of receipt of the information required by this subdivision from the patient or, if the patient is a minor, from the patient’s parent or guardian.”
Critics of the two bills say state law cannot override federal law or restrain federal law enforcement.
At a Capitol Ministries mixer Tuesday afternoon, elected officials as disparate in their views as Progressive Rep. Brian Cina of Burlington and Republican Rep. Mary Morrissey of Bennington could be seen sitting down peacefully over the ice cream served up by the State House ministry overseen by Rev. Aaron Clark of Montpelier.
A story of salvation and friendship in the Vermont State House.
One bill prohibits arrests for civil violations – including immigration violations – in ‘sensitive locations’. The other requires all law enforcement – including federal officers – to wear name tags and not wear masks.
Bills, news rules impact cost of fuel, fuel storage, overtime pay, credit card usage
Only 3 days of warning given for eviction, under the new proposed bill.
Two states, two outcomes, and a different model in New Hampshire shape the debate
House agrees with Senate on permanent emergency fund for farms, forestry.
The most discussed feature of H.594 is the Return Home Program, where the state would fund travel and relocation for unhoused individuals who wish to return to a state where they maintain legal reside
House Bill H.545, introduced by Rep. Theresa Wood (D–Washington-Chittenden) and Rep. Alyssa Black (D–Chittenden-24), would shift the power to set immunization recommendations from federal agencies to the Vermont Department of Health. It would require all insurers to cover any immunization recommended by the commissioner with no copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, and grant immunity from most civil and administrative liability to health professionals who administer those vaccines in accordance with state guidance.
Energy Policy: Nuclear Returns to the Conversation; Telecommunications: Local Control Versus Statewide Infrastructure; Insurance Regulation: Technical Changes With Structural Importance; Transportation: Revenue Signals Raise Long-Term Questions; Human Services: Governance Updates Move Forward
The St. Albans Republican and founder of the House Futures Caucus has resigned due to family commitments.
“There’s a lot of people in the [State House] building that don’t like to arrest and incarcerate people,” Burditt said. “There’s a lot of people in the building who would just as soon close prisons, because they don’t look at them as being compassionate.”
The bill, among dozens introduced this week, create the Vermont Airspace Safety and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force to evaluate reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
North made quite a splash when he wore a green sequined coat into the Vermont State House today.
The Global Warming Solutions Act money pit deepens!
Rep. Greg Burtt (R-Cabot) said he is developing a bill to repeal the so-called “Road Rule” included in Act 181, the sweeping Act 250 reform package passed by the Legislature’s 2024 Democratic supermajority. The provision places any development on a private road 800 feet or longer automatically under Act 250 jurisdiction, regardless of project size or environmental impact. It takes effect July 1 – hence Burtt’s effort to introduce a bill to rid Act 250 of what he believes is an onerous provision.
New legislation (S.171) sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Rebecca White (D-Windsor), would create a Clean Fuels Program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels.
Two bills sit before the Vermont Senate that would undo the state’s unfolding climate policy disaster. S.110 would repeal the Global Warming Solutions Act’s citizen-suit provision and convert its mandates back to goals. S.68 would repeal the Affordable Heat Act.
The Vermont Senate opened the 2026 legislative session with a significant influx of new legislation on January 6. Lawmakers introduced a wide array of proposals ranging from sweeping public safety reforms and climate initiatives to critical updates in health care governance and technology regulation.
State Treasurer and legislative leaders push program that could save hundreds of dollars monthly—but critical details about insurance deductibles and pharmacy participation remain unclear
Scott’s speech was long on the need for change at the school district level, but did not dwell significantly on potential areas to reduce in-school staffing and curricular costs.
“Any money I don’t spend on myself helps the budget, even if it’s a small piece. We should all do our part in some way.”
As Vermont works toward a goal of 40,000 new housing units by 2030, lawmakers this year face a central question: will recently enacted tax reforms and infrastructure tools finally translate into shovels in the ground?
This is the kind of bipartisanship we’re talking about!
Brian Pearl, a Grand Isle County resident and father, has been concerned about inadequate public and private school security ever since last August, when a Minnesota person shot through school windows from outside, killing two school children and injuring 18. His solution: install bullet-proof glass, or window shutters that can be deployed at a moment’s notice.
As reported yesterday by VDC, Galfetti has proposed equal cuts across every state agency in order to give voters zero increase in property taxes while the State of Vermont implements systemic education funding reform.
As Vermont enters another legislative session, lawmakers are once again proposing housing legislation they believe will protect tenants from eviction and homelessness. While the intent may be laudable, the reality on the ground is far messier — and the consequences are increasingly harmful not only to landlords, but also to responsible tenants and to Vermont’s already strained housing supply.
Free service gives journalists instant, searchable access to committee hearings—with video verification and shareable SmartClips
New bills of interest include transferring federal Medicaid funding from the Agency of Education to the Agency of Human Services.
Galfetti said those costs would be spread evenly across all General Fund budget items, rather than targeting specific programs.
While national elections draw the most attention, many of the most immediate impacts on Vermonters — particularly school spending and local taxes — are decided earlier in the year, often with less public awareness.
“As it stands today, Vermont has created a loophole that allows violent offenders to sit in legal limbo for years,” Rodgers said in a statement ahead of the event. “That is not justice for victims, and it’s not public safety.”
enforcement options have been limited because only individual license holders — not the massage establishments themselves — are currently regulated.
Vermont likes to call itself a leader in combating climate change, but leadership implies setting an example others want to follow. Instead, Vermont is becoming a cautionary tale of what happens when ideology trumps practicality. The result? A state struggling under the weight of policies that deliver the opposite of what they promise.
Harrison expressed gratitude to district residents for their support and to his wife for being “by my side for the entire journey,” from campaign work to reviewing his weekly columns in local newspaper.
Parents of independent school students: rattle a few cages and get your school’s leaders to step up.
The Legislature this year unanimously passed a new law that will erase up to $100 million in medical debt—with no new taxes or fees. The Governor signed it into law on May 15.
And Republicans have a second chance to avoid disaster.
Rep. Black said she couldn’t vote for a veterans’ tax break in light of looming Medicaid cuts.
Where’s the bleeping property tax relief?
Senate Republican Leader outlines some agenda items for next year.
Signed into law in June 2023, Act 59 sets ambitious goals to conserve 30% of Vermont’s land by 2030 and 50% by 2050. These targets align with the international “30 by 30” initiative but extend Vermont’s commitments even further by setting a 50% benchmark for mid-century.
What are the people to do when a law creates a trap that plunders precious resources and hard earned money and brings harm to Vermonters, all for zero beneficial environmental impact?
Five legislators will answer your questions on what happened in the Legislature this year, and what they believe should happen next year.
Organizers say the forum is an opportunity for Vermonters to hear about plans to address affordability and other challenges facing families across the state.
The GOP leaders who held the line on property taxes and stopped the Clean Heat Standard say there’s much more to be done. They’ll dish, listen and take questions at a forum in Ludlow Thursday, 6 PM September 4.
Orange and Washington County lawmakers review how the actions of the 2025 Legislature affect Vermonters’ safety and prosperity.
Through town halls, digital outreach, and community events, the group is urging Vermonters to contact lawmakers, sign up for action alerts, and volunteer. Burgin said AFP is also recognizing legislative leaders who champion fiscal responsibility while challenging those whose policies “burden hardworking families.”
“This case demonstrates the problematic nature of the Global Warming Solutions Act’s expansive private right of action provision,” said Vermont’s Secretary of Natural Resources, Julie Moore, in a written statement to VDC yesterday morning.
Campaign spotlights housing, taxes, and energy mandates
A food-start up bill exempts home based food producers from requiring state food safety permits if they keep their sales under $30,000.
Republicans may have just been tricked into setting themselves up for defeat in 2026.
Vermont lawmakers voted Monday to ban smartphones and other electronic devices used by students during the school day. The goal is to improve academic performance as well as battle a disturbing rise in the rates of depression and anxiety among young people in the state.
An unusually high number of senators chose to explain their votes.
With governor out of state, action Delayed on big school transformation bill – for now.
The Democrat Speaker of the House (Krowinski) and the former Essex Junction Republican member of the House and the current chairman of the Vermont Republican Party chairman, rarely see eye to eye on anything touching the world of politics.
But not this weekend. This weekend they stand together against political violence.
The Vermont House and Senate agreed Friday on a school funding transformation compromise that gives the House the higher per-pupil spending it sought.
Says 2027 start date leaves time for court challenges
Can the Vermont House and Senate agree this week on tuition for independent schools?
Supporters of H.91 say it provides a framework of permanent, comprehensive continuity of care for homeless Vermonters.
“I’m concerned that despite unions testifying this was a priority for their organization, employees who would be impacted by this bill were not consulted or asked to testify,” Scott said.
Climate Council remains an expensive, incompetent, very bad joke.
Four months in, Vermont’s budget Is balanced—but the real fight might just Be delayed
Whatever Montpelier decides about school funding this month, it won’t affect property taxes next year or the year after.
“Thank You, and So Long – I have received an excellent job offer in Canada, and will begin working July 7th,” Cordes wrote.
Climate change hawks have resisted mileage tax efforts for years in the interests of promoting EV affordability.
Ronald Reagan once quipped that government is like a baby, an endless appetite on one end, and no discipline on the other. No place lives up to – or down to as the case may be — that analogy more so than Vermont.
The driverless engines of State
House Speaker Krowinski announced the full House would come back on June 16, which was the date previously put on the calendar for a potential session to address any bills that the Governor vetoed. The plan is now for the education conferees to continue meeting over the next few weeks to hammer out an agreement that can also satisfy Governor Scott. Stay tuned.
Negotiations on school finance reform will go on into June.
A House Education Committee member this morning told VDC that the H.454 Conference Committee is taking seriously Gov. Phil Scott’s concerns about affordability and implementation timeline in the current House/Senate versions of this session’s landmark legislation: transformation of Vermont’s public education financing and governance.
Rather than let a minority of Democrats and every Republican pass the Senate Education bill, Senate leaders scrapped it and successfully pushed a more House-friendly version.
This Vermont bill is a response to a January 20 executive order issued by signed by President Donald Trump, mandating that federal agencies, including the State Department, recognize only two sexes (male and female) based on biological sex assigned at birth, effectively eliminating the “X” gender marker option for passports and prohibiting gender marker changes that do not align with birth certificates.
Voting on the Senate Education Committee bill might have gone 18-12 with all 13 Republicans voting in favor – creating a new GOP/blue dog coalition unacceptable to Senate Dem leadership.
Kill bipartisan bill in favor of special interests.
A former Senate leader who took up painting during Covid now has an art show in the State House cafeteria.
Intended to protect teens from predatory online practices, S.69 also would prevent youth online presence on business-related sites that also cater to adults.
No person shall, knowingly without legal authorization, intentionally burn, mutilate, disfigure, dismember, or destroy the dead body of a person.
The legislative process is sometimes likened to sausage making, not pretty to watch. That was certainly true last week at the State House with education reform and a major housing bill being considered.
Don’t just do something for the sake of doing something.
Phil Scott waves his veto pen over two bills still in the Legislature.
Vermonters were told passage of Article 22 would keep abortion rare, safe, and legal, yet this new law opens the floodgates to unsupervised chemical abortions, making them common and dangerous, yet still legal.
A House committee recently heard the introduction of seven new bills covering five topics legislators hope to tackle.
Another unnecessary hit to small businesses.
Repealing the switchblade ban has long been the goal of Sen. Pat Brennan (R-Colchester/Grand Isle), who introduced (unsuccessfully) similar legislation as a member of the House of Representatives.
Democrat leaders of the energy and environment committees this year have declined to consider other climate change repeal legislation.
But even among supporters, there is an acknowledgment that much of the proposal includes placeholder language likely to require substantial revision—either in a forthcoming Committee of Conference or in future legislative sessions.
Medical debt payment by taxpayers sets risky precedent and disincentives repayment, guv warns.
Somewhat paradoxically, having an effective veto means he has less reason to veto. “They have to come to the table,” he said.
