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.
Under the bill, fathers in prison would be able to take parenting classes, visit with their children in a child-friendly space and talk to them via free video calls.
The Muzzle Bill is now law.
A significant part of the $21.6 million total spending reduction comes from a $19 million shift in Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) funds.
$1.5 million in added funding for this session of the Legislature is for 1) two added weeks, probably running through May, 2) a veto session in June, if needed, and 3) a late summer/fall session to address catastrophic federal spending cuts, if needed.
Senate and House have agreed to capital investments for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, authorizing a total of $111,965,288.
The documentary highlights disturbing trends, including links between social media use and increased risk of fentanyl exposure, exploitation, and youth suicide.
The conference committee feuded over spending $700K to launch the Climate Superfund law, then grudgingly agreed to split the difference.
Desperate calls for Scott to delay unrealistic, logistically impossible GWSA requirements with Executive Order.
It comes from the House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure, newly formed this session in part to prioritize digital technology initiatives that had been overshadowed.
Supporters of Act 122 want the Legislature to budget $700,000 to implement the ‘groundbreaking’ law intended to Make Big Oil Pay.’
The road salt control bill was sent back to committee.
If there’s any benefit at all, it doesn’t get back to the people paying the bills.
Vermont’s ambitious climate goals are about to become very real, and could hit many of us in the wallet.
Action on these measures keeps Vermont at the forefront of climate action while avoiding the pitfalls of unfunded mandates, including those that leave space for unnecessary and counter-productive legal challenges.
The $9 billion Senate budget tops the House budget by $20 million and the governor’s budget by $50 million.
Senate holds roll call on considering Clean Heat Standard Repeal bill ‘on the merits.’ Rejected on party line.
In an effort to provide a perspective from people who are not part of the choir and are not engaging with you, I endeavor to channel what you might hear, if you could find a way.
Special interests have issued their marching orders, and the Democrats are obeying.
S.51 gives a $250 tax credit on military pensions for earners of up to $25,000, and reduces the size of the credit on a graduated basis on earners claiming up to $30,000.
A vote to repeal the Clean Heat Standard will be held in the Vermont Senate this afternoon. The vote will be close and Lt. Gov. John Rodgers has said he will cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of repeal.
Over the last two years, “persistently rainy conditions made many forested areas too wet to harvest,” a logging industry rep told legislators.
North explained that voters urged him to repeal the unpopular Clean Heat Standard, which incentivizes home heat electrification at the expense of homeowners who burn fossil fuels. He promised he would try.
It’s not the governor’s fault your ridiculous plans are collapsing.
Administration wants lawmakers to decrease spending and timeline for implementation before signing education reform bill
Dealing with repeat offenders and drug crime matters more than banning guns in bars, Scott said.
The only way to end this long train of abuses and usurpations is for more voters to become aware of the fact that their state legislators’ policies harm, not help them; and to recruit and elect new leadership that respects the sacred family institution and supports legislation that fortifies parental rights.
We are seeing the beginning of some strong legislative winds, and not necessarily in the same direction.
The resolution would “require schools in Vermont to adopt a policy that will restrict the admittance of federal immigration authorities into nonpublic areas of the school without presenting a judicial warrant.”
Should SNAP food benefits be used to buy restaurant meals?
Most witnesses have supported the bill, but a few concerns have come up about free speech and news media’s liabilities.
“So we’re looking at nearly 50% with mental health [needs]… Large numbers, one in five with a developmental disability, nearly one in three with a physical disability. And so that is the type of people that this legislation would impact.”
Legislative leadership reaffirmed their aim to adjourn by the end of May, despite rumors that the session could go into June.
“I also speak as a reminder that some cannot speak for themselves and that not all decisions are in our jurisdiction,” Rep. Tom Charlton explained his no vote.
