H.454 passes; Legislature adjourns
At 8:35 p.m. on Monday, June 16, we officially adjourned after passing out H.454, the complex education transformation bill. Representative Candice White, our senators, and Representative Tom Stevens from Waterbury will discuss the education bill and other major bills from this collaborative session on Tuesday, June 24, at the Big Picture Theater, from 6 to 8 p.m. Please join us or tune in for the recording on mrvtv.com.
This is part two of our end-of-session report.
BALANCED AND RESPONSIVE BUDGETS
In the $9.1 billion FY26 state budget bill (H.394), we allocated nearly $150 million to housing initiatives, including disability, low-to-moderate income, recovery and short-term stabilization housing for Vermonters who are temporarily incapacitated by mental health or substance use, and emergency housing. We also enhanced support for vital health and human service needs. Funding was increased for primary care at Rural Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers. Child care centers received a 5% boost for infant and toddler care, and social service agencies saw a 2% rate increase. Over $1 million was directed to food and nutrition programs and an additional $1.3 million will support substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery. To address workload challenges and improve public safety, $1.3 million was allocated to the State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, along with $450,000 for Urban Search and Rescue efforts.
We also passed the transportation ("T-Bill") and the capital bill. Rep. White worked on the T-Bill in her committee, funding things like park and rides, bike and pedestrian projects, public transit, rail, and town highway aid. The two-year capital bill invests in state-owned buildings, correctional facilities, historic sites and historic preservation, and the Vermont Veterans Home.
In the event of reductions in federal funding, the Legislature has planned a response process while we're not in session, with nearly $100 million in contingency funding on tap if needed to offset funding shortfalls in federal grant programs like food assistance and Medicaid.
PROTECTING YOUTH
S.69 (also known as the Kids' Code) requires social-media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, to prioritize children’s safety and privacy in their design and operation. This includes mandates like configuring default privacy settings to the highest level of protection for minors, providing simple tools for account deletion, providing minors with increased control over who they connect with online, and better transparency about data collection and algorithms.
H.480, a miscellaneous education bill, requires all public and approved independent schools to adopt a policy, by the 2026-2027 school year, that would keep student smartphones and other personal devices (like Apple watches) out of our classrooms during the school day, "from bell to bell." Harwood's positive experience with its recent ban was influential in advancing this statewide.
PROGRESS ON TAX AND DEBT RELIEF
To help stabilize property taxes, $77.2 million was transferred to the Education Fund for a one-year adjustment.
S.51 provides expanded tax credits to low-income households without children, households with children, seniors, retired military and military survivors, and veterans. The exemption for Social Security income increased by $5,000 when the adjusted gross income for tax filers is $55,000 for individuals, and $70,000 for joint filers.
Led by Treasurer Mike Pieciak, we passed S.27, a bill that will provide up to $100 million in medical debt relief for middle- and working-class Vermonters, while removing medical debt from credit scores. The bill passed on a unanimous bipartisan vote and requires no new taxes or fees.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
I worked on S.50 in committee, a bill which increases the size of backyard solar projects that qualify for expedited registration from the Public Utility Commission. We increased the maximum size of ground-mounted solar that’s eligible for simpler registration to 25 kW from 15 kW given new technology over the last 10 years that produces more energy in the same footprint. Another solar win is the Solar for All program, with funding secured by Senator Bernie Sanders. Vermont will receive $62.5 million to help low- and moderate-income homeowners and renters participate in the benefits of solar power. Meanwhile, the Vermont Climate Action Plan has been updated; see the latest plan on July 1 on climatechange.vermont.gov.
It's been a challenging time in Montpelier, and I'm looking forward to enjoying our beautiful Valley this summer. I'll plan to resume coffee hours later in the fall. Please stay in touch –
