Adjournment on the brink
We’re hoping to wrap up the legislative biennium by the end of this week. Legislators must navigate through the rapids of conference committees, creative bill mash-ups and veto threats. Legislators will be staying as late as needed this week to keep things moving. Nonetheless, some complex, important bills, like S.71, the data privacy bill, could stop in their tracks with such limited time remaining. Happily, on Friday, our local delegation will be welcoming and celebrating the success of Harwood ice hockey, wrestling and golf teams.
To start the week, we passed the House amended version of S.208, the masking bill. Things got complicated in the House after the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals decision in April found that a similar law restricting masking by federal law enforcement violates the supremacy clause and intergovernmental immunity. In response, the House Judiciary Committee proposed amending S.208 to focus on local and state-level initiatives including the development of a new model statewide policy. On the floor, we considered an amendment that proposed adding the federal restrictions back in. Despite the legal uncertainty, I voted for this amendment given the unprecedented abuses of power we’re living through; it failed by a dozen votes. I know this will be a disappointment to many in our community. The House Judiciary Committee is committed to finding a better legal route, one that honors the rule of law and the Constitution while protecting Vermonters. The Legislature this biennium has successfully expanded citizen and voter protections on a number of fronts, including Proposal 4 (equal rights constitutional amendment), S.209 (sensitive locations), S.227 (school safety), H.849 (constitutional violation suits, Act 87) and H.541/S.298 (voter rights).
A slew of other bills required little debate so far this week. We passed S.326, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) bill, unanimously. Car inspections will become more focused on safety and less about non-urgent repairs. The House has concurred with Senate changes on such bills as H.577 (prescription drug discount program), H.588 (Office of Professional Regulation housekeeping bill), H.611 (Department of Vermont Health Access housekeeping bill), S.227 (school safety bill with immigration protocols) and H.293 (targeted updates to health statutes). These bills will now head to the governor’s desk to be signed into law, pass into law without signature, or be vetoed.
On all-important health care cost containment, S.190, the reference-based pricing bill, is coming to the floor with a new amendment. The amendment simplifies the bill to focus on two insurance categories—individual and small groups, as well as the state’s educators (VEHI). The bill gives the Green Mountain Care Board authority to implement reference-based pricing in hospital fiscal year 2027, which starts October 2026. S.197, the primary care bill, also emerged from House Health Care with added language to move towards Universal Primary Care. Work on Universal Primary Care will be a main focus of committee leadership during the off-session.
Many consequential bills remain in committees of conference. In these committees, three assigned representatives and three senators who voted in favor of the original bills work to find agreement and vote. To pass out of the conference committee, at least two of the House members and two of the Senate members must vote yes. I’ll be following the action on the education, transportation, miscellaneous tax, yield bill, and FY27 budget. In addition, conference committees are likely for a number of other bills, including one or two from my committee. You will find the agendas and links to watch these committees here:
legislature.vermont.gov/committee/committeesofconference/2026
There will be a lot to unpack from this contentious session. I look forward to discussing where things have landed on priority issues and where to go from here. Representative White and I will share some details soon on a discussion forum to include our senators. It’s been a difficult but rewarding time of learning and meeting our moment—thank you for your input, guidance and support, and I look forward to connecting further this summer.
