Thank you to this week’s sponsor of our Advocacy Update:
May 15, 2026
This is not an adjournment update.
You read this update consistently, though, right? So you knew that it would never be the 15th. So, when will it be?
The Speaker of the House has said it will be May 22nd
Members of the Senate, who currently hold the major education transformation bill, will tell you it’s May 29th.
The Governor says, “it might be a long summer for some…” in response to questions around when the back-and-forth on the education transformation bill would conclude.
- He doubled down on the notion that some form of eventual district consolidation must be included in any acceptable proposal, even if implementation is phased in over time.
He won’t budge(t): remember, the Governor has said that he will not sign a budget until a deal has been struck on education.
- The House Democrats are readying their caucus with talking points on what a government shutdown could look like if there is no budget by July.
- The Governor is dismissing that and proposing a short-term Continuing Resolution to keep state government open while they debate.
If you have any questions and want to go deeper on any of these issues, please reach out to us.
Quick Updates: Committed, Concurred, and Contiued Legislative Work
This is not an exhaustive list of important legislation; however, here are some quick perspectives on what is left at this point in the session.
In Committee of Conference: The pace of every other bill seems to reflect the assumption that education will take more time, with Committees of Conference formed, yet not meeting with urgency on many bills.
- Budget – The conference committee has made progress on some elements; however, large disagreements remain open. They won’t meet again until Tuesday. The largest issue with this bill is that it is the gatekeeper to adjournment and will be held until an education transformation agreement is reached.
- Yield bill – The $105 million question as to how to spend surplus revenue to buy down property tax rates is still lingering. All at once for a 3.8% increase this year, as the Senate and Governor wish, or over two years, for a ~7% increase this year, as the House supports.
- Miscellaneous Tax Bill – The Committee of Conference will need to iron out some final details and come to an understanding on language changing the retroactivity of some federal conformity language.
- Act 250 – The Senate seems poised to accept S.325, repealing parts of Act 181 and making changes to Act 250, however, there are concerns about Senate language pulled from the bill that extended interim exemptions, as well as floor amendment language from the House. Read more about that language in last week’s update.
You can find details about the Committees of Conference here.
What’s Left Open:
- Education – After a dramatic 3-3 vote in the Senate Education Committee last week, the Senate Committee on Finance was left to navigate how to move forward with the legislation this week. Senator Scott Beck proposed a sweeping amendment that would have installed massive changes very late in the process. The bill is still in flux as it moves to the Senate Floor for a vote; however, this is what will be the base for the Senate debate on Tuesday.
- Privacy – The House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development continues to find language to thread the needle on S.71 and end this multi-year privacy debate.
- Penny per drink – changes in the Senate to H.915 added a fee totaling $2 million dollars to consumers, sparking some last-minute controversy where there wasn’t any. Watch to learn more via WCAX.
- No tickets to the gun show – The Senate has sent S.329 to the House with language that would ban guns in establishments that serve alcohol; however, the House has said they will not vote on the legislation due to procedural precedent and that they frankly don’t have the votes.
- Healthcare – multiple pieces of legislation are still moving in this space.
What’s Resolved:
- Transportation bill – The Senate gave final approval to H.944, which temporarily closes the $33 million deficit in the T-Fund and creates a new Mileage-Based User Fee, among other policy changes.
- Economic development bill – The Senate concurred with the House version of S.327.
- Noncompete, incomplete – legislation to impose limits on noncompete agreements has once again collapsed under the complexity and immensity of the issue, with S230 containing prohibitions on the use of these agreements with healthcare workers after consensus was reached there.
- Discount drugs – The Legislature unanimously approved legislation that enters the state into a multistate prescription drug discount card program.
The Laundry List:
- Read previous updates: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15, Week 16, and Week 17
- On May 13th, Governor Scott signed H.762, reconfiguring the defunct County and Regional Governance Study Committee to research these issues this summer and fall.
- Weekend Listening: We’ve got two for you this week, a regular West Coast vs. East Coast line-up.
- West Coast: Ezra Klein has brought to the mainstream concepts that many readers of this update have known for a long time are not radical. This past week, he moderated a forum with California Democratic Gubernatorial candidates, where it was made clear that concepts such as praise for TIF, admissions, and affordable housing development need to be flipped, and that well-intentioned Government is at the root of homelessness are mainstream outside Vermont.
- East Coast: This interview on the Morning Drive with Alex Farrell covers all things Vermont housing, including the state’s efforts to train small-scale developers and equip them with quick, easy model homes through the 802 Homes program.
- Who Will Legislate Next Year? The pace of retirements and campaign announcements is picking up as we near the end of the session and the May 28th filing deadline for major party candidates. This week saw the announcement that House Education Chair Conlon plans to retire after a decade in the State House, sparking speculation about a leadership and Chair shuffle to backfill the role next year. Conlon is one of five Chairs/leadership and the 30+ members already known not to be seeking re-election.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont announced that it has requested a 3.1% and 5.2% premium rate increase for small-group and individual QHP plans, respectively. The rate increase is smaller than any of the previous five years, reflecting collective efforts across the state to control healthcare costs, as medical and pharmacy claims costs continue to increase year over year. Read more here.
- EastRise Credit Union has announced Rob Miller as the new President and CEO after the announced retirement of John Dwyer.
- Gas relief? No way… Many states are considering a gas tax holiday to give their citizens a break from the high prices caused by the closure of the Straight of Hormuz, however, you read this update consistently, so you know that we have a $33 million deficit in the Transportation Fund that is being filled via some accounting tricks this year and will need to be revisited next year, so there is no world where that the state could forgo that funding. The Governor was asked this week and outlined these realities.
- An unfortunately one-sided article a few weeks ago covered a (non-peer-reviewed) paper by an assistant professor at the University of Vermont, in which they took a very narrow scope, disregarded inflation as well as world events, and trimmed data to suit their end goal of proclaiming housing supply is not an issue. We all knew it was a sham; however, we’re grateful to Middlebury Professor Gary Winslett for outlining exactly how.
- The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) has launched the state’s first Destination Management Plan to guide industry initiatives, activities, and promotion.