Thank you to this week’s sponsor of our Advocacy Update:
April 10, 2026
Property taxes, land-use, and the coming elections about them
Two issues are taking up most of the oxygen in the State House, rightfully so, as they are repeatedly shown to be the most important to voters. Education costs and a lack of housing are cracks in Vermont’s foundation, and the pressure is on the legislature to meet the moment.
What is unique this year is not that these are the major issues; rather, the debates in the State House are not about the underlying problems but about how to course-correct or delay the decisions made in previous efforts to address them.
- LURB your enthusiasm… Act 181 has the laudable goal of reforming Act 250 by transitioning it to a place-based jurisdiction in which it is harder to build housing in some areas and easier in others.
- However, what is being seen from the Land Use Review Board (LURB) offers inadequate relief to those promised it and outrageous over-conservation to others, causing long-standing frustration with the state’s anti-growth policy to boil over.
- Back to the drawing board…The House is advancing its education transformation bill, which revisits the work of Act 73, which passed last year, by pushing out effective dates and pivoting to voluntary consolidation rather than mandatory.
- The Governor has made clear that he will not sign this version, or the budget, unless the initial course charted for transformation is followed closely. This leaves many wondering if the promised cost containment will materialize or be enough for voters.
Deferred maintenance: Vermont has the second-oldest population in the country and the second-oldest housing stock, with one in three Vermonters over 65 by 2030 and an average age of tradespeople over 54.
- Everything’s connected: The confluence of these factors means a shrinking tax base that puts more burden on those who pay, and the cracks might soon be too large to fill without abandoning dead dogma when municipalities report increasing tax delinquency.
All eyes are on Montpelier: We assure you this is not a dramatic take, the identity of Vermont is being debated, and the conversation is going into overtime, as a May 30th adjournment has been announced.
- The adjournment date is notably two days after the primary election filing deadline for major party candidates. The election is just around the corner, with many legislators already signaling they won’t run for re-election, and even more newcomers feeling that they can better steer the state.
Unpack with us the education transformation and land-use debates, as well as a first look at who wants to have them next year, in this week’s update. Of course, there’s more in the Laundry List.
If you have any questions and want to go deeper on any of these issues, please reach out to us.
LCC Legislative Breakfast Series
Every year, we bring legislators, policymakers, and LCC members together to celebrate business ownership and entrepreneurship and advocate for economic opportunity for our region. Sponsored by EastRise Credit Union, our Legislative Breakfasts are opportunities to connect with legislators and those in higher office.
- When: Rescheduled to April 20th!
- Where: The Nine | 1205 Airport Parkway, South Burlington
Thank you to our hosts, The Nine and Dealer.com, for their generous support of our Legislative Breakfast Series!
Thank you to our breakfast sponsor
Back to the Drawing Board on Education Transformation
H.955 amends Act 73, passed just last year, by shifting from mandated school district mergers to a facilitated, voluntary process supported by a new regional service structure to attempt to preserve more local control while pursuing potential cost savings.
Rewind: Act 73 set the policy vision: consolidated schools, a foundation formula, and a second home tax, funding a change in the income sensitivity of property taxes; however, all of these changes had later effective dates, triggered after the operational details were developed.
Fast forward to today: With H.955, the House hopes to amend the vision to preserve more local control after years of property tax increases at the state level have led those outside the education system to believe that you can’t maintain the same level of local control while using everyone else’s dollars.
Zoom out: What’s become clear is that the House now has its vision, though they might not share it with the Governor or Senate, and they are now moving forward towards execution. The volume of outstanding issues and the level of detail are enormous, and no matter what is decided, translating from statute into practice will be a struggle. Small technical decisions, particularly around tax administration and funding mechanisms, carry significant real-world implications and remain unresolved.
Core Governance and Structural Changes in the House bill:
- Cooperative Educational Service Areas (CESAs): The bill mandates the creation of seven regional CESAs, which are repurposed and renamed from existing cooperative boards.
- Service Delivery: CESAs are designed as service providers, not governing entities. They must offer at least three core services to member districts: special education (high-cost/low-incidence), business/administrative services, and consultation for creating unified school districts.
- Mandatory Membership: Every supervisory union in the state is explicitly assigned to a CESA, with no statutory mechanism for withdrawal.
- Merger Study Committees: The bill establishes approximately 21 regional study committees. These committees, led by professional facilitators, are required to evaluate the advisability of forming unified union school districts (Pre-K through Grade 12).
Implementation Timeline and Deadlines: The bill stretches implementation across several years, with key triggers for consolidation and funding. You can find that timeline here.
Financial and Tax Policy
- Funding: The bill appropriates bonding capacity for school construction, prioritizing projects that align with regionalization goals.
- Incentives: Moving away from the strategy used in Act 46, the House Ways and Means Committee has excluded temporary tax incentives for mergers, as testimony suggested they were ineffective and caused future taxpayer frustration.
- New Tax Classifications: The bill includes language to define and set different tax rates for second homes in order to generate new revenue for the Education Fund.
Political Context and Opposition: The bill faces significant political hurdles in the Senate and from the Governor.
- Governor’s Veto Threat: Governor Phil Scott has labeled the bill a “non-starter” and indicated he would veto it in its current form. He argues that the voluntary model and the reliance on more studies lack the scale and urgency needed to lower property tax trajectories. Education Secretary Zoie Saunders this week expressed concern that adding CESAs on top of the current system could increase costs and bureaucracy without achieving the efficiencies of larger, unified districts.
WATCH: The House Committee on Appropriations is doing a walkthrough of this bill as we release this update, which is an opportunity to understand the bill better.
LURB Your Enthusiasm? What is the Fate of Act 250
No matter who you speak to in the State House this week, the question will inevitably come up, “Do you think the road rule and/or tier 3 will be repealed?”
- It’s the question that has countless advocates in a holding pattern outside the House Committee on the Environment, the subject of countless punchy posts on social media, and will most likely determine the outcome of the coming election.
Tick, tock: While Speaker Krowinski has promised to “listen and learn“, the deadline is looming. Leadership must now decide whether to simply delay the problematic rules via S.325.
- The Rural Caucus, whose members have been patient and pragmatic about the problems the policy created for their communities, is stepping up the pressure and calling for a full repeal now.
- Let’s Build Homes, a recent addition to State House advocacy, initially was focused on expanding exemptions and creating new zoning overlays to build housing, and now has pivoted to asking for a full repeal of the road rule after their analysis shows 66% of new housing units are currently built in the very areas these rules would most restrict.
- The Governor wants the road rule and tier 3 repealed. He vetoed the legislation two years ago, and it was overridden by the Legislature.
Course Correct, Before We Overcorrect: There is an increasing sense among many across the political spectrum that environmental advocates have forgotten that pigs get fed, but hogs get slaughtered. The addition of the new jurisdictional triggers to the already grotesque pig we’ve all lived next to for decades (Act 250), may have bulked it up enough that it’s a mature hog.
Zoom out: As in law, Act 181 would mean that development in 60% of Vermont triggers Act 250 review. Vermont already has a very strict development policy in a state that is already among the most forested in the country.
- Recently passed Act 121 (the Flood Safety Act) covers approximately 209,000 acres of Vermont land, placing restrictions that span across 5,000 miles of river and impact an estimated 45,000 parcel owners.
- The state is on track to achieve its goals of conserving 30% of the state landmass by 2030 and 50% by 2050 already.
Status Check: The House Committee on the Environment continues reviewing S.325, which we covered last week, and is receiving testimony, though a vote is not scheduled.
- Regardless of what happens in committee, the real action will be on the House floor, where the Legislature will try to amend the legislation.
Bottom line: the frustration and loss of trust over Act 181 will echo for years to come; however, what the Legislature needs to do now is decide if they will punt the problem to a future legislature or decide definitively now what Vermont is going to look like for generations to come.
Elections Around the Corner
Expect a rather large wave of retirements this year, perhaps not as large as the previous great resignation; however, notable. As the session drags into the election season, the pressure will be on incumbents, with newcomers critiquing their work.
Important Dates:
- April 27, 2026 – May 28, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. – filing deadline for a major party candidate to appear on the primary ballot; consent of the candidate and financial forms must be filed with the appropriate filing officer.
- August 11, 2026 – Primary Election
- November 3, 2026 – General Election
Disclaimer: This is where we get into odd territory, as obviously, some of the knowledge we have can be shared, and some cannot. Here is what we can share with you so far, as well as rumors ubiquitous enough that they are fair to share.
- Have any interesting election knowledge? We would love to hear it.
Gubernatorial: Aly Richards, former director of Let Grow Kids, and Amanda Janoo will compete for the Democratic party’s nomination with the winner likely to take on the most popular governor in America, incumbent Republican Phil Scott.
Lt. Governor: Former Lt. Governor Molly Gray and former Senator Welch staffer Ryan McLaren will vie for the Democratic Party’s nomination to face incumbent former Democrat turned Republican John Rodgers.
Leadership Departures: Four chairs have already announced their retirements this year, with more rumors swirling.
- Senator Alison Clarkson, the highly energetic and engaging Democrat, is Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs.
- Rep. Mike Marcotte, the long-serving and respected Republican Chair of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development
- Rep. Kath James, the amicable and astute Chair of House Energy and Technology.
- Rep. Matt Birong, the pragmatic power broker chair of House Government Operations and Military Affairs.
Pre-Election Shake-Ups: An astounding and unprecedented nine seats will have election contests in which the legislators who filled these seats during the current biennium were not elected but rather appointed by the Governor after a resignation.
- Mari Cordes (Addison-4 House District): Resigned in July 2025 to prioritize her health and well-being. She was replaced by Karen Lueders.
- Heather Surprenant (Windsor-4 House District): Resigned in September 2025 to pursue other professional opportunities. She was replaced by Michael Hoyt.
- Sam Douglass (Orleans Senate District): Resigned in late 2025 following a national-level scandal involving the release of a leaked group chat. He was replaced by former Representative John Morley (Morley’s Morning Drive interview this week is a great listen).
- Larry Hart (Orange Senate District): Resigned in October 2025 for personal reasons. He was replaced by John Benson.
- Jim Harrison (Rutland-11 House District): Resigned in early January 2026 to begin his “next chapter” after years of service. He was replaced by Val Taylor.
- Casey Toof (Franklin-8 House District): Resigned in January 2026 after being hired as the City Manager of St. Albans. He was replaced by Jack Brigham.
- Topper McFaun (Washington-Orange District): Topper needed to retire in early March for family obligations. This week, the Governor appointed former Rutland Senator David Soucy, who now resides in Barre Town, where he serves on the select board, to fill the vacant seat.
- Bob Hooper (Chittenden-18 House District): Resigned in March 2026 following an Ethics Panel finding regarding violations of sexual harassment rules. His seat remains vacant pending an appointment from the Governor.
- Chris Taylor (Chittenden-2 House District): Resigned in late March 2026 to focus on his role as the Milton Town Manager. He was replaced by Kumulia Long.
Between the lines: These decisions have election implications, allowing the Governor to make strategic moves with whom he appoints.
Senate Races Already Crowded: The Senate has already attracted some high-profile contests, and a leadership shake-up will change the character of the upper chamber.
Pro Tem Retiring Speculation is still swirling over who the next Pro Tem will be; however, this may be premature, as there will be Senate election contests that determine who among peers will be voting in that election.
- What to look for: who is helping colleagues during the election cycle? Notably, the Senate Dems lost their campaign organizer, who will be working for two Senate non-incumbent candidates. Whomever from the Senate takes up the mantle of supporting their colleagues during the election season will likely lead their colleagues in the following session.
Senate Contest: While we can’t share everything we know, here is a roundup of where things stand.
- Addison District: Incumbents Ruth Hardy (D) and Steven Heffernan (R) are expected to seek re-election. Hannah Sessions (D) has declared her candidacy, and a republican is expected to join the race shortly.
- Chittenden-Central: Incumbents Martine Gulick (D) and Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D) have signaled they are running with the notable retirement announcement of Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth. Even before that announcement, multiple candidates were looking to run for the seat, with challengers Nikhil Goyal (D) and Elaine Haney (D) announcing, and more expected.
- Chittenden-Southeast: The incumbent trio of Thomas Chittenden (D), Virginia Lyons (D), and Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D) is expected to defend their seats as a slate, with Joanna Grossman (D) and Elizabeth Hunt (D) entering the Democratic primary.
- Franklin County: Incumbents Sen. Randy Brock (R) and Bob Norris (R) haven’t faced a primary or General Election opponent in years. Though not expected to face primary challenges, Alexander Bobella (D), a social worker and St. Albans City resident, is looking to challenge them in the General.
- Orange District: Following Larry Hart’s resignation and the appointment of John Benson (R), Rep. Monique Priestley (D) announced her candidacy to challenge for the seat.
- Rutland District: Incumbents Brian Collamore (R), David Weeks (R), and Terry Williams (R) are expected to run again and face a challenge from David Wolk, who has declared himself an Independent.
- Washington District: The trio of powerful Incumbent chairs, Ann Cummings (D), Andrew Perchlik (D), and Anne Watson (D), is expected to run again and will face a Gabe Lajeunesse of Montpelier, a housing developer and outspoken critic of Act 181.
- Windsor: With the announced retirement of Allison Clarkson (D), incumbents Becca White (D) and Joe Major (D) are already facing a crowded primary, with two candidates familiar with the State House: Rep. Elizabeth Burrows (D) and former Rep. Heather Chase (D). There is at least one, possibly two, additional candidates expected to announce, with another current State Representative rumored to have interest in the seat.
House Highlights & Local Rumors: House races generally don’t receive the early entries that Senate races do; however, there are some notable retirements and rumors that will spark contests this summer and fall. Here is a roundup of some potentially important contests.
- Burlington South End: Rep. Tiff Bluemle’s retirement opens a competitive door in Chittenden-13 Watch for a crowded field alongside incumbent Bram Klepner (not to be confused with Bram K…ranichfeld, who is running for State’s Attorney, as some already have and more inevitably will as they live in the same community).
- Newbury: Rep. Joe Parsons (I) is already defending his seat against Aiden Otterman (D) and Susan Culp (I).
- Fairfax: Rep. Carolyn Branagan is retiring; incumbent Ashley Bartley will run with new teammate Bob Stebbins (R).
- Rumor Mill: Expect contested primaries to emerge in Hinesburg and Charlotte as the filing deadline approaches.
More overlooked elections with outsized consequences;
Auditor: Former Senate Pro Tem, and current Deputy Auditor Tim Ashe, and an unknown political newcomer with a robust social media presence, Nick Graeter, will face off in the Democratic primary.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Contest: Bram Kranichfeld announced his candidacy last week, in a contest with Sarah George, the two-term incumbent.
- Kranichfeld is an ordained Episcopal priest, former Burlington City Councilor, former deputy in the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office, and, most recently, Franklin County State’s Attorney.
- What’s notable and unique about this contest, which came across in Bram’s interview on the Morning Drive, which is worth a listen, is that 1) the two candidates are very similar in their empathetic and modern approach to prosecuting, and 2) they are both serving as State’s Attorneys currently, as despite Bram being a Burlington resident, he has served as the Franklin County State’s Attorney since he was appointed to fill a vacancy in that role.
- Read more about this contest via SevenDays
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, and Week 12
- This week, the Vermont Department of Labor released data on the Vermont economy for the time period covering January 2026. According to household data, the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for January was 2.7 percent. This reflects no change from the prior month’s revised estimate. The civilian labor force participation rate was 63.5 percent in January, a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate.
- On April 6, Governor Scott signed a H.50, a bill that codifies the work of the Governor’s Executive Order on housing aimed at identifying underutilized State buildings and land that could potentially serve as housing. When signing H.50, Governor Scott sent the following letter to the General Assembly.
- Tarrant Center Funding: VTDigger covered this week an under-the-radar budget skirmish in which the University of Vermont and the Governor are asking legislators for $15 million from a statewide student financial aid fund to push the Tarrant Center to completion, a request that House Appropriators opposed. Both supporters and detractors of the plan agree it would mark a shift in the use of the state’s Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund, which helps pay for aid to students at UVM, in the Vermont State Colleges System or attending other schools in-state.