Thank you to this week’s sponsor of our Advocacy Update:

January 31, 2025
This week saw more details, more bills, and some partisan divide under the Golden Dome in Montpelier as the Governor kicked off the legislative week with his budget address and full roll-outs of his wildly anticipated and previously previewed omnibus bills.
Meanwhile, state officials are scrambling to prepare for possible disruptions from Trump administration policies, including trade tariffs and federal budget cuts.
In this week’s update:
- The budget address marks detail-day in the State House
- New education foundation formula proposal delivered
- Governor’s PATH to more housing rolled out
- The Laundry List
But first, catch up quick: if you didn’t read last week’s update,
- The legislature is adjusting and feeling different after six years of supermajority control.
- The Governor had been previewing key omnibus bills on education, housing, and public safety ahead of his January 28th budget address.
- Meanwhile, national politics loom large, with potential federal policy shifts impacting Vermont’s fiscal outlook, healthcare system, and economy.
We strive to make these concise and easy to read. Feedback is not just welcomed, it’s encouraged – [email protected]
Our Legislative Breakfast at BETA Technologies Had Everyone on Cloud Nine
We had a fantastic breakfast at BETA Technologies on Monday as we welcomed over 180 people, including our Lt. Governor, State Treasurer, 20+ elected officials, and LCC members to the futuristic-feeling facility in South Burlington.
LCC members and elected officials got to see firsthand how this employer of 500 Vermonters builds electric aircraft that are the future of aviation right here in our state.
The Next Breakfast is on March 24th
We’ll continue the tour of modern aviation as we go through security at BTV and learn about the cutting-edge work they are doing for Airport Carbon Accreditation and how they are working to address future needs.
Our next breakfast is already booked up! Please email [email protected] to be placed on the waiting list!

Thank you to our breakfast sponsor





The Budget Address Marks Detail-Day in the State House
2-3 minute read
Gov. Scott proposed a $9 billion budget, a 5% increase over last year’s $8.6 billion. True to form, he emphasized affordability, demographic challenges, and education reform while opposing tax increases.
Affordability
- Proposed $77 million to offset a projected 5.9% property tax increase.
- Suggested ending universal school meals to fully cover tax relief, a move facing opposition.
- Introduced a $13.5 million tax reduction package, expanding credits for Social Security recipients, low-income workers, and families with children under six.
- Reiterated his push to eliminate the state income tax on military pensions.
- Suggested revisiting the costs of the Global Warming Solutions Act.
Housing
- $6 million for housing programs to improve vacant rental units and mobile homes.
- $9 million for municipal infrastructure projects.
- $30 million to continue the emergency housing program, but no changes in policy.
- Called for more Act 250 exemptions to spur development.
- Read more in the housing section of this update.
Public Safety
- Pushed to repeal “raise the age” laws, keeping 18- and 19-year-olds in adult courts.
- Proposed tougher laws on repeat offenders but did not allocate funds for new judges or prosecutors.
“Funding Without Fixing:”
- The Governor made a point of a desire to fix problems he saw the state previously just funding.
- Specifically, he pointed out the $30 million in his budget for the motel room program for those experiencing homelessness.
Legislative Response:
- Democratic leaders saw common ground on housing and tax credits; however, they had concerns about healthcare, flood recovery, and emergency housing funding.
- Senate leadership opposed cutting universal school meals but aims to avoid property tax hikes.
New Education Foundation Formula Proposal Delivered by Administration
3-4 minute read
This week, Legislators got a full view of the Governor’s proposed education overhaul, which claims to deliver “a robust education that is generous compared to other state funding models while reducing overall spending by $183.6 million.”
Catch up quick: Here are 11 ways that the Governor’s proposal will change the Vermont education system as covered by VPR.
Foundational knowledge of foundation formulas: In this update, we’re going to focus solely on understanding foundation formulas. Under a foundation formula, the state delivers a block grant to each school at a set price.
- The use of a foundation formula would establish that, at minimum, Vermont schools would need to spend $13,200 per student.
- This is distinctly different from how the funding is generated.
- Currently, Act 127 established student weights, but they are not tied to a base, as is the normal practice in education funding.
- These weights represent additional taxing capacity for the district, not weights that drive dollars to meet student needs directly.

Why it matters: Vermont’s current weighting system means that tax capacity given to a district might not actually result in more dollars spent on student services and instead be used to buy down the tax rate.
Between the lines: Vermont has an incredibly complex funding system to comply with our constitutional requirement for educational equity, however, the funding disparity between districts is among the largest in the country, and our students’ performance is not reflective of the high per-pupil cost we are spending.
What’s next: This is no small proposal, and there will be a lot to unpack in the next few weeks.
- How does it save money?
- One initial piece of skepticism expressed around the State House is how this plan saves money. The administration has responded that savings depend on scaling adjustments to staffing.
- Proposed changes to the funding formula require changes in other areas, including a move to fewer districts, universal school meals, and other policy areas that might be hard to find consensus on.
- Spending beyond the base grant?
- A component not outlined in the presentations this week is how communities can go about spending above what is sent to them by the state.
- This is a particularly important component as it relates to Brigham compliance.
- Brigham Compliant?
- Any change will need to conform to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the state’s constitutional obligation that the zip code of a student does not define their educational opportunity, as found in State v. Brigham.
Governor’s PATH to More Housing Rolled Out
3-5 minute read
The Governor had previewed his housing legislation, however, this week, a joint House and Senate Committee got a walk-through of what is in the 81-page bill, and anyone can watch a webinar on the proposal.
Rewind: In the last biennium, two landmark pieces of legislation were passed, Act 47 (the HOME Act) and Act 181, which were big leaps forward for some areas of the state in land use regulation, however, they faced opposition that a House and Senate overcame with veto-proof majorities.
Fast forward: The Home Act and Act 181 are working, and the Home Act just faced one of the first big tests of its supremacy over local zoning.
- That said, voters want more, and we still have a housing crisis, and regulations are a significant barrier to housing.
The Big Picture: Vermont is building only 25% of the new housing needed annually. Vermont’s new targets show a need for over 41,000 additional homes by 2030 and 172,000 by 2050 to meet demand, ease homelessness, attract workers, fill schools, and encourage population growth.
What’s in the Bill:
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You can also view the slides here.
How the Sausage Gets Made: we’ve provided you with an abridged exchange that perfectly summarizes how housing legislation came to be and how things might be different this year.
- Commissioner: “It also proposes to repeal the road rule, which was implemented last year.”
- Senator 1: “That was a grand bargain […] Why take that on now after we came to a grand bargain on that?”
- Commissioner: “The administration, as you know, vetoed the bill.”
- Representative 1: “It was a grand compromise, but not with landowners…”
- Senator 1: “It was a grand compromise in this building to get that bill passed.”
- Representative 1: “[We] weren’t all here for that…”
- Senator 1: ” ..but we were.”
- Representative 1: “I know, but that’s why I’m here now.“
- Senator 2: “What I’d say on this discussion is I feel like the legislators in the building, a year ago, made the grand bargain, but I don’t know if the voters necessarily supported it. And I feel like the road rule negatively affected a lot of communities out there that spoke at the ballot box. And I did vote for this bill, and I voted to override it because it really helped my district and my constituency. But, I worry that the road rule really hurt a lot of districts out there that want to have this reconsidered. So, I personally support looking at this again.”
- Representative 2: “I wanna echo, you know, it involves a community where I represent and was supportive, but I also support looking at that again.”
- Senator 3: “Well, I’ll just say that the road rule was not unanimously adopted. Even in the Senate committee, there was considerable discussion, and there was, in fact, opposition to it at that time. So, I agree here, too.”
Why it matters: Clearly, some of the political dogma of the past has eroded as the supermajority did, and this legislature will not be shackled by past “grand bargains.”
Have a new year’s resolution?
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- Subscribe to our advocacy newsletter
- Register for our Legislative Breakfast Series
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With this many opportunities, why not make engaging in policy the easiest resolution possible?
The Laundry List
Hundreds of hours of committee discussion each week culminate into our advocacy update, so not everything makes it into the overall update; however, we often cover what is left on the cutting-room floor here for our most dedicated readers.
- Governor Scott is pushing for changes to Vermont’s climate policy, citing affordability concerns. He wants to remove the private right of action under the Global Warming Solutions Act, which allows lawsuits if emissions targets aren’t met—Vermont is already facing such a lawsuit. He also proposes reducing the Climate Council’s authority, shifting it to an advisory role rather than allowing it to mandate regulations. Lastly, he seeks to modify Vermont’s carbon reduction commitments. The Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources noted that legal defense is diverting resources from actual climate work.
- Immigration & ICE: Rights, Obligations, & Support for Businesses: What do the new federal actions mean for your business or non-profit? Does your team know their rights and obligations should ICE come to your place of work? Join an expert panel of Vermont and national leaders to get your questions answered. This webinar is offered as a partnership of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, and the State Treasurer’s Office, Thursday, February 6, 11am – 12:30pm. Register here to receive the link to the webinar and the recording. All are welcome.
Hey! You read the whole update. You probably have some thoughts on the content or how we delivered it. Feel free to reach out with those at [email protected].