Legislation

During my eight years serving the Addison District in the Vermont Senate, I have worked on hundreds of bills and taken thousands of votes. It’s impossible to cover them all and most legislative work is a team effort, but I’ve created a summary list below highlighting bills & initiatives where I’ve played an active role getting something passed, as a lead sponsor, architect in committee, and/or vocal advocate. 

I have focused on six main areas: education, health care, housing & infrastructure, rights & equal protection, fair taxation, and public safety. Plus, I’ve included a section about constituent services, highlighting how I directly help my constituents and the communities I serve. Below the list, you can find annual summaries of highlights from recent legislative sessions.

Education

• K-12 Education Reform. Delivered bipartisan, consensus K-12 education transformation in 2026 Act 170 that protects rural public schools, supports local decision-making, and implements reforms to lower education costs and reduce property taxes for Vermonters.
• Early Childhood Education. Lead sponsor & chief architect of 2023 Act 76 which expanded access to childcare in Vermont by creating 1,200 more childcare slots & providing assistance to more than 5,000 more children. Act 76, which was supported by education & business leaders across the state, means more kids have access to high quality early education, more parents can work to support their families, and more employers have workers who can fill their jobs. While my opponents and our Republican Governor characterize this crucial support for childcare as just a “tax increase,” the reality is it supports working families who we desperately need in our state and workforce, improving affordability in Vermont.
• Access to College. Introduced legislation & voted to expand eligibility for scholarships so more Vermonters can go to college, especially to pursue jobs in health care, the trades, childcare, education and other crucial fields.
• Public Library Support & Your Right to Read. I am a champion of public libraries! Lead sponsor of three bills – 2022 S.26, 2024 Act 150 & 2026 Act 127 – enacted to promote & support public libraries and protect your right to read the books you want at your local library. This year I was given the Senator Patrick Leahy Library Advocate of the Year Award by the Vermont Library Association.
• Career & Technical Education. Strong advocate for CTE and have worked to expand & better support CTE for all students and more effectively integrate CTE into K-12 education.
• International Relations. Lead sponsor & advocate for legislation creating a Sister State Program to build international friendship and promote educational, cultural, and economic partnerships.

Health Care

• Health Care Cost Reductions. Lead sponsor & advocate for reference-based pricing to reduce the cost of hospital care. Advocate & vote for legislation to reduce the high cost of out-patient prescription drugs administered by hospitals. Supporter of Green Mountain Care Board efforts to reduce hospital & health insurance rates.
• Reproductive Liberty. Champion of reproductive health care & lead sponsor of Legally Protected Health Care legislation, protecting providers & patients seeking abortion care. Strong advocate & vote for the Freedom of Choice Act and Vermont Reproductive Liberty Amendment.
• Substance Use Treatment. Legislative advocate & active member of the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee recommending how to invest funds for harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services, leading to a decline in overdose deaths and increased access to care & services across Vermont.
• Dental Care Access. Lead sponsor of legislation that expanded access to dental care for low-income Vermonters, providing coverage for regular cleanings, x-rays, and preventive care.
• Gender-Affirming Health Care. Lead sponsor & strong advocate of Legally Protected Health Care legislation, protecting providers & patients seeking gender-affirming health care.
• Food Security. Sponsor & advocate for universal school meals, expansion of farm-to-school to incentivize use of local foods, support for local food banks, and protection of SNAP food access program.
• Toxic Chemicals. Worked on & sponsored multiple bills to ban or better regulate harmful chemicals that cause health problems & pollute our environment, including PFAS, paraquat, and neonicotinoids.

Housing & Infrastructure

• Housing Development. Worked on legislation & voted to invest funding in housing development through VT Housing Finance Agency, VT Housing & Conservation Board, and Community Housing Infrastructure Program; reduce regulations to build housing, including duplexes, ADUs, and infill development in downtowns; support programs to improve rental housing like the VT Housing Improvement Program; create supportive housing for seniors, Vermonters with disabilities, and Vermonters in recovery.
• Rural Broadband. Helped structure legislation, 2021 Act 71, to create the VT Broadband Board and local communications union districts, including Maple Broadband in Addison County. Voted to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars to build rural broadband infrastructure throughout Vermont.
• Flood Relief. Oversaw efforts to create & pass 2024 Act 143, legislation to improve state government response to flooding. Voted for Flood Safety Act to improve statewide river management. Fierce advocate for constituents who needed assistance following floods & worked with United Way to establish a response program.
• Farm Security. Lead sponsor of 2026 Act 78 Farm & Forestry Security Fund. Worked with a coalition of farm organizations to develop & shepherd legislation to establish a special fund to assist farmers & loggers recover in the wake of a natural disaster.
• Bottle Bill Reforms. Worked to create comprehensive reforms to Vermont’s historic bottle bill, 2026 Act 158, ensuring financial stability & modernizationfor bottle redemption centers, access to bottle returns for Vermonters, and corporate responsibility for maintaining the system.
• Portable Solar. Helped craft legislation, 2026 Act 149, to create options for affordable, portable solar in Vermont, making renewable energy more accessible to people who are mobile, low-income, or renting.
• Data Centers. Worked to structure comprehensive legislation, H.727, to regulate data centers, protect ratepayers & communities, and preserve natural resources. Unfortunately, Governor Scott vetoed this bill and Republican legislators refused to override his veto.

Rights & Equal Protection

• Equal Rights. Ardent supporter of civil rights for all Vermonters, including LGBTQ Vermonters, immigrants, Vermonters of color, and disabled Vermonters. Co-sponsor & strong advocate for Proposal 4, the Equal Rights Amendment to the Vermont Constitution.
• Voting Rights & Elections. Advocated & voted to expand access to voting through universal mail ballots, make polling places more accessible, protect Vermonters from harassment & misinformation at the polls, make elections more ethical & transparent.
• Protections Against Federal Aggression. Advocate & vote for protections from civil arrest in sensitive locations, including protecting kids in schools. Supported resolutions condemning Federal violence against immigrants and allies.
• Data Privacy & Online Safety. Advocate & worked on legislation to protect your privacy and data online, including Kids Code Act to protect kids on social media.
• Open Meeting Law. Led efforts to update Vermont’s Open Meeting Law following the COVID pandemic, with 2024 Act 133, to ensure appropriate use of technology and protect Vermonters’ access to public meetings.
• Judicial Retention. Served eight years on the Judicial Retention Committee, interviewing & reviewing the records of nearly every judge serving in Vermont to determine if they should be retained as a judge.
• Government Ethics. Worked to pass 2024 Act 171 to expand the Vermont Code of Ethics to provide more transparency and greater oversight of state & local officials.
• Fishing Access. Lead sponsor & champion of legislation to provide free fishing licenses to Vermonters with developmental disabilities.

Fair Taxation 

• Income. Helped craft two tax policy packages in 2022 Act 138 & 2025 Act 71 to provide targeted income tax reductions to Vermont families, seniors, students, veterans, military retirees, and low-income individuals. Includes creation of the VT Child Tax Credit and expansion of social security tax exemptions. 
• Property. Key advocate for expanding the renter credit & property tax credit program for low-income Vermonters under 2026 Act 169. Voted multiple times to buy-down the average education property tax rate, while working on long-term solutions.
• Business & Development. Sponsor of 2022 Act 148 reforms to the corporate tax code to create a fairer system for Vermont-based businesses. Voted for multiple tax credits to support businesses and build housing, including down-payment assistance tax credit, downtown investment tax credit, and research & development tax credit for small businesses. 

Public Safety

• Suicide & Gun Violence Prevention. Advocate & sponsor of common sense legislation to prevent suicide, accidents, and domestic violence with firearms, including red flag laws, waiting periods, and safe storage.
• Bail Reforms. Lead sponsor of 2024 Act 138 bipartisan reforms for bail & conditions of release, enforcement mechanisms for prosecutors & courts, and alternatives to incarceration for defendants awaiting trial.
• Sheriff Oversight & Accountability. Lead sponsor of 2023 Act 30 reforming oversight & operations of sheriffs in Vermont to provide greater accountability & transparency in the wake of multiple scandals across VT, including here in Addison County.
• Addison County Officials. Vocal advocate for accountability & removal of county sheriff and state’s attorney who violated the law & public trust during their terms of office; proposed Constitutional reforms to increase accountability for elected county officials.
• Emergency Dispatch. Initiated efforts to reform emergency dispatch & public safety communications in Vermont, leading to comprehensive analysis and gradual rollout of upgrades & restructuring of system.
• Animal Welfare. Worked to create a new Animal Welfare Division and modernize policies to promote fair treatment & protect domestic pets and animals.