2026 Legislative Session
Welcome to my annual summary of highlights from the legislative session. The 2026 Legislative Session came to a close in late-May after passing a balanced state budget and consensus K-12 education reform legislation.
Below I provide links to highlights of the session. I have not covered all of the 78 bills and 5 town charters we passed this session, nor have I detailed most of the provisions of many complex bills, such as the Big Bill – the FY27 State Budget, now Act 144. You can read a summary of legislative highlights from VTDigger, Vermont Public, NBC5, Vermont Edition, and one more from Vermont Public.
You can find links to all of the bills passed by both the House and Senate on the legislative website, along with summaries, testimony, analysis, amendments, and voting information for each bill. You can also find information on the bills vetoed by Governor Scott, including several key bills that would have benefited Vermonters.
Here are some of my highlights:
- Education Reform
- Natural Resources & Agriculture
- Health Care – coming soon
- Housing & Homelessness – coming soon
- Taxation – coming soon
Photo Note: On the last day of the session, with three of my colleagues in the Senate — Martine Gulick, Alison Clarkson, and Wendy Harrison. It was a bittersweet day as we both celebrated the end of the session and bid farewell to my dear friend Senator Alison Clarkson, retiring after more than 20 years in the Vermont Legislature.
Education Reform 2026
Education reform was again a focus of this year’s legislative session. We passed major legislation to move forward with holistic change to our PK-12 education system, and addressed other pressing issues, including immigration protocols in schools, chronic absenteeism & college scholarships.
Natural Resources & Agriculture
We passed bills to update land use planning & regulations, modernize the bottle bill, help farmers after natural disasters, ban toxic chemicals, and more!
