Priority Issues

Education & funding reform

I support changes to our education system that will protect students and taxpayers alike, including:

• comprehensive cost-containment through efficiencies, resource sharing, healthcare cost reduction (e.g., reference-based pricing)

• fairer distribution of funding among districts

• more transparent and predictable funding (foundation formula)

A great deal of work continues in the Legislature to achieve a higher quality, more sustainable education system over the next decade. This difficult work needs to proceed carefully and in partnership with communities and school boards.

• H.955/Act 170, 2026 updates to Act 73
  H.955 JFO Fiscal Note, summary + costs

• H.931/Act 160, includes excess spending threshold

• vteducationreform.com, for summary and local district info

• H.955 Education Transformation Timeline

• Redistricting Task Force - Task Force page, Data page

• Act 73 (2025)

• See the House Education Committee and Ways & Means Committee pages to follow progress during session

• Commission on the Future of Education

• Agency of Education resource:

  • Agency of Education resource guide (27 pages)

Protecting Vermonters, our environment & our future

As data center build-out to fuel artificial intelligence heats up around the country, Vermont must get prepared.

• H.727 would have created a strong regulatory framework ensuring that data-center development benefits Vermont’s ratepayers and grid, while protecting our environment. Governor Scott vetoed H.727; a House override attempt failed on the final day of the session.

We must continue to build a healthy, resilient and more affordable Vermont by:

• reducing emissions from building heating and bringing on more renewables (see Energy page)

• funding on-demand public transit solutions like micro-transit

• expanding electric vehicle and heat pump rebates at time of purchase

• equitably deploying electric vehicle charging infrastructure

• growing our climate and working lands workforce

• protecting biodiversity (vermontconservation.com) and making it easier to develop in downtowns and village centers through Act 250 modernization (Act 181, S.325 updates) and statewide zoning changes (Act 47)

• protecting river corridors and wetlands and improving dams for climate and community resilience (Flood Safety Act, Act 121)

• protecting pollinators with neonic ban (Act 182)

• advancing building codes that promote electrification and net zero construction

• increased capacity of regional planning commissions to assist member towns

More homes and affordable housing

• Funding for affordable housing strategies that optimize existing housing stock, promote streamlined permitting, expand modular construction, support trades workforce

  • S.328 stimulates housing development through financial tools, pilot programs, and planning reforms. Authorizes municipalities to issue revenue bonds backed by special assessments, expand the State Treasurer’s credit facility to support mobile-home infrastructure and off-site modular home construction, broadens VEDA financing authority for certain multi-unit housing developments, and adds new municipal housing-planning requirements.

• New financing tools to support housing

  • Community Health & Infrastructure Program (CHIP) to fund infrastructure in smaller communities

  • C-PACE VT (S.327/Act 128) to fund energy and resilience upgrades to commercial, multifamily and agricultural properties

• Reduce homelessness by creating coordinated system of care (H.938)

Improved health for Vermonters of all ages and incomes

• Expand access to quality primary care

  • Universal primary care study (S.197)

  • reduced pre-authorization burden on primary care providers to reduce wait time, provider burden and costs

• Stabilize health care costs

  • reference-based pricing (Act 68), drug pricing reform (Act 55), multi-state prescription drug program (ArrayRx, H.577)

  • advance hospital sustainability study (Act 167) recommendations

  • invest in social infrastructure for healthy communities

• Improve rural health access

  • Rural Health Transformation Program

• Passed Reproductive Liberty Act to guarantee reproductive freedom

• Supporting families, our youth and seniors

  • Supported Act 76 to address child care crisis, improving affordability and access throughout Vermont

  • Addressed Medicare “cliff” with premium help for low-income Vermonters (vtdigger)

  • Increased food security with new Vermonters Feeding Vermonters grant program that provides food-insecure Vermonters with access to local produce, meat and eggs, while providing a steady market for 300 Vermont farmers; continued funding for Meals on Wheels and universal school meals

  • Passed Vermont’s first data privacy bill (S.71) to start protecting online data and youth safety online (S.69 (Act 65)