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Issue Updates from the State House | Week of January 20, 2026

January 23, 2026

Issue Updates from the State House

Week of January 20, 2026

A weekly snapshot of key legislative activity impacting Vermont’s business community.

Workforce Strategy: The House Commerce and Economic Development committee heard testimony from the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development on efforts to support business expansion, increase retention of college graduates, and grow Vermont’s workforce throughout sectors struggling to recruit. Building upon this work remains critical to addressing improving affordability and ensuring that employers have the workforce needed to remain competitive.

Housing Development: The Vermont Chamber testified before the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs committee, advocating practical housing policies that reduce regulatory burdens and streamline development. Ensuring the legislature continues its focus on tackling Vermont’s housing shortage remains critical to supporting workforce recruitment, business growth, and long-term economic competitiveness

Drifting Priorities: The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee introduced nine new bills this week, many centered on data privacy regulations. As businesses face mounting challenges, it is critical that the committees prioritize proposals that aim to grow economic development and workforce opportunities to support Vermont’s long-term affordability and competitiveness.

Bottle Bill: The House Environment Committee reviewed a bill that would rewrite the state’s beverage container redemption law, setting aspirational targets for redemption rates. The bill also includes potential increased fees for manufacturers to support the expanded system.

Workforce Training: The Senate Education Committee heard testimony from the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation on workforce training programs available to support employee development. These programs offer businesses valuable tools to upskill existing workers or hire job-ready talent.

Flexible Working Arrangements: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs committee reviewed S.230, a bill that would require employers to grant employee requests for flexible working arrangements, shifting the onus to businesses to prove these arrangements would not work.

Career Technical Education (CTE): The House Commerce and Economic Development, House Education, and Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs committees heard testimony on the Administration’s proposal to consolidate CTE leadership under the Agency of Education. The practicality and effectiveness of shifting oversight of this vital system to an agency already burdened by broader education reform efforts will need significant analysis if this proposal moves forward.

Miscellaneous Tax Policy: The House Ways and Means Committee reviewed a miscellaneous tax bill that would make technical changes to the Vermont tax code, including repealing the denial of other state tax credits(OSCR) for S Corporations, aligning them with other passthrough entities. This small shift could simplify tax procedures and make Vermont more hospitable to S Corporations.

Education: The Senate Finance Committee reviewed education reform and funding discussions, hearing a report from the school redistricting task force, which fell short of making required recommendations on district consolidation. With a projected average 12 percent property tax increase looming, debates continue over potential one-time buy-downs. Difficult decisions must be made to rein in education spending and to improve system efficiency.

Energy Code: The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee reviewed H.718, a bill that would push enforcement of existing residential and commercial building energy codes, require new disclosures and training for contractors, and allow municipalities to enforce energy codes alongside the state. If advanced, this bill could add regulatory layers and administrative complexity, a move that directly conflicts with the urgent housing crisis.

Purchase and Use Tax: Following the Governor’s call for a gradual restoration of purchase and use tax revenue to the Transportation Fund, the House Ways and Means Committee briefly introduced H.643, a bill to fully restore that revenue immediately. This move would allow Vermont to continue to meet federal match requirements and maintain $163 million in funding. Urgent action remains essential to ensure the stability and long-term maintenance of the state’s road infrastructure.

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Projects (C-PACE): The Senate Natural Resources Committee continued testimony on S.138, a bill proposing to expand the PACE program to include commercial and industrial buildings. The expansion would allow business owners to finance energy improvements and repay the cost over time through a special assessment on its property tax bill.

Wastewater: The Senate Natural Resources committee reviewed S.212, a bill aimed at streamlining the wastewater connections permitting process and enhancing coordination between municipal and state-level permitting systems. This measure would help reduce timelines and increase the efficiency of new development projects.

Corporate Tax: The House Ways and Means committee continued testimony on impacts of selective decoupling from federal tax code changes, which would raise the cost of innovation, increase tax code complexity, and penalize firms investing in productivity and higher-wage jobs. In a state with a shrinking workforce, productivity-led growth is essential, especially as Vermont already ranks near the bottom nationally in business formation, investment momentum, and economic growth.

January 23, 2026

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Issue Updates from the State House | Week of January 13, 2026

January 16, 2026January 16, 2026

Issue Updates from the State House

Week of January 13, 2026

A weekly snapshot of key legislative activity impacting Vermont’s business community.

Land Use: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs committee reviewed updates to Act 250 regulations through Act 181. The Vermont Chamber is asking for specific technical corrections to Act 181 to achieve the legislative goal incentivizing critical housing creation in smart growth areas while also protecting critical natural resources in areas of statewide significance.
Housing: The House General and Housing committee continued to take testimony on what is working, and what is still needed to address Vermont’s housing crisis. With the robust input received, the committee is expected to start working on housing specific legislation in the coming weeks.
Employment Options for Newly Released People: The House Commerce and Economic Development and House Corrections and Institutions Committees heard testimony on vocational, training, and educational programs for individuals reentering the workforce after incarceration. These programs play a critical role in boosting workforce participation.
Tax Classifications: The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on the Property Tax Classifications Implementation Report, outlining the extensive resources needed to add a third classification targeting second homes by 2028. Many challenges need to be addressed before implementation, including unfunded town mandates, creation of dwelling use attestation forms for properties with over 4 dwelling units, and employee housing.
Mileage-Based User Fees: As Vermont prepares to transition from a flat annual EV fee to a per-mile EV charge in 2027, the Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony on implementation strategies.
Data Brokers: The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee has begun testimony on H.211, a data broker bill that, as amended, dramatically expands the definition of “data broker” and changes standing definitions. The existing data broker law was the result of hundreds of hours of stakeholder and lawmaker collaboration to carefully construct definitions that will not have unintended consequences. The draft throws out that work. The Vermont Chamber will be watching this bill to ensure necessary due diligence is done.
Education Spending: The Senate Finance Committee reviewed S.220, a bill that would cap education spending growth in 2028 and 2029 to help limit property tax increases. The proposal has faced strong opposition from education stakeholders, and from some members in committee. However, addressing Vermont’s affordability crisis will require confronting the unsustainable growth in education spending, and spending caps are increasingly viewed as a necessary if difficult step toward greater fiscal discipline and predictability for taxpayers.
Vermont Employment Growth Initiative (VEGI): The Senate Finance committee reviewed S.225, a bill that would repeal the sunset of the VEGI program. Making the program permanent would ensure continued access to this key economic development tool for business expansion and job creation.
Mediation Services: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee reviewed S.173, a bill that would create a new state position offering mediation services to both public and private sector businesses and their employees’ collective bargaining units.
Advance Vermont: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs committee heard testimony from AdvanceVT on MyFutureVT, a program offering free online resources to support education and career advancement. Businesses are encouraged to use this tool to support employee retention and skills development efforts.
Permit Modernization: The House Environment committee heard testimony on modernizing Vermont’s housing permitting system, focusing on increasing cross-agency coordination, data entry, and consolidation of permit processes to a single point of entry using shared data. With development of a pilot program underway, agencies hope to reduce time and cost associated with building housing units.
Telecommunications: The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee heard testimony on H.527, a bill that extends the sunset on the Public Utilities Commission’s authority to approve telecommunications projects, keeping applications outside of the lengthy ACT 250 approval process. Preserving this authority ensures continued expedited procedures for broadband expansion and rural infrastructure investments.
Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Projects (C-PACE): The Vermont Chamber testified before the Senate Natural Resources Committee on S.138, a bill proposing to expand the PACE program to include commercial and industrial buildings. The expansion would allow business owners to finance energy improvements and repay the cost over time through a special assessment on their property tax bill.
Hospital Budgets: The House Health Care Committee received updates on last year’s legislation aimed at reducing hospital budgets and implementing a reference-based pricing model by 2028 in efforts to lower insurance rate increases and improve healthcare costs for Vermont ratepayers.
Revenue Forecast: The Vermont Emergency Board, House and Senate Appropriations, House Ways and Means, and Senate Finance committees reviewed an update to the state revenue forecast indicating revenue will be on par with previous estimates. Corporate income tax is expected to come in behind estimates, underscoring the need for stable and predictable policies to reduce further strain on the business community.

January 16, 2026

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Issue Updates from the State House | Week of January 6, 2026

January 12, 2026January 9, 2026

Issue Updates from the State House

Week of January 6, 2026

A weekly snapshot of key legislative activity impacting Vermont’s business community.

Groundwater: The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved a rule change tightening groundwater enforcement standards for certain PFAS chemicals. The new rules exclude wastewater, stormwater, and sewage, but stricter standards could affect businesses with indirect discharge permits or other PFAS-related discharges.
Electricity Storage: The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules approved a new rule establishing guidelines for energy storage.
Budget Adjustment Act: Legislators heard testimony as part of the annual Budget Adjustment Act process, an annual mid-year adjustment to the current budget. In a letter to House and Senate Appropriations committees, the Governor emphasized preserving as much of the $75 million surplus as possible to help offset a projected 12 percent property tax increase in the upcoming budget cycle.
Noncompete: The House Commerce and Economic Development committee reviewed findings from the Non-Compete Agreements Study Committee, which concluded that non-compete agreements are appropriate for high-wage employees with access to proprietary information. The Vermont Chamber will work to ensure any legislation preserves employers’ ability to protect sensitive business information.
Franchisors: The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee heard testimony on potential regulation of franchisors. Vermont lacks data on the number and structure of franchises operating in the state, making it difficult to assess the scope or justify a new regulatory program.
Event Ticket Marketing: The House Commerce and Economic Development committee resumed testimony on H.512, a bill aimed at reining in the marked-up resale of event tickets. The Vermont Chamber will continue to closely monitor this issue as the bill develops.
Rural Health Care: The House Health Care Committee heard testimony on the federal Rural Health Transformation Program grant, which will provide Vermont with $195 million annually for the next five years. The funding will support rural hospital improvements, bolster the rural health workforce, and modernize rural health systems.
Convention Center Task Force: The House Commerce and Economic Development and Senate Economic Development Housing, and General Affairs committees reviewed the Convention Center Task Force report, which identified Burlington as the most feasible location for a convention center after input from industry stakeholders. Securing a viable funding model remains a significant challenge.
Transportation Fund: The House Ways and Means and House Transportation Committees heard testimony on growing shortfalls in the Transportation Fund. Without increased funding, Vermont risks losing federal match dollars, and over 50 percent of state-maintained roads are projected to fall into poor or worse condition within the next five years.
Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP): The House Commerce and Economic Development and House General and Housing Committees heard testimony on the rollout of the Community and Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP), established last session. The program allows municipalities and qualified sponsors to invest in infrastructure that supports housing development, with applications set to open at the end of the month.

January 9, 2026

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State of the State

January 9, 2026

State of the State

Governor Phil Scott’s State of the State on January 7 focused on education and Vermont’s affordability challenge, highlighting a growing disconnect between rising costs and student outcomes. With one-time federal funds exhausted and federal uncertainty looming, the Governor emphasized fiscal discipline, accountability, and implementation, particularly in education, as essential to restoring affordability and predictability. The message was clear: Vermont can no longer sustain rising costs without corresponding improvements in outcomes.

As the Vermont Chamber has shared with members and communities statewide, the Vermont Chamber supports policy that leads to strategic growth of people and places. As the state’s largest business advocacy organization, we focus on turning planning into policy and policy into progress. Through the Vermont Economic Action Plan and a data-informed, member-driven legislative agenda, the Chamber continues to advance affordability, opportunity, and long-term economic resilience.

Rising public costs, especially in education, show up in immediate and tangible ways for businesses. Higher property taxes, constrained housing supply, intensified workforce pressures, and increased difficulty planning for the future are now common challenges. The Governor’s call to complete education transformation aligns directly with the Chamber’s first legislative priority, Economic Abundance Through Fiscal Stewardship, recognizing that bending the cost curve frees up resources for housing, infrastructure, and tax relief.

The State of the State made clear that achieving those outcomes will not be easy or smooth. The Governor underscored that completing Act 73, last year’s education reform law, requires meaningful structural change, including district mapping and governance reform. He emphasized that the current system was built for a Vermont that no longer exists and signaled a willingness to use veto authority if reforms stall.

House Democratic leadership, speaking at a press conference, reinforced a shared focus on affordability, housing, health care, and public education, while signaling a more cautious approach to implementation. Speakers emphasized transparency, data review, and continued engagement with Vermonters, noting that many details remain under consideration as the session begins.

Legislative leaders, while reaffirming support for Act 73 and education quality, offered responses that suggested less alignment on timelines and tools. Questions around district mapping, spending thresholds, and property tax relief highlighted early tension with the Administration’s insistence that maps be treated as an essential next step, rather than a longer-term consideration.

While there is broad agreement that change is required, success this session will depend on moving beyond shared diagnosis to shared execution. Education costs ripple through property taxes, housing affordability, workforce availability, and long-term competitiveness, underscoring the Chamber’s priorities around workforce and housing alignment and industry competitiveness.

January 9, 2026

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Housing at the Top of the Agenda: What’s Working and What’s Next

January 9, 2026

Housing at the Top of the Agenda: What’s Working and What’s Next

In the first week of the session, the House Committee on General and Housing came out of the gate with a sharp focus. The housing crisis is real, state dollars are limited, and lawmakers are seeking clear answers on what is working, what is not, and what comes next. The Vermont Chamber of Commerce testified with firsthand insights from businesses, builders, and communities struggling with housing shortages that directly affect workforce recruitment and retention. Other organizations reinforced these themes, pointing to both effective tools and persistent barriers.

Several state housing programs are demonstrating real results. The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) in particular is accelerating unit creation while also bringing new builders into the market, including small, local, and first-time developers who are critical to expanding housing production statewide. Programs such as VHIP, the Middle-Income Homeownership Development Program, and the Rental Revolving Loan Fund are stretching limited funding and lowering per-unit costs, outcomes that are especially important as resources tighten.

Testimony also made clear that regulatory and implementation challenges are limiting the full potential of these investments. Issues with the rollout of Act 181 and HOME act, persistent challenges with exclusionary zoning as well as restrictive deed covenants and bylaws, and increasing regulatory gatekeeping are adding cost, delay, and uncertainty to projects. These hurdles reduce the return on public investment and make it harder for developers to move housing projects forward.

These concerns mirror what Vermont employers are reporting. The 2025 Vermont Business Climate Survey found that housing availability and affordability remain among the top barriers to hiring and business growth, with many employers linking workforce shortages directly to housing constraints. The Chamber’s testimony reinforced that without addressing regulatory and implementation barriers, even strong programs will struggle to deliver housing at the scale Vermont needs.

Housing is economic infrastructure and central to Vermont’s long-term growth. The Vermont Economic Action Plan identifies housing production as a foundational strategy for supporting workforce growth, affordability, and economic resilience. The Vermont Chamber will continue working with lawmakers to protect and scale what is working, improve implementation where it is falling short, and ensure state policy supports the housing supply Vermont’s businesses, workers, and communities depend on.

January 9, 2026

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Choosing Progress: Vermont Chamber’s 2026 Legislative Priorities

December 12, 2025

Choosing Progress: A Unified Path Toward Affordability and Economic Resilience

Vermont can no longer admire the problem. It must act, guided by data, employers, and long-term planning.

Each year, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce sets legislative priorities grounded in one core objective: advancing the Vermont economy. As we enter the 2026 session, Vermont stands at a defining moment. Affordability pressures, demographic decline, and rising operating costs are converging just as our state needs more workers, more housing, and greater predictability to sustain economic growth.

Our work toward long-range strategy began with the Vermont Economic Action Plan, a statewide blueprint shaped by more than 5,000 Vermonters. The plan established a clear vision for a stronger and more affordable future, grounded in data, pairing community insight and measurable targets. It also signaled a pivotal shift in how Vermont approaches economic decision-making. Instead of reacting to problems as they arise, we now have a long-term framework that can guide policy choices and align efforts across the public and private sectors.

This alignment is urgently needed. The Vermont Futures Project’s Competitiveness Dashboard shows Vermont trailing most states in economic outlook, cost competitiveness, and regulatory efficiency. Vermont ranks 49th in Economic Outlook and continues to struggle with slow economic growth, high costs of doing business, and a demographic profile that strains employers and public systems. Results from this year’s Business Climate Survey reinforce this landscape. Employers identified taxes, regulation, labor shortages, healthcare costs, and housing challenges as the most significant barriers to growth.

Many employers voiced concern that the state’s policy direction is disconnected from Vermont’s economic reality, and that they do not feel heard in Montpelier. Business leaders shared examples of policy decisions advancing without a clear understanding of operational impacts. This sentiment reflects a growing disconnect at the same moment Vermont needs alignment around affordability, stability, and long-term economic strategy. It also underscores the essential role the Vermont Chamber plays in bringing employer perspectives to the policy and regulatory tables and ensuring economic policy aligns with economic reality. Addressing Vermont’s challenges requires a sustained commitment to coordinated, data-informed action.

How confident or concerned are you about Vermont’s elected officials understanding of the economic pressures facing businesses?
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While there is difficult work ahead, progress was made last year on housing infrastructure, workforce programming, and slowing the growth of healthcare costs. While these advances were important, they are not enough on their own. Vermont must shift from episodic decision-making to a consistent, long-range economic strategy. The Economic Action Plan provides that roadmap. Paired with disciplined and transparent leadership, it offers a path toward measurable improvements for both families and employers.

Our 2026 legislative agenda reflects this approach and focuses on four core areas aligned with statewide priorities and employer needs:

Economic Abundance Through Fiscal Stewardship
Vermont must adopt predictable fiscal practices that control cost growth and strengthen affordability for families and employers. With state spending up more than three billion dollars in five years, the need for disciplined decision making is clear.

Regulatory Modernization and Predictability
A modernized regulatory system must support timely housing and economic development. Streamlined permitting and clearer rules will reduce costs, shorten timelines, and restore Vermont’s competitiveness.

Workforce and Housing Alignment
Employers report that workforce pressures and housing shortages remain among their highest concerns. Strengthening recruitment and retention requires connecting training strategies, talent attraction, and coordinated housing solutions.

Industry Competitiveness
Manufacturing, tourism, healthcare, technology, and small businesses all face rising pressures. Strategic investments in infrastructure, innovation, and cost containment will strengthen these key sectors.

As we begin the 2026 session, Vermont faces a choice. We need to shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. The path forward requires courage, collaboration, and a commitment to measurable progress. Employers are ready to be partners in this work. Policymakers must be equally ready to align decisions with long-term strategy and economic reality.

Vermont’s future is not predetermined. It is shaped by the choices we make together. The Vermont Chamber stands ready to partner in this work and ensure our state’s economic story continues toward resilience, prosperity, and opportunity for all.

December 12, 2025

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Turning Point for Vermont Housing: Why Funding Alone Isn’t Enough

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025

Turning Point for Vermont Housing: Why Funding Alone Isn’t Enough

The House Committee on General and Housing and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs convened this week for an out-of-session hearing to assess how federal housing cuts affecting Vermont families and communities. The impacts are both immediate and long term, affecting families who rely on rental subsidies today and limiting the state’s ability to finance new housing through federal tax dollars and credits in the years ahead.

Testimony from the Vermont State Housing Authority made clear that federally funded voucher programs are stretched to their limit. For the first time, the payment assistance fund for housing authorities no longer has any reserves, and by January, public housing authorities may be unable to make voucher payments for hundreds of households. Representatives from Vermont’s federal delegation also highlighted steep reductions to Community Development Block Grants, stalled HUD programs due to the federal shutdown, and growing uncertainty in critical housing initiatives.

The loss of federal funding is felt especially hard in Vermont, where construction is already among the most difficult and expensive in the nation. The extremely state’s extremely limited supply of affordable and available housing leaves a growing number of Vermonters dependent on subsidies simply to live in their own communities. Overlapping regulations, complex program requirements, and slow permitting processes continue to make drive up costs and create uncertainty for developers. While these systems sustain a network of programs and agencies, they too often divert energy away from what matters most: building homes that all Vermonters can afford.

The Vermont Chamber has long maintained that while funding is essential, Vermont cannot spend its way out of the housing crisis. Real progress depends on policy changes that simplify systems, reduce costs, and prioritize housing over bureaucracy. To truly put housing first, Vermont must make it faster and less expensive to build across income levels and for all types of developers, not just large nonprofit entities.

Looking ahead to the 2026 session, lawmakers discussed a slate of housing priorities that will shape Vermont’s path forward. Central to that effort will be continued permit and appeals reform, along with cleanup from the 2024 Act 250 bill, which are critical steps toward lowering costs and shortening development timelines. Additional areas of focus include landlord-tenant and short-term rental reform, streamlining tax sales for abandoned properties, expanding off-site construction, and strengthening programs such as the Vermont Rental Housing Investment Program (VHIP) and the Community Housing Investment Program (CHIP).

Lawmakers also raised the idea of creating a new permanent tax to fund affordable housing, but with Vermonters and businesses already stretched to the affordability brink, it remains unclear where such funding would come from. Senator Randy Brock closed the hearing by urging committees to reduce the time it takes to build, improve accountability in program operations, and create a lean, efficient approach that prioritizes building housing over building bureaucracy.

The Vermont Chamber will continue to advocate for reforms that lower costs, accelerate development, and ensure every public and private dollar invested translates into more homes for Vermonters.

November 7, 2025

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Groundwork for Progress: Chamber Retreat Aligns Industry Insight with Advocacy

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025

Groundwork for Progress: Chamber Retreat Aligns Industry Insight with Advocacy

On October 7th, the Vermont Chamber convened legislators and business leaders from across the state for a full-day policy retreat focused on strengthening two of Vermont’s cornerstone industries: manufacturing and tourism. The event focused on aligning state tools, programs, and regulations to better support and grow these sectors, both of which are vital to Vermont’s long-term economic vitality and competitiveness.

With a tight state budget and continued uncertainty around federal funding, a solutions-focused discussion emerged on how to better leverage existing programs, streamline administrative and regulatory processes, remove outdated barriers to growth, and develop a skilled workforce. Participants emphasized the importance of increased collaboration and practical reform as essential to maintaining competitiveness and fostering innovation across industries.

The connections forged during these retreats will guide cooperative, results-driven reforms that strengthen Vermont’s economy while protecting affordability for employers. The insights gained from these conversations will also help inform the Vermont Chamber’s advocacy work in the upcoming legislative session.

Vermont’s fiscal challenges require progress through smart reform and efficiency, not through added costs for families and employers. To move forward, the state must maximize the impact of existing resources, reduce redundancies and roadblocks, and lean into efficiency, maximizing the impact of existing resources, reducing redundancies and roadblocks, and foster growth through strategic investment and meaningful reform.

November 7, 2025

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Transportation Fund in Disrepair

September 25, 2025

Transportation Fund in Disrepair

Last week, the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee met to confront sobering projections for Vermont’s Transportation Fund and a recission plan for current reduced FY26 estimates. The fund is facing a widening deficit that may require cuts to core programs and critical maintenance, with consequences for road quality, safety, and the economy.

According to the Joint Fiscal Office, transportation revenues are projected to grow at just 1.6% in FY26, well below the projected rate of inflation. Structural challenges drive this stagnation: fuel taxes are tied to consumption, and greater vehicle efficiency and electric vehicle adoption exacerbate this decline in revenue. Tariffs on steel and other construction materials are also inflating costs, and a projected $33.4 million shortfall by FY27 for federal matches could put an additional $163 million in federal dollars at risk.

On the current trajectory, the state could see 60% of roads in poor or very poor condition by the end of the decade. Paving, which is the most reactive to swings in funding, already fell to a historic low of 135 miles in FY25, far short of the 300 needed yearly to maintain system health and the 243 miles per year average for the past five years.

This issue affects far more than just drivers. Poor road conditions hurt Vermont’s visitor economy and increase costs for manufacturers dependent on reliable shipping.

The Transportation Fund challenge is a stark example of the reality every agency will face in the near term if Vermont does not change its long-term projections. With resources tightening and Vermonters already struggling with affordability, higher taxes are not a viable solution. Instead of cycling between program cuts and tax increases, Vermont can pursue a more sustainable path: growing opportunity and revenue through economic vitality. The Vermont Futures Project’s Economic Action Plan provides a roadmap to expand the economy, strengthen the workforce, and ensure long-term sustainability.

September 25, 2025

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Governor Scott Streamlines Housing Regulations

September 25, 2025September 25, 2025

Governor Scott Streamlines Housing Regulations

Governor Scott issued an Executive Order last week taking meaningful steps to address Vermont’s housing shortage by targeting regulatory and permitting challenges slowing development and driving up costs.

The Governor’s Order will:

Allow builders to comply with 2020 or 2024 Residential Building Energy Standards.
Halve discretionary permit review timelines for qualifying housing projects.
Grant priority to residential, multi-family, mobile home, and shelter projects in the permitting process
Grant automatic permit approval if agencies miss statutory or regulatory deadlines.
Allow developers to pursue concurrent permitting across state agencies.
Defer permit fee payments and reduce fees applicable to affordable housing units.
Pre-map Class II wetlands in growth areas and reduce associated buffer zones.
Assign teams to coordinate review of multi-family and mixed-use housing projects.
Establish an inventory of underutilized state-owned land for housing development.
Extend the Brownfield Economic Revitalization Alliance program to support housing redevelopment.

It will now be incumbent upon the agencies historically charged with regulating these processes to implement the Governor’s directives with consistency, transparency, and a commitment to meaningful progress. While legislative action remains essential, this Executive Order reinforces a message the Vermont Chamber has long championed: Vermont cannot address its housing crisis without thoughtful regulatory reform at all levels of government. Permitting delays, inconsistent timelines, and an unpredictable process constrain housing creation, limiting Vermont’s ability to meet workforce housing needs. Allowing developers to deliver projects more predictably without sacrificing environmental or safety protections will make building housing easier, faster, and more affordable.

As Vermont businesses continue to face workforce shortages and recruitment difficulties driven by limited housing availability, the Vermont Chamber remains focused on advancing policy and regulatory changes that remove barriers and accelerate smart, community-centered housing development.

September 25, 2025

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