Vermont Chamber News

Yield: A Committee of Conference was established to reconcile differences between the House and Senate passed versions of H.949, including average property tax increases, the use of one-time funds for tax buydowns, and excess spending threshold provisions.

Budget: A Committee of Conference met briefly to begin reconciling differences between the House and Senate passed versions of H.951. As discussions continue, maintaining focus on cost-effective workforce and housing programs will be necessary to ensure long-term economic growth.

Tax Conformity: A Committee of Conference was established to reconcile differences between the House and Senate passed versions of H.933. While differences remain, both versions contain important tax conformity updates, such as expansion of the R&D tax credit, reflecting meaningful progress toward strengthening Vermont’s economic competitiveness.

Act 250: The House advanced S.325, continuing land use reform momentum, maintaining 2028 interim exemptions, and repeals of tier 3 and the road rule. The bill now returns to the Senate.

Event Ticketing: The Senate advanced H.512, moving forward a bill aimed at curbing excessive resale prices of event tickets and strengthening consumer protections for venues using online ticketing platforms. The House is now reviewing the changes made in the Senate.

Sister State: The Senate advanced H.674, continuing progress on establishing a process for fostering mutually beneficial relationships between Vermont and other governments. The bill now advances to the Governor’s desk.

Vocational Rehabilitation: The Senate concurred with the House’s changes to S.173, advancing a bill that will maintain vocational rehabilitation program stability while evaluating potential improvements. The bill now advances to the Governor’s desk.

Housing: The House Ways and Means Committee reviewed S.328, considering amendments to codify the rental revolving loan fund into state law and make technical adjustments to the CHIP and TIF programs. These changes would clarify that the programs may be used alongside special assessment bonds, helping improve access to financing tools for housing and development projects.

Unavoidable Use: The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee considered an amendment to S.928 that would add a process for businesses affected by the 2032 phaseout of fluorine-treated containers to seek special exemptions to the ban when no viable market alternative exists. This added flexibility could help businesses continue operations in 2032 where suitable replacements are not yet available.

Healthcare Savings: The House Health Care Committee continued review of S.190, moving closer to directing hospital reimbursement rate reductions toward Qualified Health Plans and teachers rather than distributing savings more broadly across insurance markets. With high healthcare costs affecting employers and employees across all markets, concentrating savings within a limited segment could slow broader affordability relief for the wider commercial market.

Association Health Plans: The Senate Finance Committee continued review of H.585, discussing potential benefits of Association Health Plans as an additional option for businesses seeking to manage rising healthcare costs. While the proposal could improve affordability for employers and employees alike, the bill remains in committee with only one week left in the session.

Telecommunications: The Senate Finance Committee continued review of H.527, considering how best to streamline processes for continued broadband expansion and whether to keep projects out of the Act 250 process for another four years as proposed by the House. Only one week remains to advance this policy.

Noncompete: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee continued review of S.230, considering adding language from H.205 that stalled in the House and would broadly prohibit non-compete agreements with limited exceptions. It is unclear if there is a Vermont specific problem this language addresses that is not currently covered by current law and the judicial system.

Private Equity in Healthcare: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee advanced H.583, adding flexibility but maintaining problematic precedent relating to regulation and reporting requirements for privately owned businesses. The bill now moves to the Senate Floor.

Bottle Bill: The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee continued work on H.915, a proposal that could increase costs for beverage distributors through changes to the state’s beverage container redemption system. Similar proposals have previously been vetoed by the Governor amid concerns over increased costs for consumers, retailers, and distributors.

Water Connections: The House Ways and Means Committee advanced S.212, helping reduce delays and costs associated with permitting and development processes. The bill now moves to the House Floor.

Wetlands: The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules continued review of proposed wetlands rules updates, weighing the balance between environmental protection and reducing barriers to housing development through streamlined permitting timelines and processes. These changes would support development in growth areas, affecting only 0.2% of Vermont, while helping address housing shortages, discouraging sprawl, and preserving wetlands.

• Tax Conformity: The Senate advanced H.933, voting down a floor amendment that would have attached a high-income earner and investments tax proposal and had broad implications for business owners. The bill now returns to the House.
• Data Privacy: The Vermont Chamber testified before the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee on Draft 2.3 of S.71, outlining clear opposition to the current version while reaffirming support for the Senate-passed bill and openness to updates from what Connecticut passed in 2025 during the 14 months since House receipt. This position is reinforced by a sign-on letter from more than 100 Vermont businesses and organizations urging a balanced, regionally consistent approach.
• Act 250: S.325 advanced out of House Environment with significant changes to Act 181, including repealing Tier 3 and the road rule, but shortening interim Act 250 housing exemptions from 2030 to 2028. This new version will also create a joint legislative oversight committee and initiate a Vermont Council on Rural Development–led public engagement process on future land use policy.
• Yield Bill: On a 28-2 vote the Senate advanced H.949 with an average property tax increase of 3.8% using all available onetime funds, compared to the House-passed 7% increase using half those funds. The bill now returns to the House, where a conference committee made up of legislators from both chambers is expected to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
• Budget: On a 23-7 vote the Senate advanced H.951, approving a $9.4 billion budget with additional investments in economic development and housing programs. The bill now returns to the House, where a conference committee made up of legislators from both chambers is expected to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget.
• Health Care Savings: The House Health Care Committee continued review of S.190, debating the pace of hospital reimbursement rate reductions and whether resulting savings should be limited to Qualified Health Plan (QHP) enrollees or distributed broadly across all insurance markets. As health care affordability remains a growing concern, these decisions will be critical in determining whether cost relief reaches the full commercial market.
• Economic Development: The House advanced S.327, maintaining momentum on key workforce priorities and new business support tools, but also maintaining the $5 million reduction in annual allocations to the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive. The bill now returns to the Senate.
• Cannabis: The House Government Operations Committee reviewed S.278, examining the potential impacts of expanding access to cannabis and exploring ways to strengthen the legal retail market. Discussions will continue as the committee works to balance the growth of the industry with appropriate regulatory structures.
• Tax Classifications: The Senate Finance Committee reviewed H.955, focusing on provisions establishing a future third tax classification and clarifying that commercial apartment buildings would fall under the non-second home category.
• Wetlands: The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules began reviewing proposed wetlands rules updates aimed at supporting compact, affordable housing development while aligning with Vermont’s environmental and economic goals. The Vermont Chamber submitted comments in support, and testimony from the Agency of Natural Resources provided data-informed insights driven by the Vermont Competitiveness Dashboard and the Vermont Business Climate Survey.
• Housing: The House General and Housing committee advanced S.328, adding an annual report on the Vermont Housing Improvement Program to track effectiveness over time and retaining key funding mechanisms and programs to support housing production.
• Sister State: The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced H.674, concurring with the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee and the House-passed version of the bill. The bill now moves to the Senate floor.
• Event Ticketing: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee advanced H.512, adding exemptions for independent venues with seating capacities under 3,000 and for nonprofit venues hosting fairs, exhibitions, or community events. These changes provide added flexibility for venues, and the bill now moves to the Senate Floor.
• Water Connections: The House Environment Committee advanced S.212, helping reduce delays and costs associated with permitting and development processes. The bill now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee
• Bottle Bill: The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee continued work on H.915, considering changes to incentives for automated redemption machines, increased handling fees, and modifications to the structure of the proposed producer responsibility organization. If advanced, this bill could increase costs for beverage distributors.
• Non-Compete: The House advanced S.230, returning the bill to the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee where members reviewed changes and signaled interest in replacing employee classification framework with a salary cap that could expand impacts beyond the House-passed version.
• Healthcare Reform: The Senate Finance Committee reviewed but took no action on H.585, a bill that would allow Association Health Plans in 2028 contingent on federal changes, potentially expanding options for businesses facing high costs. With only two weeks remaining of the session and slow progress to date, the bill risks stalling without immediate action.
• Aviation Day: The House and Senate Transportation Committees and the Commerce and Economic Development Committee heard from local airports and aerospace industry leaders about the important impact the aviation industry has on Vermont’s economy, driving innovation, manufacturing, and tourism.
• Net Metering: The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee heard testimony on the state of net metering, focusing on solar affordability and how reforms could shift costs between solar users and ratepayers. While action this session is unlikely, as the Public Utilities Commission continues its rate update process, the issue is expected to return next year.

• Housing: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee reviewed H.775, continuing discussions on the off-site construction pilot program, report timelines, and balancing funding with permitting priorities. It remains uncertain which of the two housing bills advanced this session will move forward as the vehicle to incorporate shared provisions.
• Bottle Bill: The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee reviewed amendments to H.915, establishing a temporary funding mechanism for moving towards a Producer Responsibility Organization and increasing handling fees on beverage distributors The short-term funding is expected to fall short of the costs required for implementation, while higher handling fees could increase operational burdens across the system.
• Act 250: The House Environment Committee began work on amendments to S.325, repealing the road rule and tier 3 from Act 181. The bill will add a study on protecting natural resources and create a new oversight committee to deal with increasingly problematic regulatory processes.
• Education: The Senate Education and Senate Finance Committees began reviewing H.955, addressing both policy and funding components of the bill. With limited cost savings in the House-passed version and three weeks remaining, the bill falls to the Senate to ensure meaningful education finance reform.
• Mileage Based User Fee: Legislative Committees reviewed changes to H.944, the omnibus transportation bill that would advance a phased-in mileage-based user fee beginning at 1.4 cents per mile for electric vehicles in 2027, with potential expansion to most vehicles by 2031. While ensuring sustainable transportation funding is critical, broader discussions around new fees highlight the need to also address underlying statewide spending challenges.
• Vocational Rehabilitation: The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee advanced S.173, which includes additional education for injured employees and a working group to evaluate potential improvements. This approach maintains program stability while laying groundwork for future enhancements. The bill now moves to the House Floor.
• Water Connections: The House Environment Committee continued work on S.212, adding streamlined general permits for subdivision of empty land and boundary adjustments. These changes could help reduce delays and costs associated with permitting processes, making development more efficient.
• Career Technical Education (CTE): The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee advanced S.313, adding additional considerations for student access and transportation. While making few structural changes, the bill queues up alignment with broader reform and moves toward aligning workforce training with industry needs. The bill now moves to the House Education Committee.
• Sister State: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee advanced H.674, concurring with the House-passed bill. The bill now moves to the Senate floor.
• Alcohol: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee advanced H.921, adding a requirement that malt beverage manufacturers maintain records of distribution and sales under expanded self-distribution allowances. The bill now moves to the Senate floor.
• Yield Bill: The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced H.949, allocating $100.9 million in one-time funding for a significant property tax buydown and bringing the average increase to 3.8%. While this approach lowers short-term property tax increases, it relies on anticipated education cost savings that have yet to be realized. The bill now moves to the Senate Floor
• Tax Conformity: The Senate Appropriations advanced H.933, preserving the language used by the Senate Finance Committee to make targeted updates to Vermont’s tax code, including provisions to enhance the state’s research and development environment. The bill now moves to the Senate Floor.
• Budget: The Senate Appropriation and Finance Committees advanced H.951, funding a $9.4 billion budget and investing additional onetime funds in additional economic development programs, including the Rural Industrial Development Program, the Small Business Law and Development Centers, and the first generation homebuyer program. These changes reflect thoughtful investments in programs that align efficient spending with growth opportunities. The bill now moves to the Senate Floor
• Event Ticketing: The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee reviewed a new draft of H.512, clarifying definitions of ticket resellers, and adding a 2028 sunset to the regulation as a check back mechanism to ensure effectiveness.
• Franchise Agreements: The Governor signed into law H.733, a bill requiring businesses filing with the Secretary of State to indicate if the business is operating as a franchisee or franchisor. This new regulation will take effect January 1, 2027.
• Non-compete: The House General and Housing Committee advanced S.230, creating distinctions between exempt and nonexempt employee non-compete contracts and banning non-competes for non-exempt employees starting on July 1^st. The bill now moves to the House Floor