H 224 would establish a new charge on heating fuel purchases to fund energy efficiency programs for thermal energy (like home heating). This charge would directly affect customers who buy heating fuel, with the revenue specifically targeting improvements to home energy efficiency. The bill includes a cap to limit how much the charge can be, ensuring it doesn't exceed a set maximum amount. The Public Utility Commission recommended this approach, and the bill aims to implement it as written.
H 226 proposes hiring a consultant to conduct a study examining how to create a Clean Heat Standard program that would make cleaner heating options cheaper than fossil fuels for Vermont buildings. The study aims to determine practical structures for such a program, focusing on cost comparisons for residential and commercial heating. This bill does not create new regulations but seeks to gather data to inform future policy decisions about heating costs. The study directly affects Vermonters by potentially shaping future energy choices and expenses for heating homes and businesses.
H 221 creates a temporary working group to develop a uniform process for ensuring compliance with court orders requiring individuals to surrender firearms, primarily affecting domestic violence victims and safety systems. The group, composed of officials from law enforcement, courts, domestic violence advocates, and firearm storage entities, will study current challenges and recommend legislative or policy changes by November 2025. It will focus on creating statewide accountability for firearm surrender orders in both family and criminal courts, assessing resource needs for courts and law enforcement, and consulting with existing domestic violence programs. The working group will disband on January 15, 2026, after submitting its recommendations to the legislature.
This bill (H 223) clarifies that using tracking technology without consent to follow someone’s movements - such as via GPS in a vehicle - counts as stalking under Vermont law. It prohibits installing or using tracking devices in vehicles without the operator’s and all occupants’ consent, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, parents monitoring minors, and vehicle dealers. The bill also allows courts to grant abuse survivors temporary vehicle possession for safety and creates a process for survivors to quickly disable an abuser’s access to a vehicle’s connected tracking services, even if the abuser owns the account. It directly affects domestic violence survivors, victims of stalking, and individuals using vehicles in abusive situations.
This bill requires Vermont to conduct a study on how climate change impacts air quality within the state, the resulting health effects on Vermonters, and the associated healthcare costs. It directly affects all Vermont residents by mandating an assessment of climate-related health risks and economic burdens. The key mechanism is a state-funded study to quantify these specific connections - air quality changes, health outcomes, and financial costs - without making new laws or regulations. The study's findings would inform future policy decisions but do not impose immediate requirements on individuals or businesses. (4 sentences)
H.214 establishes Vermont's Safe Harbor Award Program to cover travel, lodging, and meal costs (but not the care itself) for Vermont residents and out-of-state patients receiving reproductive or gender-affirming health care services in Vermont. Funds will be awarded directly to Vermont health care providers or qualifying nonprofit organizations that support these services, with priority given to those serving patients with the greatest financial need or from states with limited access to such care. The program prohibits collecting patient-identifiable data and requires the State Treasurer to manage a dedicated fund using state appropriations, grants, or other public/private sources. The program takes effect upon passage and is currently pending referral to the Health Care Committee.
S 67 would increase Vermont's minimum wage to $18.60 per hour starting January 1, 2026, and adjust it annually based on the lower of a 5% increase or the previous year's consumer price index (CPI). It defines "livable wage" as the hourly rate needed for a full-time worker in shared housing with employer health insurance to cover basic needs, as calculated by Vermont's Joint Fiscal Office. This bill directly affects all Vermont employers who currently pay the state's minimum wage, requiring them to raise wages to meet this new standard. The change takes effect on July 1, 2025, with the first adjusted rate applying in 2026.
H 220 creates the CHINS Statutory Revision Task Force to review Vermont's laws governing children in need of supervision (CHINS). The task force, composed of child welfare experts, judges, attorneys, and advocates, will study specific issues including updating the definition of "reasonable efforts" (33 V.S.A. § 5102(25)), revising § 5102, and considering broader changes to CHINS statutes. It must submit a report with recommendations to legislative committees by November 15, 2025, and will dissolve on February 1, 2026. This bill establishes a review process but does not change current law; it directly affects Vermont's child welfare system and youth under CHINS supervision.
This bill bans all forms of geoengineering in Vermont, including solar radiation modification (like stratospheric aerosol injection), cloud seeding, and other atmospheric experiments that release pollutants. It directly affects anyone conducting such activities - individuals, companies, or government entities - within Vermont's airspace or territory. Key provisions require Vermont State Police or sheriffs to issue immediate cease-and-desist orders for violations and mandate reports of suspected violations to law enforcement. The bill defines prohibited activities broadly to cover interventions using aerosols, chemicals, electromagnetic radiation, or "chaff" (including PFAS-containing materials) that could harm health, environment, or agriculture.
This bill authorizes Vermont's Clean Heat Standard rules, which would require energy providers to gradually increase the use of cleaner heating sources. It directly affects Vermont residents and businesses using fossil fuel heating by imposing a price cap on clean heat credits, ensuring fossil heating costs rise by no more than $0.10 per gallon for the first five years. The key mechanism limits program costs to prevent significant increases in heating bills during the initial implementation phase. The bill aims to support cleaner energy adoption while protecting consumers from steep price jumps. It is currently under review by the Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee.
This bill sets Vermont legislators' pay at the state's median wage, calculated annually by the Department of Labor. It also allows legislators to join state employee health insurance and retirement programs. Additionally, it caps the Governor's salary at 21 times the lowest salary paid to an elected state officer each year. The bill directly affects all members of Vermont's General Assembly and the Governor. It changes how their compensation and benefits are structured, moving away from fixed rates toward state-wide wage benchmarks.
H 197 would establish state-funded peer support positions across Vermont, staffed by individuals with lived experience of homelessness to directly assist unhoused residents in securing stable housing. The bill creates a formal program where peer supporters - trained and compensated by the state - would provide practical guidance on housing resources, navigate bureaucratic systems, and offer empathetic support to people facing homelessness. This approach leverages personal experience to improve housing outcomes, targeting unhoused Vermonters who need assistance transitioning to stable housing. The initiative is structured under the state's human services framework and is currently under review by the Committee on Human Services.
