The House and Senate are both taking up bills that have been sent to their respective committees, reading reports, taking field trips, and learning about their jurisdictions.There are many new legislators and so much to learn in order to be effective. Which is great for those of us who are also likewise just catching up. 

New to the corps of folks helping to make the statehouse more transparent and accessible are Jacqueline Posley, whose project Policy for the People, spotlights bills that are of interest to BIPOC Vermonters and/or that propose to make Vermont a more equitable place for all. Her blog is translated into five languages. Also new this year is Tom Evslin, whose project Golden Dome VT transcribes committee meetings and posts them to his website. 

Both efforts, like this one, are micro operations, and use AI for some aspects of their work: Posley for translation, and Evslin for transcription. We likewise may utilize AI for some aspects of our work and will disclose them when we do. 

Policy for the People

H. 16, which repeals the Affordable Heat Act, will be introduced to House Energy on Tuesday, along with a slew of other related bills.  

H. 91, which replaces the General Assistance Emergency Housing Program with an Emergency Temporary Shelter program will be discussed at length in House Human Services.

S. 9, which allows emergency relief orders for sexual assault victims after court hours, will be discussed in Senate Judiciary on Tuesday.

That committee will also take witness testimony for S. 12, to simplify sealing of criminal records and expungement. It will be a large part of their work this week. 

H. 32, which requires opioid treatment services for inmates, will be discussed in House Corrections on Tuesday. 

S. 2, which establishes the Office of Health Equity, will get a first discussion in Senate Gov Ops on Thursday. 

S. 36, which provides Medicaid-like benefits for Vermonter in longterm care facilities, will close out the week for Senate Health and Welfare on Friday. 

Lastly, broadband affordability, H. 121,  is smushed in with a bunch of other bills being introduced to House Energy on Tuesday. 

Other focus areas

Some committees are digging in and focusing in depth on certain bills. Here are a few to watch.

• House Corrections and Institutions is focusing on aspects of the Governor’s proposed Capital Budget FY26.
• House Human Services will be spending a lot of time discussing Medicaid rates for certain service providers and agencies via H. 13.
• Senate Natural Resources will discuss establishing a Chloride Contamination Reduction Program in S. 29 to address water quality. 

Additionally, various committees will be looking at the Governor’s proposed budget. The movement around the education reform is too complicated for a bullet list, so please use the schedule to find discussions around funding best practices, talks of consolidation, and to hear from related organizations like VSAC and the state colleges. 

Most committees will have hybrid meetings, where an in-person meeting will also be livecast on a YouTube stream. We hope this information has been helpful. Please feel free to be in touch with suggestions, errors or omissions. 

— PL, Feb 2, 2025

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