Lawmakers Hear Budget, Tax and Mandate Proposals in Multiple Committee Sessions
Several legislative committees on Thursday, Feb. 12, heard proposals affecting taxes, spending, mandates and regulatory authority across public safety, education, housing, environment and energy policy.
Ways & Means (House) — 13:15
Members of the House Ways & Means Committee received testimony and fiscal briefings on multiple revenue and appropriation items and heard public testimony on H.418.
Witnesses outlined the status of the pilot fund, reporting a FY25 ending surplus of $15,000,000 and describing one‑time appropriations expected to be spent down over several years. Staff described recurring obligations drawn from the pilot fund, a one‑time $1,000,000 appropriation for a Municipal Grant List Stabilization Program, and a telecom valuation project that carries a $150,000 request for FY26 with an expected charge of roughly $150,000 in that year. Committee staff noted a $1,150,000 line for town highway non‑federal disasters carried annually and shifted to the pilot fund for FY26 on a one‑year basis.
Committee briefers described a proposed $114,900,000 transfer from the general fund to the education fund made up of two components: $10,000,000 reflecting a governor proposal to move general fund to the education fund to cover the cost of reducing purchase and use tax transfers, and $104,900,000 intended to buy down property taxes.
Several revenue‑related policy items were discussed, including statutory language to step down by $10,000,000 per year the amount of purchase and use tax that flows to the education fund and to move interest earned in the Transportation Fund to remain in that fund rather than revert to the general fund. Officials estimated interest retained in the T Fund at about $1,060,000 given current rates.
The committee also heard testimony and advocacy on H.418, a bill that would create an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition to increase revenue for Vermont’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Special Fund. Organizational witnesses described the services provided by Vermont Network member organizations and local victim‑service providers, and said the special fund has had recurring deficits requiring one‑time appropriations in recent years. One Rutland County provider said it received just over $45,000 from the DVSV special fund in FY26 and described the funding as critical to sustaining services.
Committee witnesses also discussed other bills on the agenda, including H.567 and H.577, and raised pharmacy, health insurance and higher education trust fund revenue items and modest unclaimed property contributions to the Higher Ed Trust Fund.
Education (Senate) — 14:15
The Senate Education Committee took up issues tied to school policy, mandates and Act 54, with extensive discussion of a draft bill addressing district policies on communications with federal immigration authorities and protections for students.
Assistant Attorney General Julio Thompson and Agency of Education staff reviewed federalism considerations and current agency guidance, noting that public schools cannot deny access to students based on immigration status and that state law guarantees a right to substantially equal public education. Committee discussion focused on statutory drafting choices that could mirror or differ from provisions in Act 54 (the 2017 fair and impartial policing policy law), including references to training requirements, periodic policy review, and whether schools could adopt policies more restrictive than statewide guidance.
The committee reviewed a conceptual drafting package on school closure and repurposing procedures. The draft would require a steering committee, public meetings subject to open meeting law, and either a nonbinding advisory vote or a public input survey within a defined period after the steering committee recommendation. The draft also included an option for the State Board of Education to review proposals to close a district‑operated public school and substitute an approved independent school, with the State Board to find that closure would not create a "public school desert" before approving a designation.
Members discussed education finance data and school construction aid modeling and noted ongoing work on foundation formula and allowable growth calculations. Senate staff presented data indicating education fund cost growth trends and the fiscal calculations underpinning property tax projections.
Act 77 and other policy tools for flexible pathways and workforce development were referenced in committee remarks.
Natural Resources & Energy (Senate) — 11:15
Senate Natural Resources & Energy reviewed Act 50 and related jurisdictional triggers under Vermont land use and development law. Briefers described the definition of "development" and the 32 criteria applicants must address when applying for Act 250 review, including primary agricultural soils, forest blocks and habitat connectors, private road triggers, large groundwater withdrawals and fissionable source material activity. The committee discussed exemptions, municipal interim zoning practices and timelines for permit types ranging from administrative amendments to major applications.
The committee also took testimony on S.224 and received comments from the Vermont Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs and from private and municipal stakeholders about high‑value environmental and zoning protections, water supplies and local concerns.
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Act 181, which had been mentioned in the briefing as a related statute, was referenced in framing committee priorities.
Appropriations (House) — 13:50
The House Appropriations Committee received a range of budget requests and program testimonies.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development requested $5,000,000 for Working Lands investments and $500,000 for a rural technical assistance capacity grant to support forestry and agriculture.
Multiple presenters asked the committee to address deficits and restore or expand fundings. The Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence described the DVSV special fund as largely flat‑funded for nearly 15 years and in deficit in most fiscal years since FY15; the Network sought relief to avoid service cuts. Community providers testified to the services they provide, with one organization reporting it served 758 survivors and children in FY25 and another reporting Clarina Howard Nichols Center served 403 individuals and asked the committee to support a $450,000 appropriation to fill the domestic and sexual violence special fund deficit.
The Vermont Food Bank requested a total of $5,000,000 for FY27 split across three purposes: $2,000,000 to fund a Vermonters Feeding Vermonters grant program (to buy Vermont‑grown food for distribution), $2,000,000 to support direct food and services to local food shelves and meal sites, and $1,000,000 to support emergency readiness for food and water during disasters. Other workforce and program requests were presented for child nutrition sponsor organizations, disability‑focused case management and Vermont 2‑1‑1 funding.
Finance (Senate) — 13:30 and 15:30
Senate Finance sessions addressed multiple tax and education finance items and a captive insurance bill. Staff presented analyses of education spending and foundation formula modeling, including district‑level FY25 and FY26 education spending comparisons and projections underpinning discussions of allowable growth and property tax trends. Staff described that property taxes would, based on certain modeling, trend higher if education fund uses grow at recent historic rates while certain revenues grow more slowly.
Senate Finance also took up legislation related to scholarship‑granting organizations tied to a federal qualified elementary and secondary education scholarship tax credit, describing how a covered state might submit a list of eligible non‑profit organizations to the U.S. Treasury. Committee staff explained that candidate organizations would need to meet federal qualification and state‑specified criteria and said participation by Vermont would not itself affect state revenues because the credit is a federal income tax credit.
In a separate Finance meeting, the Department of Financial Regulation presented a captive insurance bill. The bill would bar risk retention groups from making loans or investments in their members going forward, while exempting loans or investments in effect prior to Jan. 1, 2026. DFR described new annual reporting requirements for risk retention groups and explained the proposal’s focus on preserving premium dollars and capital set aside to pay claims.
Energy & Digital Infrastructure (House) — 09:55 & 13:00
The House Energy & Digital Infrastructure Committee discussed changes to how state information technology projects and internal service funds are budgeted, internal service fund billing and dual spending authority, and core enterprise service billing methodologies. Briefers said the administration proposes that spending authority for large IT projects will appear in agency budgets rather than being carried centrally at the Agency of Digital Services, while ABS would continue to perform contract and project management.
The committee also heard industry witnesses and installers on H.716 and net‑metering valuation. Witnesses described declines in the net value of residential solar exports and urged policy changes to preserve or increase the on‑site value of behind‑the‑meter solar and paired battery systems. Industry presenters described the impact of biannual rate reviews and a so‑called negative adder on project economics, and discussed federal incentives such as the direct pay option and the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits available to certain entities.
Environment (House) — 13:20
The House Environment Committee considered H.7 and heard briefings from Green Mountain Power dam safety staff and consultants. GMP staff described dam safety inspection practices and risk assessments for high‑hazard dams, routine testing of emergency spillway and gate systems, and regular functional exercises, and they discussed coordination with federal dam safety standards and FERC inspection processes. Committee members asked about emergency operations planning, downstream impacts and the role of municipal emergency authorities.
Human Services (House) — 13:40
The House Human Services Committee reviewed administration of a grant program and discussed allowable uses for an appropriation. Department staff said the grant program was not originally contemplated to be used to purchase buildings, but that language in past appropriations did not explicitly exclude property purchases. The committee also reviewed program design elements including required case management, acuity‑based services and lead case management entities for eligible households.
Conclusion
This article summarizes meetings of multiple legislative committees on Feb. 12, 2026, including the House Ways & Means, House and Senate Education committees, Senate Natural Resources & Energy, House Appropriations, Senate and House Finance, House Energy & Digital Infrastructure, House Environment and House Human Services. Committee sessions covered budget and revenue projections, tax and transfer proposals, proposed mandates and regulatory clarifications, special fund deficits and appropriation requests, school policy and designation processes, dam safety and energy valuation topics, and captive insurance reporting and restrictions.
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