Phil Scott

Lawmakers and the governor will experience a sobering comedown from the fastest period of revenue growth in Vermont’s history.

Vermont stands to lose out on more than $150 million in federal funding if it can't find the revenues needed to fill a hole in the state's transportation budget.

Members of a task force created to draw new school district maps say forced mergers would unleash disruption and dislocation in an education system that isn’t yet prepared for that level of transformation.

Gov. Phil Scott urged lawmakers during his State of the State address Wednesday to defy political headwinds and follow through on sweeping education reform legislation that passed last year but is now in jeopardy.

Gov. Phil Scott delivered the 2026 State of the State address on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Watch the full video or read the transcript here.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth will introduce legislation this week that he says will deliver property tax relief as soon as next year, but the proposal is already encountering skepticism within the Statehouse.

The critical first phase of Act 73 — mandatory school district mergers — has ignited fierce opposition in communities across Vermont. And lawmakers now have to confront the possibility that the reform law, enacted just six months ago, no longer has the political support needed to move forward as originally envisioned.

The Scott administration told members of the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday that it wants to use nearly $75 million in surplus revenue to blunt the impact of a projected 11.9% average increase in property tax bills next year.

The guard is expected to be deployed later this month but said it cannot disclose where it's being deployed or for what purpose.

Streamlining governance in Vermont’s education system is the critical first step in a sweeping education reform law approved by Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. Phil Scott earlier this year. But a special commission created by the Legislature is urging lawmakers to rethink that plan.