“It’s complicated.”
That’s what I told a group of friends over the weekend when they asked me, with some concern for my sleep schedule, whether the Legislature had adjourned at the end of last week. Because while legislators say most of their work is done for the year, this year’s landmark policy effort — reforming how the state’s schools are funded and governed — is still a work in progress.
House and Senate leadership, and Gov. Phil Scott’s administration, have said they need a bit more time to work out a deal on the education bill, H.454. They’ve now set their sights on June 16, the day that legislators had previously set aside for votes to override potential Scott vetoes, to reach a consensus on the education bill, along with several other bills left outstanding.
Until then, the plan is to hold brief floor sessions featuring little, if any, real business — known as “token sessions” — in order to essentially head off final adjournment until a deal is reached.
“We did not get to the finish line, but that’s alright,” Baruth said Saturday, addressing nobody in particular as he presided over an empty Senate chamber during a token session. “It’s an extremely complicated area of policy work.”
The Senate held another token session Tuesday, while the House did the same Monday.
As for the real work — in the conference committee for H.454 — there were small signs of activity following Friday night’s dysfunction. Over the weekend, Baruth, Scott and House Speaker Jill Krowinski issued a rare joint statement in what appeared to be an effort to reassure Vermonters they “remain committed to working together to find a path forward in the coming weeks that achieves better outcomes for our kids at a rate taxpayers can afford.”
Scott has previously said he won’t let legislators go home until they put a bill on his desk.
Tuesday afternoon, the conference committee members from the House sent a letter to their Senate colleagues — CCing Scott’s team — outlining a tentative plan. House members will bring forward a “further proposal to consider next week,” allowing time for legislative staff and the administration to work through the plan’s details.
The new proposal will address “the remaining areas of disagreement,” the representatives wrote, and they said they would be available June 12 and 13 — next Thursday and Friday — to meet and deliberate in the publicly-accessible conference committee.
As of Tuesday late afternoon, it was not immediately clear whether that schedule would work for the Senate.
Beyond H.454, there are several other bills lawmakers expect to take action on later this month. That includes H.480, the miscellaneous education bill, which has a measure that would ban cell phone use in schools. The legislation could, also, provide a vehicle for education-related policy that doesn’t wind up in the ed reform bill. It’s currently on the House’s calendar for action.
There’s also S.51, now sitting on the Senate’s calendar, which includes tax benefits for low-income families, workers and veterans, as well as retirees and people receiving military pensions. In a conference committee late Friday, Senate members sided with the House’s version of the bill, leaving out a previous proposal for an unpaid caregiver tax credit.
And there’s another bill on the House calendar that would, broadly, require people to attach a disclaimer to AI-generated content featuring political candidates that they publish within 90 days of an election. The bill, S.23, which has already passed the Senate, is up for third reading.
As for your favorite Statehouse newsletter, we’ll be back in your inbox when the full Legislature return for a complete day of action — and sign off, for good, whenever they do.
— Shaun Robinson, with reporting from Ethan Weinstein
On the move
Gov. Scott on Monday signed the state’s annual transportation funding and policy bill, H.488, into law. The legislation lays out new rules for conduct along Vermont’s rail trails and paves the way for the state’s largest public transportation agency, Green Mountain Transit, to transfer much of its service in rural areas to other providers, among other changes.
— Shaun Robinson
Scott also approved H.401, a bill that broadens exemptions for small home-based food manufacturers from annual fees and other requirements. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, increases the exemption threshold for cottage food producers from $10,000 in annual sales to $30,000 per year. Those businesses that fall under the new cottage food producer definitions who want to take advantage of the exemptions will need to attest to meeting training requirements set by the Vermont Department of Health.
— Kristen Fountain
Visit our 2025 bill tracker for the latest updates on major legislation we are following.
Kudos
I’m an AI skeptic. But I need to shout out goldendomevt.com and its AI-generated transcripts of the Vermont Legislature’s committee meetings and floor sessions. Kind of a game changer for those of us trying to keep track of a dozen things at once.
— Ethan Weinstein
While you’re here…
If this session’s Final Reading helped you make sense of the Statehouse — or even, if it just made you laugh after a long day — please consider supporting it by making a one-time or monthly donation to VTDigger. We can’t do this work without you!
— The Final Reading team
