Vermont’s legislative session this year will be one for the ages. Can lawmakers pull off the generational transformation of the public education system they started last year, or will they take an easier way out? What state programs will be on the chopping block during an agonizing budget cycle? How will electeds try to counteract the neverending stream of policy changes coming out of Washington, D.C.? Is affordability just a talking point, or could Vermonters see real relief?
On top of this session’s heavy issues, it’s also an election year. Do lawmakers dare pass potentially unpopular policies months before their names are on the ballot?
If you’re as eager as we are to see how these questions play out, join us. VTDigger’s legislative newsletter, Final Reading, is back, arriving in your inbox four days a week with the latest goings on from under the Golden Dome. VTDigger reporters will be inside committee rooms, peering behind closed doors and chasing down the power players to bring the people’s business at the people’s house to the public’s attention.
We’ll follow the heated discussions in every policy area, from criminal justice and housing to health care and the environment. And in true Final Reading style, we’ll bring analysis to the news with a little bit of voice — and hopefully a few good jokes — to spice things up.
Sign up for Final Reading here and expect new emails Tuesday through Friday, January into May. (Hopefully no later than that!) And remember, we can’t do this job without you. Flag us down as we’re lurking Montpelier’s marble halls and let us know what we need to know. Got tips? Scoops? Questions? Don’t be a stranger. Find out how to reach us below.
— Ethan Weinstein
In the know
So what’s on tap this week? Legislators convene for the new session on Tuesday, Jan. 6, for the start of the second year of the biennium. In theory, that means lawmakers should hit the ground running. In practice, that’s to be determined.
Last Friday, just days before the session’s kickoff, Gov. Phil Scott appointed two new legislators to fill vacancies. John Benson will take over the Senate seat of Orange County Republican Larry Hart. In the House, Val Taylor will fill the seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Jim Harrison, which covers Killington, Chittenden, Mendon and Pittsfield. Both new lawmakers are Republicans, too.
— Ethan Weinstein
Off to the races
Molly Gray, the former Democratic lieutenant governor who also ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in Congress, wants her old job back.
Gray announced her campaign for the state’s second-highest office Monday morning at a coffee shop in the South End of Burlington. She also released a slate of endorsements from nine current senators and 22 current House members, among them Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central.
Also on Monday, after Gray’s announcement, a second candidate signalled he may enter the race. Ryan McLaren, a former aide to U.S. Sen Peter Welch, D-Vt., told VTDigger he was “seriously considering” running for lieutenant governor.
Republican John Rodgers, the current LG, has previously said he would run for reelection in 2026.
Meanwhile, Deputy State Auditor Tim Ashe is seeking his office’s top job.
Ashe, a Democrat/Progressive who previously served as Senate President Pro Tem, announced late last week that he is running this year to succeed his boss, State Auditor Doug Hoffer. Hoffer — who is also a D/P — is stepping down after a dozen years as the top state government watchdog.
In a press release, Ashe said he would “work with the executive and legislative branches to identify risks to Vermonters’ interests, such as financial mismanagement, inadequate preparation for weather-related emergencies, and the policies of President Trump.”
— Shaun Robinson
Talk to us
Leading this year’s coverage is Statehouse bureau chief Ethan Weinstein (eweinstein@vtdigger.org) and state government and politics reporter Shaun Robinson (srobinson@vtdigger.org).
You’ll also hear from our policy team: education reporter Corey McDonald (cmcdonald@vtdigger.org); health care reporter Olivia Gieger (ogieger@vtdigger.org); wealth, poverty and inequality reporter Theo Wells Spackman (twellsspackman@vtdigger.org), who is a Report for America corps member; environment reporter Austyn Gaffney (agaffney@vtdigger.org); and housing and infrastructure reporter Carly Berlin (cberlin@vtdigger.org), who works jointly for us and Vermont Public as a Report for America corps member. We’re currently hiring a general assignment reporter who will be based at the Statehouse, too.
Meanwhile, photographer extraordinaire Glenn Russell (grussell@vtdigger.org) will be returning to the Statehouse for his 40th (!!) session.
