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2026 Vermont Legislative Guide – VTDigger

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2026 Vermont Legislative Guide – VTDigger




This year’s legislative session will help decide what the future of Vermont’s schools will look like under Act 73 and how the state plans to navigate federal funding cuts. Lawmakers will also be weighing housing, climate, health care and other issues that affect daily life across the state.

Use this guide to keep up with the people, bills and budget decisions shaping Vermont. You’ll find tools to help you stay informed and understand what’s happening, along with our latest reporting from the Statehouse.

Our Legislative Guide is free to use. If you value this kind of public‑service reporting, please consider supporting VTDigger.

This week at the Statehouse

During the session, our Final Reading newsletter rounds up what’s happening under the Golden Dome. Here’s what’s on deck this week:

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  • 1/6 – the Legislature kicks off
  • 1/7 – Gov. Phil Scott expected to deliver State of the State address
  • 1/9 – First week in the books

Sign up for our free Statehouse newsletter. Delivered Tuesday through Friday evenings.


What we’re watching in 2026

Charting the future of Vermont’s public schools and responding to the actions of President Donald Trump’s administration could define the 2026 legislative session.

Education reform and Act 73

Vermont’s new education reform law, Act 73, sets in motion a multi-year effort to restructure how the state funds and governs its public schools. 

Why it matters: Changes to school funding and governance could affect your tax bill, the future of small schools and the services available to students in your community.

Catch up on the latest:

Federal funding cuts and Vermont’s budget

Almost every day, decisions out of Washington D.C. impact programs here in Vermont. Our job is to sort through the noise.

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Why it matters: As a small state, Vermont relies disproportionately on federal funding. Social services like food, heating and rental assistance rely on money from Washington. This year, lawmakers will need to make tough choices on what the state can afford to pay for and can’t afford to lose.

Catch up on the latest:


Bill tracker

Track this year’s key policy themes as they move through the Legislature. Each category highlights a small set of bills our newsroom is watching closely. You can browse the bills below using the arrow buttons or search by name or topic. This tool will be regularly updated throughout the session.


Look up your legislators

Use the maps below to find the legislators in your senate and house districts. Each name clicks through to their contact information on the State of Vermont website. Reaching out with questions or input is one of the most direct ways to make your voice heard and engage in the legislative process.

map visualization

Most recent legislative coverage

Eyeing cuts to federal support, Vermont lawmakers face tough decisions over food and heating assistanceAdvertisement

“We’re coming back to the basic hierarchy of needs here,” said Rep. Theresa Wood, who chairs the House Committee on Human Services.


New ‘American Abenaki’ curriculum, focused on Vermont, draws rebuke from Abenaki nations based in QuebecAdvertisement

The online educational materials for students in grades 3-12 were created by members of the four groups recognized as Abenaki by Vermont’s state government.


‘On the cusp of something very special.’ In Q&A, Vermont’s education secretary ponders the challenges and opportunities of ed reform.

Zoie Saunders, in an interview with VTDigger, said that it was “really of paramount importance that we stay the course” with lawmakers due to address a critical part of reform envisioned in Act 73 this upcoming session.


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Lawmakers’ ethics and financial disclosures

This tool includes state legislators’ disclosures as they were submitted to the Legislature at the beginning of the 2025-2026 legislative session. Each is a snapshot of what occupations, volunteer roles and other involvements legislators hold outside of the Legislature. VTDigger plans to update this tool with updated information as it becomes available.

Use the search bar below to look for a particular legislator or browse through the pages with the arrow key. The table contains pdf links to each legislators’ disclosure forms, along with a link to their profile page on the legislative website to learn more about the individual.

Senate:

House:


Become a member

Every year, VTDigger’s reporters create our legislative guide to make Vermont’s state government more transparent and accessible for everyone. This vital work relies on your support. Help sustain public resources like this with a monthly donation in any amount that works for you.

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If you think you’ve caught an error or are having issues accessing the information on this page, please contact us at admin@vtdigger.org.





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Vermont

Harvey leads Bryant against Vermont after 28-point game

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Harvey leads Bryant against Vermont after 28-point game


Bryant Bulldogs (8-17, 4-7 America East) at Vermont Catamounts (16-10, 8-3 America East)

Burlington, Vermont; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Bryant plays Vermont after Keegan Harvey scored 28 points in Bryant’s 88-69 loss to the UMass-Lowell River Hawks.

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The Catamounts have gone 8-3 in home games. Vermont has a 1-2 record in one-possession games.

The Bulldogs have gone 4-7 against America East opponents. Bryant allows 71.6 points to opponents while being outscored by 7.1 points per game.

Vermont scores 74.6 points per game, 3.0 more points than the 71.6 Bryant allows. Bryant’s 40.3% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.2 percentage points lower than Vermont has given up to its opponents (43.5%).

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Gus Yalden is shooting 51.5% and averaging 15.9 points for the Catamounts. TJ Hurley is averaging 17.9 points over the last 10 games.

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Timofei Rudovskii averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, scoring 13.2 points while shooting 36.1% from beyond the arc. Aaron Davis is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Catamounts: 7-3, averaging 69.8 points, 33.1 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 3.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.8 points per game.

Bulldogs: 3-7, averaging 65.2 points, 28.9 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 4.8 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 40.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Vermont reports 1st measles case of 2026

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Vermont reports 1st measles case of 2026


Vermont health officials report a confirmed measles case in an adult in Washington County who became sick after recent international travel. This is the first measles case in the state in 2026.

Investigation and response are ongoing, and the case does not pose a current risk to the public.

Confirmation of the case follows the detection of measles virus in wastewater in Washington County through the department’s wastewater monitoring program last week. While officials cannot definitively link the case to the detection, Health Commissioner Rick Hildebrant, MD, said this shows how monitoring can help improve our public health efforts.

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“The early warning allowed us to put local health care providers on alert, which can help identify cases more quickly,” Hildebrant said. “This rapid public health response is critical to preventing the spread of measles, especially as we see more cases in Vermont and around the country.”

There is no treatment for measles, but the disease is almost entirely vaccine-preventable. About 1 in 5 people in the U.S. who get measles without being vaccinated are hospitalized. Health officials urge all people in Vermont to make sure they and their families are vaccinated against measles – especially children, for whom the disease is especially dangerous.

“Measles is an incredibly contagious illness,” Hildebrant said. “Because most people choose to get vaccinated, the risk to most Vermonters is low. But we encourage anyone who is not vaccinated to talk to their health care provider about making sure they are protected, especially if they are planning to travel outside the U.S.”

Vermont reported two cases of measles in 2025 and two in 2024.



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After the loss of a child, spreading love helped Liz Harris move forward

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After the loss of a child, spreading love helped Liz Harris move forward


Liz Harris raised five children in the Mad River Valley. She loved all of them, deeply, with that distinct kind of love that a parent feels for their kids.

In 2016, Liz’s teenage daughter, Mary, was in a car accident with four of her friends. A wrong-way driver collided with them on I-89, and all five teenagers died. The accident made national news, profoundly affected the community and changed Liz’s life forever. What’s helped her move forward is to try and spread as much love in the world as she can.

As part of the series exploring love this week, Liz explains how her ideas about love changed after experiencing a profound loss.

Our show is made for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for clarity and concision.

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Liz Harris:  I think there’s that love you have for your friends. There’s that love you have for your community. There’s that love you have for your partner, your spouse. And then there’s that love you have for your kids.

My name is Elizabeth Harris. I go by Liz. And I live in Moretown, Vermont.

We had seven different personalities in the house, and it was busy. I stayed home with five kids. Two of my sister’s kids I watched, and she has four. And a couple of neighbor kids. So I’d have 10 kids at my house on a regular basis. But I hiked with them, I skied with them, I swam with them. 

I remember this one time my sister and I hiked up Mad River, and we had my five, her four, and Janie and Ollie Cozzi with us. And everybody was so happy. And it was a long hike! And you know, there was a little bit of complaining, but everybody was kind of in their groups.

And my sister and I got up there and we sat them all down and took a picture. And it’s that feeling of nothing could be better, you know? 

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And on our way down, we had — one of our kids was running so fast that they tripped right before one of the towers, and launched probably like eight feet and cleared the pad. And my sister and I both looked at each other and thought, “Goodness, what would we have done if we were out here with two adults and all these kids and something happened?”

In 2016, something did happen that changed our lives, changed the direction of all of our lives. It actually changed love, and what would be spread in love. What was left behind in love, and what was felt through love.

My daughter Mary was killed in a car accident when she was 16 with four of her friends. They were coming home from a concert in Burlington and they were on the interstate and a wrong-way driver hit and killed them all. 

When you love something so much and that physical presence is ripped away from you, you realize how fortunate you are to love someone that much. And have somebody love you that much. 

And I felt like she played a huge role in why or how I could move forward. And I think, honestly, that is love. 

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Anna Van Dine

/

Vermont Public

A t-shirt honoring Mary Harris.

Mary was a giver. By nature, she was a giver. She gave every part of herself while she was here. And the ripple effect of her love came out in all the people around me,.

She was empathetic towards others and she was kind. She gave every part of herself while she was here. And the ripple effect of her love came out in all the people around me. 

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For six months, people brought us dinner. And I probably wouldn’t be eating if people didn’t bring me food. I felt like it was a giant spider web, and Mary was the center of the spider web, and then we were the next ring. And then those rings just kept going out and out and out until people would start reaching out to me from as far away as Arkansas, and had lost their child and couldn’t get out of bed and would ask me, “How do you do it?” 

And I’d say, “I’ve got other kids. I have a community I love. I have a lot of life that I love. And it’s a long road. It’s a long journey. It’s something that sits with us every day, but it’s part of the story. It’s part of life. It’s part of love,” you know. 

And I honestly think Mary puts people in front of me all the time.





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