Current News

by Paul Cillo, et al More than 50 years ago, Vermont recognized the hardship faced by homeowners whose property taxes were rising faster than their ability to pay them. Since then, state fiscal policy has moved, in fits and starts, toward a system where school taxes are based on Vermonters’ income, the best measure of their ability to pay. We, former Vermont legislators, urge you not to abandon a half-century of progress. Instead, we hope you will fulfill the promise of Act 60, which we helped pass in 1997, and ask Vermont homeowners with the most income to contribute their fair share to the cost of education by paying based on income. Vermont’s education funding system is committed both to fair taxation and local decision-making, and we can strengthen both of those. Instead, H 454, the education reform bill that recently passed the Vermont House of Representatives, weakens them.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 142-2 to pass S.51, supporting Vermont’s families, workers, retirees, and military veterans. The legislation, among other things, provides assistance to: Low-income households without children, often living paycheck to paycheck, who continue to be taxed even when they are at or below the poverty line; Households with children who have the highest household expenses in their lives and the lowest household income; Military retirees; Military retiree survivors who continue to live in Vermont; Veterans who are struggling to make ends meet.  

Vermont Agency of Transportation This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will affect traffic on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of May 5, 2025. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it. 

Vermont Business Magazine ZymoChem, developers of the world's most carbon-efficient bio-manufacturing platform with a division in Vermont, today announced the closing of a financing round led by lululemon, with participation from existing investors Toyota Ventures and GS Futures and new investor FreshTracks Capital, based in Shelburne. This new capital will accelerate the commercialization of ZymoChem's sustainable bio-based materials and expand manufacturing capabilities for its first commercial product.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remain low and fell to under 5 cases statewide after a spike during the winter. Wastewater testing indicates that virus levels increased at the Montpelier facility, where they had spiked in January. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,290 as of April 26, 2025, with 1 reported death from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). The VDH is no longer reporting COVID fatalities and cases in Vermont. Vermont has the second lowest state fatality rate in the US (147.2 per 100K; Hawaii 112.9/100K). Mississippi (464.4/100K) and Oklahoma (460.6/100K) have the highest rates. The US average is 307.5/100K (CDC data). 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today reminded Vermont businesses of the resources available through her office’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP). CAP’s Small Business Initiative assists businesses and consumers with resolving complaints, works to connect businesses with resources, and answers questions from business owners. Vermont is one of the few states in the country that considers businesses to be consumers, protected by consumer laws. The Vermont Consumer Protection Act applies to businesses when they make a purchase outside their contractual or day-to-day operations, meaning if a local business makes a purchase just like any other consumer might (for supplies or food for an event, for example), they are considered a consumer in that context. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Ryan Upham, 26, of Bethel, Vermont, was arraigned on one felony count of Luring a Child. The charges brought against Mr. Upham are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the Hartford Police Department and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC) during which Mr. Upham engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old child. Mr. Upham pleaded not guilty at the arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Windsor Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Heather Gray presiding, ordered conditions of release that restrict Mr. Upham’s contact with minors, electronic devices, and his access to the internet. 

Vermont Business Magazine A free film screening to be hosted next week by University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) will explore the roles of nursing and midwifery can play in solving a crisis in American obstetrical care: In the United States, more women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth than any other wealthy nation. That is the focus of the documentary film ‘American Delivery’, which will be shown at 5:30 pm Monday, May 12, at The Savoy Theater, 26 Main St., Montpelier. The free screening, which members of the public can RSVP for here, is made possible by supporters of the hospital’s Annual Fund. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that Vermont received a total of $23,132,483.92 from tobacco manufacturers under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Annually, Vermont receives monies from tobacco manufacturers from the MSA, which resolved the State’s lawsuit filed in the 1990s. The settlement funds are credited to the State’s Tobacco Fund, and the legislature determines how they are spent. To date, more than 45 tobacco companies have joined the MSA. As a leader in this effort, Vermont has received more than $817 million from the tobacco companies since 1998. 

Vermont Business Magazine On Tuesday, April 29, Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Department received the hospital’s first-ever Pediatric Readiness award, presented by Dr. David Nelson, a pediatric emergency physician at University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) who leads Vermont’s program to improve pediatric emergency services for children. The Emergency Department at RRMC achieved the Innovator level recognition, which is the highest standard of pediatric readiness. The award was presented to Emergency Department nurses, nurse leaders, clinical educators and physicians prior to a pediatric readiness training in the CVPS/Leahy Community Health Education Center at Rutland Regional Medical Center. The training courses are part of a state-wide initiative to improve pediatric emergency services.

Vermont Business Magazine Each year, 98.9 WOKO fills the airwaves with stories of courage and hope from pediatric patients and families who have received lifesaving and life-changing care at University of Vermont Children’s Hospital. The stories are part of the hospital’s annual Big Change Roundup for Kids (BCRU) fundraising campaign. Thousands of donors, volunteers, local businesses and community groups contribute and help ensure children and families across Vermont and northern New York have access to the highest quality, child-friendly and family-centered care available.

by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, VAHHS Only a few health care bills remain for the committees to pass out, but they are big ones—if not in pages, then in power. The health care committees used most of their time last week to go over major bills, which means they will likely move very quickly this week. Expansion of Green Mountain Care Board Powers: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard more on H.482, the bill that allows the Green Mountain Care Board to adjust reimbursement rates for certain hospitals if a domestic health insurer is near insolvency; adjust reimbursement rates if hospitals are not meeting their budgets; and appoint an independent observer if hospitals are in violation of their budget orders. The Green Mountain Care Board and the Department of Financial Regulation oppose all VAHHS’s suggestions on the bill.