Current News

by Devon Green, Sr. Vice President of Policy & Strategy, VAHHS We’re bumping up against May of an election year, which usually means legislators want to high tail it out of town to hit the campaign trail. The work going on in education this year, however, likely puts us in session a bit longer, providing more time for committees to look at new proposals as they pass out all the other bills. Data Privacy: The House Commerce Committee unveiled a new 54-page data privacy bill on Friday. The bill is a patchwork of the Senate-passed version, S.71, Connecticut law, S.69, and other language. It does not contain a private right of action, but it includes HIPAA-covered entities such as hospitals, entangling them into two different privacy frameworks. VAHHS supports S.71 as passed by the Senate. Elimination or Reduction of Hospital Services: VAHHS supported a public process and asked for greater clarity in S.189 around the elimination or reduction of hospital services in House Health Care.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to a significant increase in rabies cases among wild animals in Vermont, state and federal officials are planning a rabies vaccine bait drop beginning May 2. Rabies activity has risen sharply in recent years, with 66 rabid animals reported in both 2024 and 2025 – more than double the previous annual average number of cases. So far this year, 16 rabies cases have been reported. Most recent cases have been concentrated in Orleans County, though several other northern counties have been affected.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bills, passed by the General Assembly. He signed five bills into law and let a sixth become law without his signature. That bill is H.849, An act relating to a civil action for damages for deprivation of federal constitutional rights by any government official. While he said he agrees with the sentiment, he is concerned that it will give Vermonters who agree with it "false hope," as it could be unconstitutional at the federal level.

by Mike Donoghue A Wellesley, MA, mother, who is charged with strangling to death her young daughter and son and leaving them in her bed, will be headed back to the Bay State to contest the two murder charges. The lawyer for Janette R. MacAusland, 49, said Monday afternoon she would not fight the extradition request and wants to head home as soon as possible. She is charged in Norfolk County, MA, with two counts of homicide for the deaths of Kai, 7, and Ella MacAusland, 6, in their home on Friday. They were found there by Wellesley Police, acting on a request by Bennington Police to conduct a welfare check.

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced that the Department of Education has finally released $11.58 million in federal K-12 COVID-19 funding for 20 Vermont school districts and the Agency of Education, after over a year of needless delay. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that Vermont received a total of $22,103,714.56 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. Vermont has received more than $840 million from the tobacco companies since 1998.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) joined the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act (Absentee MVP) Act, legislation led by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), to block President Trump’s unlawful March 31, 2026, executive order (EO) that aims to illegally rewrite federal election rules or any similar order and prohibit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and any other agency from spending funds to implement actions in the President’s unconstitutional executive order.

by Mike Del Trecco, President and CEO, VAHHS You've likely read about the federal budget bill, HR.1, and the range of changes it's setting in motion for Vermont's health care system. Some of those changes are still on the horizon or still in question, but one of the most immediate, carrying with it impacts we know are wide-ranging, is already here, and the numbers tell a very hard story. It is the illimination of federal subsidies, or support for lower- and middle-income Vermonters who purchase their health insurance on the health care exchange.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Mutual Insurance Group recently reported on company results for 2025 at their Annual Meeting held on April 15, 2026. In 2025, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group reached several historic milestones. Among the most significant was producing a record $101 million in underwriting income and the growth of surplus by 19.2% to a record high of $1 billion. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum will host the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Reception on Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the K-1 Lodge at Killington Resort. This year’s event marks a rare and meaningful occasion, bringing together the combined Classes of 2025 and 2026 following last year’s postponement. The Hall of Fame will induct five individuals whose contributions have shaped Vermont’s winter sports legacy: Hannah Teter, Harry “Rebel” Ryan, Win Smith, Ned Hamilton, and John Tidd.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State University (VTSU) Office of Culture and Institutional Excellence (OCIE) has received a $50,000 grant from Hannaford Supermarkets. These funds will support one of the primary goals of the OCIE, which is to improve campus culture by creating more welcoming, vibrant, and equitable spaces for the VTSU community.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $4.12 per gallon, up 7.9 cents per gallon from last week's $4.04/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.75/g while the highest was $4.39/g, a difference of 64.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 7.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.04/g today.