Vermont Business Magazine Today, Speaker Jill Krowinski made the following statement on Act 181:
“I am incredibly thankful for the work of Representative Amy Sheldon, Chair of the House Committee on Environment, the members of House Committee of Environment, and all the Vermonters that have reached out and shared their perspectives on Act 181. These conversations have highlighted a critical issue: while some aspects of the law are working, there are some that are not. Following extensive feedback from communities across Vermont, it is clear that the ‘Road Rule’ and ‘Tier 3’ need to be repealed.
“While this has been a time of deep frustration for many Vermonters, I do think it highlights something great about our state: Vermonters voiced their concerns, we heard them, recognized the issue, and we are taking action to make sure that areas of Vermont are not unnecessarily harmed. This is similar to our efforts on education transformation. After listening to Vermonters from every corner of the state, we’ve taken their feedback and incorporated it into our current education bill, H.955.
“Vermonters have been clear that a top-down approach, whether it be land use policy or the administration's proposal to force school consolidation into five districts, is not the right approach for shaping the future of our state.
“Moving forward, I am committed to investing and engaging in a robust public engagement process that will give Vermonters an opportunity to share what is working and what needs to be fixed. We will take that information and use it to shape the policies that come before us in the legislative process. It’s critical that this isn’t solely focused on land use in Vermont - let’s really talk about all the issues facing our rural state and chart a path forward that creates a Vermont that works for everyone.”
According to the Joint Fiscal Office, "Section 19 (Act 181, Act 250 Road Rule) would create an Act 250 jurisdictional trigger for the creation or improvement of a new single road of greater than 800 feet or of roads and any associated driveways greater than 2,000 feet, after July 1, 2026. This provision would not affect developments within a Tier 1A or Tier 1B area. This provision could generate revenue for the Act 250 Permit Fund, however, without information about the number of new developments that would be subject to this rule, JFO is unable to provide an estimate."
According to the Land Use Review Board (LURB), "Tier 3 areas contain critical natural resources that merit consideration in the Act 250 permitting process. Moving to location-based Act 250 jurisdiction means reducing or eliminating Act 250 permitting in areas planned for growth (Tier 1 areas) and increasing Act 250 permitting in critical natural resource areas that lack suitable State-level review and protection (Tier 3 areas)."
Tier 3 attempts to prevent fragmentation of critical ecological areas, such as large forest blocks and wildlife corridors and include areas with elevations between 1,200–2,500 feet, steep slopes, poor soils, and critical habitat. It imposes strict Act 250 permitting on development within these zones. While the proposed effective date is December 31, 2026, a proposal (S.325) in the state Senate would put that off until June 2028. It also would put off the "Road Rule" until 2030.
Tier 3 differs from Tier 1 (areas encouraging development) and Tier 2 (general jurisdiction areas) in that it focuses exclusively on conservation.
4.15.2026. MONTPELIER, VT - Speaker of the House
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