2025 Legislative Priorities

Vermonters have made it clear that the status quo just isn’t working. At VPIRG, we’ve never been real big on preserving the status quo anyway. Our work to protect Vermont’s people, environment, & democracy will continue in 2025. From guarding our online privacy to ensuring the safety of our food and products, we’re seeking progress that will improve the lives of Vermonters.   

CLIMATE & CLEAN ENERGY 

Make Big Oil Pay – Defending the Climate Superfund 

The giant fossil fuel companies most responsible for extreme weather events linked to climate change will finally be held accountable thanks to legislation passed last year in Vermont. This landmark law took effect after Gov. Scott allowed it to become law without his signature. 

It turns out 2024 was the hottest year on record in Vermont and in much of the world. Those record-breaking temperatures create climate chaos, from terrible flooding in Vermont, to devastating hurricanes in the South, to catastrophic wildfires in California. Under the new Climate Superfund in Vermont, companies responsible for climate damage will have to pay their fair share of the costs. Not surprisingly, Big Oil is now suing to stop the law being enforced. VPIRG is fighting to protect the law and see that it is fully implemented. We will also oppose any legislative attempt to weaken the law.   

Defending the Global Warming Solutions Act 

Vermont passed the Global Warming Solutions Act in response to then-president Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accords. Now, with Trump yet again pledging to abandon the nation’s commitment to climate action, it’s clear that our state’s landmark climate law is under threat as well, with Gov Scott and some legislators calling to weaken or gut it. We’ll work this session to ensure that this crucial law is not weakened or watered down, and that Vermont continues to make progress in cutting Vermonters’ energy costs alongside our needed cuts to climate pollution.  

Moving Vermont’s Heating Towards More Affordable, Cleaner Options 

Vermonters are paying too much for fossil fuels to heat their homes and businesses, which is why VPIRG has been working for years to pass policies and secure funding to help Vermonters invest in efficiency and transition to cleaner, more affordable heating options. That work continues this year, as the legislature is hearing from the Public Utilities Commission on their proposed design for a Clean Heat Standard (as required by 2023’s Affordable Heat Act), along with one or more additional proposals of their own. 

Last November’s election changed the partisan makeup of the legislature, but it certainly didn’t indicate that Vermonters want to keep paying through the nose for fossil fuels. Nearly 75,000 heat pumps have been installed in Vermont, and tens of thousands of homes have been weatherized. That’s a good start, but from both a climate and an equity standpoint we need to move faster, and make sure that low- and moderate-income Vermonters don’t get left behind in this transition. 

Whether the legislature decides to advance a Clean Heat Standard, a proposal from the PUC, or something else, we’ll be working hard to ensure that the solutions they’re considering truly serve all Vermonters, and go as far as possible towards putting Vermont on track to hit its climate pollution requirements. 

Funding for Renewable Transportation Incentives & Public Transit 

With transportation making up the largest portion of both Vermont’s climate pollution and Vermonters’ spending on energy, VPIRG members have for years advocated for solutions that will help Vermonters use less fossil fuel to get around, and save them money at the same time. We’ve helped secure significant funding for statewide EV (electric vehicle) incentives for low- and moderate-income Vermonters, EV charging infrastructure, public infrastructure. 

Over the past year, more and more low- and moderate-income Vermonters were able to buy EVs – in no small part as a result of these smart investments. Unfortunately, with funding running out, this past year our state administration failed to secure federal funding – and did not have a backup plan. As a result, those incentives have run dry. At the same time, public transit routes have been limited and cut due to funding challenges.  

EVs in Vermont stand to save low-income commuters thousands of dollars per year in fuel costs. Public transit can do the same – and for some low-income Vermonters, is their only reliable way to get around. Vermonters deserve access to these resources, and we’ll be pushing for new funding in the Transportation Bill this session so that they have access to them.  

Continuing to Make Progress on Renewable Electricity 

Following last year’s overhaul of Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard, the legislature should review and build on the programs Vermont has in place to get clean renewables built. The net metering program, which is how Vermonters and Vermont businesses typically “go solar,” has shrunk substantially in recent years. It should continue to play an important role, allowing Vermonters to generate their own clean power. VPIRG and our legislative allies may need to guard against attempts to weaken it even further. Complementing net metering, Vermont’s “Standard Offer” program – which for more than a decade affordably got larger solar arrays built across the state – expired in 2022. VPIRG supports renewing that program to help affordably meet the Renewable Energy Standard’s requirements, and adding a community solar carve out to it. 

DEMOCRACY 

Ranked Choice Voting  

For many reasons, Americans are increasingly losing trust in our democratic institutions. Democracy itself is now under severe threat. And while Vermont may be one small state, we are not without a voice. We can be pretty loud too. We believe Vermont can demonstrate leadership and strengthen our democratic system right here, right now. We’ll begin by securing all that we’ve done so far to make voting accessible to all. They we’ll move to give voters a stronger voice in the elections process by putting Ranked Choice Voting in place for the 2028 presidential primaries.  RCV means that candidates with the broadest voter support will win delegates in the primary. It expands options for voters and minimizes wasted votes for candidates who have already withdrawn by the time the primary takes place.  

Campaign Finance Reform   

For over a century, the federal government has prohibited corporations from directly contributing to candidates, and 22 states have implemented similar restrictions. Vermont should also limit corporate influence by banning direct corporate contributions to candidates and demanding greater transparency from corporate political action committees (PACs). Instead of relying so heavily on large donors and corporate money, Vermont should explore options to finance campaigns by promoting small-dollar contributions.  

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & ZERO WASTE 

Modernize the Bottle Bill   

Vermont’s Bottle Bill is as old as VPIRG itself. While we have evolved significantly over the past 53 years, the Bottle Bill has stood largely unchanged. A popular effort to modernize the law by expanding its scope and making returns more convenient for consumers failed last year when the governor vetoed the bill and an override vote in the Senate fell just short.  

A new legislative makeup this session will make it even more difficult to update the law to include more beverage containers. But with more and more redemption centers finding it hard to stay afloat, VPIRG will be working to find commonsense solutions that have broad support. We’ll be promoting steps that give consumers more convenient redemption locations and address the concerns of small businesses too.  

Implement & Watchdog the Pollinator Protection Act 

Last session, Vermont took major steps to protect wildlife, our environment, and food systems by passing legislation to ban toxic neonicotinoid pesticides that were devastating local pollinator populations. Now, that law needs to be fully implemented, and VPIRG will serve as a watchdog to ensure its provisions are not watered down by agency or legislative actions. 

Remove PFAS from Consumer Products 

PFAS toxins, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” pose a significant threat to public health. Last year, VPIRG played a key role in encouraging legislators to enact one of the most comprehensive PFAS bans in the nation. While many consumer product categories are now on track to be PFAS-free, there is still significant work ahead. In the coming year, VPIRG is committed to expanding consumer protections so many more products are PFAS-free.  

Reduce the Quantity & Toxicity of Plastic Pollution 

Vermont is drowning in plastic, and the problem is getting worse, with wide ranging effects to our waste systems, environment, climate, and health. Simply put, there’s too much plastic, especially single-use throwaway plastic. Much of it is made with toxic ingredients. And it’s designed to last for centuries.  Our goal then is to require manufacturers to reduce the quantity and toxicity of the plastic packaging and other products they produce.  

Safe and Healthy Food 

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are the leading cause of disability and death in the U.S. More than half of all Americans have at least one chronic disease, and such diseases are also the leading drivers of the nation’s $4.5 trillion in annual health care costs.  

A major contributor to this problem is the consumption of ultra-processed foods that often contain excessive levels of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. Processed foods may also contain additives or pesticide residues that can carry their own risks.  

VPIRG supports a requirement that processed foods carry a front of package label that provides consumers with clearly visible information about a food’s saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars content. We also believe there should be enhanced protections against additives or pesticides that may threaten public health, particularly children’s health. 

CONSUMER PROTECTION 

Comprehensive Data Privacy Reform 

In recent years Vermont has been a leader in the push to give consumers control over their personal information by enacting laws to rein in the data broker industry, prevent educational software companies from misusing student data, and expanding Vermont’s data breach notification law to ensure consumers know when their information has been compromised. But Vermont has stopped short of enacting broad protections that would treat consumer data privacy as a default and give consumers the power to control how and with whom their data is shared. 

Last year, we were ultimately successful in passing what would have been the strongest consumer data privacy law in the nation, but that bill was ultimately vetoed by the governor, and an override attempt fell short in the Senate. VPIRG is committed to advocating for similar legislation this year—a strong consumer data privacy bill that includes: a meaningful data minimization standard that prevents companies from collecting more data than is necessary and using it for irrelevant purposes; a ban on the selling of all sensitive data such as location data, health information, and information about minors; and strong enforcement that ensure consumers can hold the worst data privacy violators directly accountable in court.  

Transparent, Accountable, Non-Discriminatory Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives. The technology can provide serious benefits to society but, like any tool, it comes with risk. AI and algorithms are already making important decisions about consumers’ lives: reviewing and filtering employment materials, making decisions around health care, setting car insurance premiums, screening tenants, determining rent prices, and more. 

In 2025, VPIRG will be advocating for legislation that provides consumers with greater transparency around when AI is used to make these critical decisions, explanations when such technology results in an adverse decision for the consumer, and requirements that the companies developing these tools are testing them for bias, accuracy and more. 

Right-to-Repair 

It used to be that most consumer goods and business products were easily repaired with parts that were widely available. But as manufacturers realized there was more money to be made in restricting access to fixes – either by forcing consumer to rely exclusively on the manufacturer for repairs or to buy a new product entirely—more and more companies have thrown up legal, digital and physical barriers that prevent consumers from doing their own repairs or using independent repair shops. 

VPIRG has been a staunch supporter of the fair repair movement – that is, the effort to require manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops access to all of the parts, tools, and documentation necessary to fix the products we own. 

In 2025, we’ll be advocating once again for legislation that would provide this “Right-to-Repair” for a wide range of consumer products as several other states have already done.  

Curbing Predatory Towing 

Vermont is one of the few states in the nation that have almost no laws protecting consumers from predatory towing practices.  

In 2023, the legislature enacted Act 41–a miscellaneous motor vehicle law—that tasked the Attorney General’s Office with studying towing practices in Vermont and issuing a report to the legislature that includes recommendations for possible reforms to curb predatory towing. VPIRG submitted comments to the Attorney General that contained several reforms we believe should be enacted to better protect Vermont consumers such as: maximum rates for towing and storage of vehicles, requirements that towing companies take photographic evidence of a vehicle before towing it, requiring towing companies to allow individuals access to the personal belongings in towed vehicles, among other commonsense protections. 

The Attorney General’s report included several of these recommendations and we’ll be advocating for the legislature to enact them this year. 

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