News and Updates

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The data center bill excuse you may be hearing — and why it doesn’t hold up

Climate & Energy, News and Updates / By

Last week, VPIRG asked its members to let the representatives who voted to sustain Governor Scott’s veto of the data center bill (H.727) know they were disappointed. Many did — thank you. It’s come to our attention that some of the representatives who voted with the governor are now offering a striking explanation for their vote: that …

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2026 Legislative Recap 

Bottle Bill, Climate & Energy, Consumer Protection, Elections and Government Reform, News and Updates, Toxics & Environmental Health, Zero Waste / By

CLIMATE & ENERGY Passing the nation’s strongest regulations on AI data center development VPIRG led the effort to strengthen and pass H.727, which Gov Scott ultimately vetoed despite hundreds of VPIRG members and other Vermonters urging him to side with Vermont ratepayers over Big Tech. The bill would have ensured Vermonters don’t wind up paying …

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Why is the Koch’s Dark Money Group Trying to Kill Vermont’s Data center bill?

Climate & Energy, News and Updates / By

Gov. Scott now has one of the strongest data center laws in the nation on his desk, and he has until Thursday night to sign or veto it. The bad news? Gov. Scott’s own staff have joined Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a core right-wing group in the Koch Brothers’ dark money network, to oppose it.1, 2 If …

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Governor Signs Paraquat Ban (H.739) into Law

News and Updates, Press Releases, Toxics & Environmental Health / By

Vermont Becomes the First State in the Nation to Ban Paraquat and Reduce Risk of Parkinson’s Disease Montpelier, VT — Governor Phil Scott signed landmark legislation into law today, making Vermont the first state in the nation to ban the toxic herbicide paraquat, which is linked to Parkinson’s disease. Health and environmental advocates celebrated the …

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Straight Up Corrupt

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You’ve probably seen the news about President Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” But let’s call it what it is: a blatantly corrupt political slush fund.  Here’s why this is so outrageous…  The Trump administration is creating a nearly $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded program to “compensate” Trump allies and political loyalists who claim they were unfairly investigated or …

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Vermont’s legislature just passed one of the strongest data center laws in the country — now the ball’s in the Governor’s court.

Climate & Energy, News and Updates / By

Something remarkable just happened at the Vermont State House.  The Vermont legislature just passed H.727 — the bill to regulate any data centers proposed here — with an overwhelming, bipartisan supermajority: 26-3 in the Senate, and with just a smattering of “no’s” on a voice vote in the House. That kind of margin doesn’t happen …

Vermont’s legislature just passed one of the strongest data center laws in the country — now the ball’s in the Governor’s court. Read More »

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Toxic Heavy Metal Testing for Baby Food Heads to Governor’s Desk

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The Vermont Legislature has passed H.536 – a bill that takes an important step toward making baby food safer and more transparent. The legislation requires baby food manufacturers to test their products for toxic heavy metals – arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury – and make those results publicly available through a QR code. This kind …

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Joint Statement on S.208 (Law Enforcement Identification)

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Submitted by: ACLU of Vermont, Migrant Justice, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP), and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) Dear Members of the Vermont House of Representatives, We are asking you to vote to include federal officials in S.208 when it comes to the floor. The goal of the bill as introduced was to …

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Vermont’s Data Center Bill Clears Senate Committee 5-0 — Here’s What’s in It 

Climate & Energy, News and Updates / By

Late this morning, the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee voted 5-0 — unanimously, with bipartisan support — to advance a far stronger version of H.727, the data center regulation bill, than passed the Vermont House earlier this year. The bill now heads to the full Senate floor.  VPIRG has been deep in this work for months. Here’s what …

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