Our response to the Governors budget
On Tuesday, Governor Scott introduced his budget for 2026, proposing big changes for our State’s response to climate change, public safety, and public education, including partly paying for level property taxes this year by eliminating universal school meals for Vermont's children. You can read more about the governor’s education plan in Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky’s blog post here.
Absent from the proposal were real solutions - and funding - to address the multiple ongoing crises facing Vermonters. The Governor’s budget recommendations fail to address the growing crisis of homelessness, the mental health crisis, the substance use disorder crisis, or challenges in our public education system. It does not make Vermont more affordable by requiring wealthier Vermonters to pay their fair share of the tax burden or provide immediate tax relief for Vermonters who need it most.
The Governor believes that our state – especially our education system – can do more with less, and that those who currently pay the lowest share of their resources for public goods should not bear any additional cost of addressing our state's challenges. We disagree.
Right now Vermonters are experiencing some of the worst outcomes in the Nation on a number of issues including:
Housing: we have the 2nd highest rate of houselessness in the Nation, and have seen the largest increase to the cost of buying a home.
Mental health and substance use: We have the 8th highest rate of overdose-related deaths in the country
Climate change: We produce more than twice the global per capita average of green house gas emissions and the 2nd highest rate in New England.
Public Safety: While Vermont remains the safest state in the nation, the real challenges facing our communities can only be addressed by investment in social safety nets, evidence-based strategies for youth and young adults involved in the criminal justice system, and swift access to justice by clearing out the backlogs in our Vermont courts
Progressives are committed to guaranteeing housing, healthcare (including mental health and substance use treatment), and an excellent public education system as a right for all Vermonters. We can do all of these things while improving the cost of living for working class people if we ask higher income and wealthier members of our communities to pay their fair share.
We will be doing everything in our power this legislative session to ensure that the budget lowers the cost of living for working Vermonters and addresses the fundamental needs of our communities, including affordable and accessible housing, mental health and substance use treatment and recovery supports, climate solutions, and public safety through both accountability and community care. But... we are in for a tough fight. Please join us in demanding a budget that puts the needs of the most vulnerable Vermonters first.
