Dear Constituents –

At the Statehouse on Monday, a packed house welcomed the new VT Kid Governor, Roslyn Fortin of Highgate, who was chosen from among 1000 peers in a statewide election to represent Vermont 5th graders. It’s not every day that we get to listen to a motivating policy speech by an articulate, thoughtful 10-year old in the Statehouse. Congratulations!

My work this week was focused on the process for the election of the Adjutant General of the VT National Guard. My committee, House Government Operations & Military Affairs, conducted a Joint Hearing on Tuesday afternoon with Senate Government Operations on the history and statutory obligations of the Legislature in elections for the TAG (as the position is abbreviated) and to hear testimony from the two declared candidates. We are currently the only state in the nation that still elects our TAG, rather than being appointed by the Governor or another body. The VT National Guard & Veterans Affairs Caucus (of which I am a Co-Chair) also conducted a forum for members to listen to the candidates present their biographies and participate in a Q&A with legislators. On Wednesday, the Chair of Government Operations & Military Affairs and I (Vice Chair) conducted a Caucus of the Whole for House members to understand our legislative obligations and to be informed about the election process. The election of the Adjutant General will take place on February 19.

In committee, Legislative Counsel educated us on the Public Records Act, as a result of concerns that were brought to our attention during the off-session, heard testimony on several towns’ charter changes, and listened to presentations on the reports of the Emergency Medical System (EMS) Assessment Report and the VT Public Safety Communications Task Force Report and received an update from the Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation on wildland fires. We hope to build legislation based on the recommendations of those reports. Our committee heard several bill introductions:  H.645 (identity verification in real property transactions); three bills relating to the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages (H.647, H.665, H.672); two on cannabis sale and use (H.634 and H.633); H.654 on establishing a task force on VT airspace safety and unidentified anamolous phenomena; and H.588, the annual Office of Professional Regulation housekeeping bill.

The House floor was quiet, as committees continue to hear from agencies and organizations for their legislative priorities. A few committees have passed out bills that we took House votes on, with only one containing a notable change to statute: H.84, which would allow teleheath appointments to be recorded with the consent of both patient and practitioner. Please reach out to [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The Vermont General Assembly gaveled in on Tuesday morning Jan 6, and our Committees took off at a brisk pace.  The Legislature has gained several new members, as four Representatives and two Senators resigned in the off session, and Governor Scott appointed their replacements.  I’ll take this moment to thank St Albans Rep Casey Toof for his service to Franklin Co and the State in his various roles, as he will also be resigning from the House on Jan 16.  The House floor action mainly consisted of ceremonial procedures, such as hearing resignation letters and seating new members. We also passed HR10 that adjusts the timing to approve new bills for release.

In the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, we took testimony from agencies and organizations regarding their priorities for this session: the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, the Secretary of State’s Office, the Office of Professional Regulation, the Treasurer’s Office, the Vermont State Employees Association, the Department of Liquor and Lottery, and the new Director of Animal Welfare in the Department of Public Safety. We received an update from our legislative counsel on the status of a bill that we began preparing at the end of last year that examines all reports due to committees by statute to evaluate their relevancy to the committees’ work. This involves every member of the legislature, working within their committee’s jurisdiction to determine if a report that was ordered in the context of enacting a piece of legislation is still necessary, if it should be repealed, or if we need another biennium to determine its efficacy.

The entire body, both Senate and House, held a Joint Assembly to receive the Governor’s State of the State address on Jan 7.  His message was very clear and held the same priorities as one year ago: education transformation must happen according to Act 73 that was passed at the end of the 2025 session, or he will be holding back his signature on any budget- or tax-related bills this session; better public safety, decreased regulations on housing and development, and inclusive of all of the above: affordability.  For the second year in a row, healthcare insurance premiums are skyrocketing, property taxes are poised to increase by double-digits, working families are priced out of housing, and the era of federal funding windfalls has ended.  The Governor will present his budget in less than two weeks, and there will be hard decisions across the board on which necessities to fund and which programs can be put on hold as we work to get our spending back in line with our existing revenues.

All committee agendas, hearings, bills, and House or Senate action, as well as legislator’s contact information can be found on the Vermont General Assembly website at www.legislature.vermont.gov  It is an honor to serve – Stay well, Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The Vermont General Assembly resumed session on June 16 and proceeded to follow through on several bills that were left in various stages of progress in both the Senate and the House. A long day ensued, and the following bills were taken up, passed, and sent to the Governor: H.474 (miscellaneous changes to election law); H.454 (transforming Vermont’s education governance, quality, and finance systems); H.480 (miscellaneous amendments to education law); and S.51 (Vermont income tax exclusions and tax credits).

H.474 is important to me because it contains a mandatory audit of multi-town Representative and Senatorial districts that I promised in January to identify and remedy the causes of erroneous votes in the November Bennington-1 district election.

While H.454, the Education Transformation Bill, has left the chambers and awaits the Governor’s signature, it is far from complete.  There will be two task force/working groups meeting throughout the summer and Fall to draw district maps and to prepare the stage for the Gov Ops committees to set up voting wards for school board elections. Pre-K, Career and Technical Centers, and Special Education, as well as property tax valuation, needs more work to flesh out the fine points. Many more details determining operation of districts and the daily workings of school districts will be honed and decisions made next session as we inch towards full implementation of the law in FY’29. In the meantime, there are a multitude of guardrails that have to be observed and several benchmarks that need to be met, on a strict timeline, for the law to continue to advance.

S.51 is a bill that I am particularly grateful for; it contains valuable tax credits for Vermonters, including a graduated tax-relief structure for military retirees, survivors of loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice as a result of their military service, and military  veterans. This language represents a compromise on the allowable income ceiling but adds in the new benefit for low-income veterans. Those of us in the Statehouse who understand the roadblocks that this bill has faced over two decades are relieved and thankful for the passage of these measures.

H.480 was the last bill on the calendar to be passed at 8pm, and it contained much-awaited priorities: policy enabling cellphone- and social media-free schools; implementing cardiac response plans in schools; allowing for language in a student’s Personalized Learning Plan to include the choice of military-related options for educational and career planning; and permanently extending a pilot program expanding the Vermont National Guard Tuition Benefit Plan for higher education. Again, some of these pieces were years in the making, and it is rewarding to see them finally put into statute.

Although the 2025 session ran longer than any of us wanted it to, the resulting legislation represents much hard work and compromise that I am honored to have been a part of, marked by all parties and Independents reaching across the aisle to build the bills that would be able to pass muster in a legislature that was the most politically balanced that we have seen in years. I am proud to represent my constituents in a state where everyone makes an effort to work together for the greater good; something that is not being seen on the national level.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. I am available throughout the off-season at [email protected].

Stay well,

Rep Lisa A Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The Vermont General Assembly, although not officially adjourned, has taken a break. The House will hold token sessions until June 16, joining our Senate colleagues to leave the H.454 Education Committee of Conference to work to put together an Education Transformation Plan that addresses our communities’ diverse needs and challenges. There will be more to come on this during our “veto session” later in the month.

Notable on passage: the S.127 Committee of Conference report on housing and housing development contains many of the asks that the Rural Caucus put forward in a failed amendment a week ago.  The Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) in this bill has been described as the most impactful development tool that passed in recent Vermont history. The S.51 Committee of Conference report mirrors a bill passed by the House on May 7 that offers tax credits for Vermont households, and military retirees, survivors and veterans. The military language in particular has been submitted for 19 years by Reps Canfield of Fair Haven and Morrissey of Bennington and has finally advanced to the Governor’s desk, which is an admirable effort by those long-time legislators. While not the 100% income tax exemption that many had hoped for, this is a big step forward for Vermont military retirees and veterans and brings us closer to what is offered by surrounding states.

Please reach out at [email protected] with questions and concerns.  It is an honor to serve.

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

Reporting from the Statehouse this week is a mixed bag: bills were brought to the floor for a vote and then pulled back, amendments were proposed and withdrawn, bills were recommitted to committee for lack of party support.  It finally feels like the end of a session is upon us… (stay tuned because the rumor is that at the tune of $60,000/day, we will be asked to stay even longer…)

The press and advocacy organizations have kept the public well-informed on the various versions of the Education Transformation bill (H.454) as it makes its way to the Senate.  As of Thursday, the current version was essentially thrown out on the Senate floor due to lack of support. What happens next is anyone’s guess (hence the need to keep legislators at the Statehouse on the taxpayers’ dime, long past the date that we are dismissed in an election year when majority party leaders are anxious to begin campaigning).

We have also heard a lot about the many amendments to this year’s housing bill (S.127). It began as an infrastructure financing/housing bill allowing for a new type of project-based TIFs (called CHIP) for rural areas and evolved into a bill with so many guardrails that no development will be feasible; it was voted out 100-36. Members of the Rural Caucus came back with our own amendment to counteract the damage, which had tripartisan support, but there was so much lobbying and coercing of new members by the majority party that they had to postpone the bill, and when we took it up again, many supporters had flipped their votes, so the amendment failed. Three controversial healthcare bills, H.126, H.266, and H.482, which could be harmful to our community hospitals passed on the House Floor despite opposition from your local delegation.

Again I want to reiterate that the number and speed of bills passing back and forth between chambers at this time of year makes it impossible to report in a timely manner. Readers should continue to reach out to their legislators for real-time updates on any legislation that is of importance or to look them up by number on the General Assembly bill tracker at legislature.vermont.gov. I can be contacted at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The Legislative session is winding down with the passage of the Big Bill (the State budget) and other money bills (Capital Bill, Transportation Bill, Yield Bill) in motion. This year, the Committee of Conference on the Budget (H.493) had a heavy lift to bring down much higher spending proposals than both the House and the Senate had voted out over the Governor’s recommended budget. This is the time of year when bills are being passed between chambers fast and furiously, so in the spirit of being timely and concise, if you are interested in which bills have passed the House and/or the Senate, you may find them on the General Assembly website (www.legislature.vermont.gov), click on “More House Information” or “More Senate Information”, and then on “All House Journals” or “All Senate Journals”, which will report on all bills in motion on that day. Additionally, if the reader knows the bill number, all action on that bill is found by typing the bill number into the bill tracker field.

In House Government Operations & Military Affairs, we finalized our work on S.59 (changes to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law) by making several adjustments to language requested by municipalities and other organizations, including more clarity around disturbances at public meetings. We also began our work on a biennial reports repeal bill, which has us looking at all of the reports required by legislation and determining if those reports are being received by Committees of jurisdiction and if they are useful. We are also commencing what is anticipated to be extensive testimony on S.131 (approval of an amendment to the charter of the City of Burlington relating to the possession of firearms); and H.508 (approval of amendments to the charter of the City of Burlington), which changes how and when the City redistricts wards and notices of termination of residential tenancies.

Rural Caucus met to hear updates from the Senate about the Education bill (H.454) and from the Ways & Means committee on their amendment to the Housing bill (S.127), both of which contain problematic language for rural communities. More work is being done on both of these bills, and I hope to be able to report on progress next week.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The highlight of this week’s House action is the passage of language that provides a graduated exemption for military retirement pensions and survivors benefits from State income tax and several additional civilian tax credits, as well as an additional tax credit for Veterans who have served less than 20 years. Readers will recall that a “military retiree” who earns a pension has served 20+ years, and a “survivor” receiving benefits is the recipient of a pension plan for which they are the designated beneficiary. “Veterans” are service members who have served any length of time. The bill has now passed to the Senate and still has a long way to go before it is finalized, but this is the best progress that the language has made in the two decades since it was first introduced.

In the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, we continued to take testimony on S.59 (amendments to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law) and S.23 (use of synthetic media in elections), and we took another look at H.472 (professions and occupations regulated by the Office of Professional Regulation) as it is coming back from the Senate in the context of learning about language from S.119 (licensure of early childhood educators), which we do not have possession of but may see within the H.472 language.  We also did a “drive by” and straw poll of of a House Human Services bill, S.53 (certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services) because the Office of Professional Regulation is within our committee jurisdiction. This is the season for the annual jockeying of language from one vehicle to another in hopes of ensuring its passage! Lastly this week, we took up a new bill referred to us by the Senate, S.131 (approval of an amendment to the Charter of the City of Burlington relating to the possession of firearms). There is much to unpack about this bill, and it will certainly take considerable committee time to hear from all of the witnesses who would be needed to testify on it; the same can be said for the aforementioned S.119.

On the House floor, we passed several bills back to the Senate: S.87 (extradition procedures); S.44 (authority to enter into certain immigration agreements), which gives the Governor the sole authority to sign those agreements; H.248 (supplemental programs and Child Care Financial Assistance Program), to which an amendment was defeated that would have put all private pre-K within the budget of the Department of Children and Families; H.230 (management of fish and wildlife); H.137 (regulation of insurance products and services); S.117 (rulemaking on safety and health standards and technical corrections on employment practices and unemployment compensation);

The Rural Caucus met and learned more about S.127 (housing and housing development), specifically regarding the CHIPs (project-based TIFs) program, and we heard from the newly created Land Use Review Board (formerly the Natural Resources Board), which administers Act 250, the Vermont Association of Planners and Developers, and members of Let’s Build Homes, a new coalition of interested individuals advocating for smart growth and creation of new housing of all types. The discussion provided more details on when to expect new mapping for land use Tiers to take place, and how those new maps will be used to determine eligibility for development. The concern of the Rural Caucus is that rural communities don’t get left out of the eligibility criteria.

It is an honor to serve you in the Vermont Legislature. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The Legislature continues to move towards the end of session. By now, the pace should be at a frenzy, but we seem to be in the lull before the storm.

In Government Operations, we picked up our work on S.59 (amendments to Open Meeting Law), S.56 (Office of New Americans); S.233 (State-funded grants); S.23 (use of synthetic media in elections); a couple of new charter changes: H.506 (Town of Charlotte) and H.508 (City of Burlington); and H.153 (expanding family access to certified copies of birth and death certificates).

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations held a joint public hearing on Veterans Affairs. While only a small number of veterans signed up to speak, we have heard from others in writing about their concerns and plan to circulate a survey in the coming weeks to better understand the challenges faced by those who served.

On that topic, House Ways & Means passed out a favorable version of the military pension and survivors’ benefits tax exemption in a more comprehensive tax credit bill (S.51) that also includes a tax credit for low-income veterans. This bill will come to the House Floor next week, and I expect it to receive widespread support.

On the House Floor, we passed the following legislation to the Senate: H.364 (approval of the annexation of property by the Village of Swanton); S.36 (Medicaid payment model for residential substance use disorder treatment services); S.50 (increasing size of solar net metering projects that qualify for expedited registration); H.13 (Medicaid payment rates for home- and community-based service providers; H.206 (uniform commercial code); H.398 (Vermont Economic Development Authority); H.463 (Technical Corrections); H.218 (Opioid Abatement Special Fund); H.96 (increasing the monetary thresholds for Certificates of Need); and S.27 (medical debt relief and excluding medical debt from credit reports). To remind readers, at this time of year, if the House is passing an “H” bill, it means that the Senate has sent it back to us with an amendment, and if we are passing an “S” bill, we are sending it back to the Senate either with our approval or with further amendment. We also addressed JRS 15 (Joint Resolution supporting Vermont’s transgender and non-binary community and declaring Vermont’s commitment to fighting discrimination and treating all citizens with respect and dignity), which was brought to us by the Senate, and PR 3 (Declaration of Rights; Right to Collectively Bargain). It is of importance to note that PR 3 is a Constitutional Amendment and must pass through the Senate and the House in two successive bienniums and will be brought to the voters in a subsequent general election. The roll call vote in the House was 125-15. The language of this Amendment can be found on the General Assembly website, and it is worth noting that it includes a clause that would require an employee to join a union, if one exists, at their workplace as a condition of employment; it is for this reason that I voted no on this Amendment, despite supporting the premise on which unions were first established, their historical impact, and current union activity. We also moved to establish Committees of Conference on H.493 (Budget Big Bill) and H.488 (Transportation Bill). This is a good sign, as it typically signals that the end of session is coming. However, this year, because the Education Transformation Bill (H.454) is moving so slowly, we have been told that the session will go through the month of May.

The Rural Caucus this week learned more about the Housing Bill (S.127) that is making its way through the committee process and USDA federal funding cuts affecting local farm and food security programs and agencies.

It is an honor to serve your interests in the Statehouse. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee started the week with a Senate amendment to H.10 (charter of the City of Barre), hearing testimony on H.376 (creation of the Treatment and Recovery Fund and the labeling and taxation of alcoholic beverages), more proposed amendment language for S. 59 (changes to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law), S.233 (State-funded grants), H.505 (approval of amendments to the charter of the Town of Barre), H.504 (approval of amendments to the charter of the City of Rutland), S.56 (creating an Office of New Americans), learning about the potential effects of federal directives regarding elections, and hearing from the Vermont State Youth Council with their legislative priorities.

On April 30 at 4pm, our committee will be holding a joint public hearing on Veterans Affairs. If readers would like to testify, please use this Online form: https://legislature.vermont.gov/links/joint-public-hearing-on-veterans-affairs

Some of what we do in the Legislature is like a treasure hunt: at this time of year, especially, language from one bill may get rolled into another bill, or language will disappear entirely, so I spent time this week pursuing where military pension and survivors’ benefits language is moving by scouring various committee agendas, trying to track down which bill it might put into. I’ve also been following S.127 (housing and housing development) to learn the potential implications of Act 250 mapping changes and language to permanently extend National Guard tuition benefits, which are some of the best in the nation.

On the House Floor, we passed: S.27 (medical debt relief and excluding medical debt from credit reports), concurring to the Senate amendment to H.10 (Barre City charter), S.36 (Medicaid payment model for residential substance use disorder treatment services), and a bill that I presented on the floor H.346 (approval of annexation of property by the Village of Swanton).

The Rural Caucus met and heard an update from the Regional Planning Commissions on mapping and budgeting, with an emphasis on FEMA projects and a presentation on brownfields.

It is an honor to serve. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango, Franklin-5

Dear Constituents –

This week began with the final Legislative Breakfast of the session for Franklin Co legislators and our constituents. Along with members of the public, we welcomed students from Richford High School who engaged with us on topics of importance to them, such as forgivable student loans and nicotine use.

In the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee, we attended a bill signing in Governor Scott’s Ceremonial Office for H.154 (designating November as the Vermont Month of the Veteran). The office was packed with press, veterans groups, and legislators for this occasion. It was an especially significant event for the Committee, as we had passed this bill last biennium, only to see it languish on our Senate sister committee’s wall when the majority wasn’t interested in taking it up. We greatly appreciate the makeup of this session’s Senate Gov Ops Committee and their willingness to move this forward. Although this is a small gesture recognizing Vermont’s veterans, the signing was done with a sense of pride and honor.

In other Committee business, we continued to work on H.72 (municipal ordinances governing nuisance properties containing salvage and scrap); H. 109 (municipal ordinances governing maintenance of properties within designated downtown districts); S.23 (use of synthetic media in elections); H.23 (requirements for State-funded grants); a group of municipal charters: H.506 (Charlotte); H. 505 (Barre Town); H.504 (Rutland City); and we successfully passed out H.364 (approval of the annexation of property by the Village of Swanton), which will go on to House Ways & Means.

On the House floor, the following bills passed: S.18 (licensure of free-standing birth centers) and S.28 (access to certain legally protected health care services); another bill S.27 (medical debt relief and excluding medical debt from credit reports) was on the calendar for action as of this writing.

In the Rural Caucus, we heard from entities representing rural healthcare interests, including the New England Rural Health Association and an interesting presentation on the community paramedicine model, which is being used in the Brattleboro area.  Paramedics go through a special certification program in conjunction with Brattleboro Memorial Hospital that allows them to make house calls to individuals with COPD, congestive heart failure, and other conditions that might otherwise bring them into the Emergency Dept. This preventative model is being used across the country in rural areas to supplement primary care practices and to avoid costly trips to the ED.

It is an honor to be a part of this process and to represent my district and Franklin Co in the Statehouse. Please reach out to me at [email protected]

Stay well,

Rep Lisa Hango