Having completed the necessary work of completing a state budget and setting the statewide education property tax yield for 2026, the Vermont General Assembly wrapped up its 2025 Legislative Session at the end of May.

However, Governor Scott and the Democratic majorities were unable to find agreement on addressing the high costs and impracticality of numerous energy mandates passed into law over the last five years.

In part III of the 2025 Vermont Legislative Recap, we examine proposals to reform Vermont’s expensive and impractical energy mandates that didn’t make it over the finish line.

Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and Right to Sue Reform (Did Not Pass). NFIB VT supports legislation to reform the GWSA by converting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction mandates into goals and eliminating the GWSA’s ill-conceived “right to sue.”

The GHG mandates will cost billions and the right to sue puts special interest groups, lawyers, and judges in charge of deciding how to meet the programs if the legislature and governor cannot agree on a plan. Even worse, the GWSA allows out-of-state special interest groups to collect attorney fees and costs at the expense of Vermont taxpayers.

Read more about the problems with the GWSA and Right to Sue.

Vermont is responsible for 8.56 million out of 53.8 gigatons, or just 0.016%, of global carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2Eq). Reducing Vermont’s GHG emissions will not have a measurable impact on global climate.

While the state should pursue cost-effective and practical steps, the cost of GHG reduction efforts need to be weighed against the economic impact to Vermont families and small businesses.

Numerous pieces of legislation sought to reform these flawed laws, including: H.52 (Rep. Jim Harrison) and S.110 (Sen. Terry Willliams).

Clean Heat Tax Repeal (Did Not Pass). Passed into law in 2023, the Clean Heat Act is a complex tax, carbon credit, fuel dealer registration, and GHG reduction scheme that aimed to meet part of the GWSA’s GHG reduction targets. Fortunately for Vermonters, the original law required further study and additional legislative approval before going into effect.

With its oft-frigid winters, Vermont relies heavily on propane, oil, and natural gas for home heating, with 73.3% of homes using one of those three as their primary heat source (an additional 10% use wood). The Clean Heat Tax would add to the financial burden of heating homes and small businesses.

Read more about the problems with Clean Heat here.

Multiple bills were introduced to repeal Clean Heat, including H.16 (Rep. Jim Harrison) and S.68 (Sen. Terry Williams).

Other bills were introduced to fully implement the Clean Heat Tax (H.216, Mrowicki) or implement a different fuel tax (H.224, Mrowicki) for similar purposes. NFIB VT opposed both and neither advanced this year.

Clean Heat remains dormant until the legislature takes further action or until the state is forced to implement it by the GWSA’s Right to Sue.

Clean Heat Fuel Dealer Registration Suspended. Importantly, in late May the VT PUC announced it would not enforce the law’s fuel dealer registry due to the law’s dormancy.

The requirement for fuel dealers to register and regularly report on sales was widely criticized as being overly broad, duplicative of existing information, and an unnecessary burden.

Read the VT PUC’s full memo here.

California Cars and Trucks Repeal (Suspended by Executive Order). Like the ill-conceived Clean Heat Tax, lawmakers took aim at another mandate that will drag on Vermont’s economy.

The California Cars and Trucks Mandates (Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, Heavy Duty Omnibus) are a suite of electric vehicle sales mandates and emissions standards that impact nearly every type of vehicle. They were set to go into effect for model year 2026.

The rules originate from a regulatory board in California and require an increasingly higher percentage of new car and truck sales to be electric vehicles, until reaching 100% electric for cars and light duty trucks and up to 75% for heavy trucks in 2035.

If implemented, the mandates would have wide ranging impacts on food, lumber, fuel, and many more everyday items.

Read more about the problems with California Cars and Trucks.

Several bills were introduced to repeal the mandates, including H.65 (Rep. Mark Higley) and S.101 (Sen. Scott Beck). NFIB VT supports fully repealing the mandates.

While repeal did not happen this year, Governor Scott joined several other states in delaying implementation of California Cars and Trucks until 2027.

Cap & Trade/New Fuel Taxes (Did Not Pass). Under a directive tied to the GWSA, Vermont agencies commissioned a study of how Cap & Trade and Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) programs would work in the Green Mountain State.

Like the Clean Heat Tax, Cap & Trade and LCFS punish production and consumption of carbon-based fuels through complex credit programs, fees, and taxes.

The report found that Cap & Trade could increase the price of heating and transportation fuels by up to 83 cents per gallon. And researchers and the University of Pennsylvania believe LCFS will increase the cost of transportation fuels by up to $1.50 per gallon by 2035.

Despite their hefty price tags these programs would also likely not be enough on their own to satisfy the GWSA GHG reduction targets.

Read more about the problems with these proposals here.

NFIB VT members strongly oppose these types of schemes. Neither has yet advanced into rule or law. However, the Vermont Climate Council may add them to the state’s Climate Action Plan.