2025 AARP Vermont Legislative Session Report

Every year the AARP Vermont team tracks and engages on dozens of bills throughout the legislative session. The 2025 Vermont legislative session was an unusually long one, with the legislature's final meeting taking place in mid-June, and Governor Scott's signing of the last bill extending into July. A total of 679 bills were introduced this year, the first of the biennium.

The Vermont legislature passed several bills that benefit Vermonters aged 50 and older, from investments in long-term care services and HomeShare to medical debt relief. We are pleased to share the highlights of some of these bills with you.

We have more work to do in 2025 and beyond to ensure that every Vermonter can choose how to live as they age. We invite you to join us in this work by signing up to be an e-Activist at the AARP Vermont Advocacy Hub.

For a pdf copy of this report, CLICK HERE.

SFY26 Budget – Signed into law
The state’s FY26 budget includes an additional $235,000 base funding appropriation to HomeShare Vermont, allowing the program to expand to Orleans, Essex, Caledonia, and Windham Counties, and the remaining towns in Windsor County. Funding this expansion is an efficient and affordable way to tackle both the housing crisis and ensure that older Vermonters have more choices in living an independent and vibrant life.

S.127 (Act 69) - Signed into Law
This act relating to housing and housing development included the Community Housing and Infrastructure Program (CHIP). The CHIP proposal represents the most significant investment in municipal infrastructure in state history, allowing up to $200 million per year of tax increment financing to be spent by Vermont communities on infrastructure that will serve a public good and support the development of new housing in village and downtown centers.

AARP Vermont partnered with Smart Growth America (SGA), through AARP’s Livable Communities Technical Assistance Program (LC-TAP), to study the proposal and its potential impact on housing development.

SFY26 Budget – Signed into law
The state's FY26 budget includes $6.78 million for rate increases for long-term care rates, specifically for home-based Choices for Care and enhanced residential care. Chronic underfunding and workforce shortages have compromised Vermonters’ access to these essential services, and increased investment is critical to their stability.

H.13 (Act 14) - Signed into Law
This act requires the Agency of Human Services to develop reasonable and adequate Medicaid rates for home and community-based services. While the bill does not appropriate funds or ensure reimbursement rate increases, it is a critical step in providing quality data, which will enable accurate home-based care reimbursement rates to be calculated and advocated for.

AARP worked in partnership with members of the Long Term Care Crisis Coalition to advocate for these wins.

H.137 (Act 23) - Signed into Law
The omnibus financial regulations bill included key provisions related to the regulation of cryptocurrency kiosks and calls for a study of regulatory models to allow financial institutions to take measures to protect account holders from fraudulent transactions.

Cryptocurrency Kiosks
The usage of cryptocurrency ATMs in scams has grown exponentially. Bad actors are increasingly seeking payments for fraudulent schemes in cryptocurrency, as these transactions do not pass through a bank or other institution that might flag suspicious activity.

This act provides additional consumer protection for users of cryptocurrency kiosks, including transaction limits, full refunds for new customers who are victims of fraud, and disclosures and warnings regarding fraud and refunds. The act extends the moratorium on new kiosk licenses in Vermont until July 2026.

Suspicious Transaction Holds Study
Act 23 also directs the Department of Financial Regulation to conduct a study of measures financial institutions can take to protect account holders from fraudulent transactions. Called “Report and Hold” regulations, these protections, if enacted, would empower banks and credit unions to intervene to protect the hard-earned money of older Vermonters. The act names AARP as a stakeholder to be consulted in a working group set to meet this summer to explore these regulations further.

H. 488 (Act 43) - Signed into Law
The passage of the annual state transportation bill, H. 488, increased funding to invest in volunteer driver programs statewide, supporting on-demand services. The $600K in appropriations was a steep increase to provide transit providers with much-needed support to recruit, train, and retain volunteer drivers who service the most rural parts of our state.

S.51 (Act 71) - Signed into Law
This year's tax credit package included an increase in the income thresholds at which Social Security is fully or partially tax-exempt by $5,000. The new income thresholds for full exemption of the state tax on Social Security are now $55,000 AGI for single filers and $70,000 for joint filers. The exemption is phased out over the next $10,000 of income.

This act also expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), military retirement and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) benefits, and the exemption on Military Retirement and Survivors Benefits.

S.27 (Act 21) - Signed into Law
Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. and 85,000 Vermonters reported delaying or avoiding care due to fear of medical debt. This act allows the state treasurer to eliminate up to $100 million in medical debt using existing funds. The act also removes medical debt from Vermonter’s credit reports.

H.461 (Act 32) - Signed into Law
This act expands unpaid parental leave and updates definitions to ensure nontraditional family structures have equal access to caregiving leave. The act also permits eligible employees to take up to two weeks of bereavement leave, with no more than five workdays taken consecutively. AARP Vermont worked together with members of the Vermont Paid Leave Coalition to advocate for the bill.

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AARP Vermont is also keeping an eye on a number of bills that were introduced but not enacted this year. As 2025 is the first year of the biennium, these bills could be taken up again in the 2026 session.

H.74: An act relating to exempting Social Security benefits from Vermont income tax

H.115: An act relating to tax debt forgiveness for victims of fraud

H.120: An act relating to the study and design of a long-term care trust fund

H.284: An act relating to requirements for older drivers to renew operator’s licenses and for the operation of motor homes

H.414: An act relating to the Vermont Commission on Aging

H.437: An act relating to establishing a study committee to examine universal design standards for residential buildings

S.152: An act relating to requirements for older drivers to renew operator’s licenses

Caregiver Tax Credit: The original Senate-passed version of S.51 included a tax credit for family caregivers. While the caregiver's tax credit was removed from the final version of the bill, this marks considerable progress toward a policy that would give meaningful financial relief to family caregivers.