The Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club is not alone in our work, and our partnerships with numerous organizations make us stronger. Please review the Vermont 2026 Environmental Common Agenda and the Transportation for Vermontersplatforms, as many of our priorities are included.
Vermont Chapter Legislative Positions: The Vermont Chapter’s volunteer legislative team reviews dozens of bills to determine which are our top priorities to support.
For multiple years, we have had a chapter-wide top priority to advance Clean Transportation for All. We will remain focused on advancing electric vehicle charging, restoring EV incentives, funding public transit, and promoting active transportation (biking and walking). Two policies that we would like to see enacted this year are the Right to Charge policies and the adoption of S.66, an act relating to motor vehicle noise, exhaust modifications, and engine compression brakes. However, with a Transportation Budget shortfall of $33 million, the legislature must solve the funding crisis and rethink how Vermont pays for transportation.
Energy and Climate: In the last few years, Vermont has been able to adopt the Global Warming Solutions Act, reform the Renewable Energy Standard, and pass the Climate Superfund law. However, fossil fuel interests, Governor Scott, and a number of anti-environmental legislators are attempting to attack these critically important bills this year. The Chapter will be prepared to defend them, but we’ll need your help too. In addition, we will be supporting bills to adopt plug-in solar, support appliance efficiency, and protect ratepayers from excessive energy bills, and we will be watching bills to continue net metering and modernize renewable energy siting. We’ll also be watching the bills to regulate energy-intensive data centers.
Natural Resources / Wildlife and Conservation: Numerous natural resource policies are being debated this year. We will work with our allies to ensure that Act 181, the land use modernization bill, and the 30 x 30 bills are implemented and not weakened by the Governor and his anti-conservation friends. The Chapter is supporting bold policies, including H. 276, the Vermont Wildlands bill, because it is clear that in this time of unprecedented attacks on public lands by Trump, Vermont needs to do more at the state level. We’ll be watching other policies to ensure that the Governor’s illegal Executive Orders weakening wetlands protections are not implemented. We’ll also support and watch policies to regulate dangerous pesticides and limit unethical hunting methods.
LEGISLATION: Each Vermont Legislative Biennium, hundreds of bills are introduced in the Legislature. The Sierra Club volunteer legislative team reviews bills and will adopt a position that we believe is in the best interests of our membership and our mission. To be effective, we will prioritize a few bills as our top priorities and will dedicate our resources to ensure that our goals are met. When we prioritize a bill or policy, we will testify, lobby, coordinate with partners, and engage our members to support it. For bills that we don’t have a position for or that we are “watching,” we may take a position as the bills evolve, if we have the capacity. See the bills we are currently tracking here.
What can you do?
Please consider joining our legislative team. Email robb.kidd@sierraclub.org
More importantly, contact your state Representative and Senators to ask them to prioritize your concerns today. See here to find your legislators' contact information.