Here in Vermont, the new legislative session is well underway for 2025-2026. Beginning in January 8th and continuing until around late spring, Vermont lawmakers, lobbyists, State House staff, and others, will spend the next few months amending, drafting, and enacting bills (see here for details about the Vermont legislative process). 

For 2025, Vermont, as well as the federal administration, has new legislative faces. As the United States continues to transition into a new federal administration, the role of state-level policy can increasingly become more important. Audubon Vermont will work with state leadership to ensure that progress on critical issues—such conservation and others in alliance with our mission—continues.  

As a result of the 2024 General Election, Vermont experienced some major changes in the legislature. More Democratic seats were lost in Vermont than any other state, which resulted in the loss of the Democratic supermajority (Stewart, 2024). In the 150-member House, 56 seats are now held by Republicans compared to the 37 that were previously held (Russell, 2024). This means that the Democrats hold 87 seats compared to 105 from the previous election (Petenko & Fountain, 2024). Progressives and Independents hold 3-4 seats in the House, respectively (Pentenko & Fountain, 2024). In the 30-member Senate, the Republicans 7 members increased to 13 (Russell, 2024). Therefore, Democrats and Progressives hold 17 seats compared to the previous 23 in the Senate (Weinstein, 2024). Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, remains in office (Russel, 2024) and the Speaker of the House, Democrat Jill Krowinski, was reelected (Robinson, 2025). Democrat Phil Baruth also retained his title of Senate President Pro Tempore (Robinson, 2025). All of the unofficial changes in legislative membership from the 2024 General Election for both the House and the Senate can be found here. This document contains the non-returning 2023-2024 Representatives and Senators, the new 2025-2026 Representatives and Senators, their corresponding districts, and party affiliations. 

Huntington, Vermont—where Audubon Vermont’s main office is located—exists in the Washington-Chittenden District where Representative Thomas Stevens and Representative Theresa Woods of the House remain in office. They both are Democrats and are not new to the Vermont Legislature. For the Senate, Huntington exists in the Addison District. Senator Ruth Hardy and Senator Steven Heffernan represent Addison County for this session. While Senator Ruth Hardy, a Democrat, is not new to the Vermont Legislature, Steven Heffernan, a Republican, of Bristol comes in as a new face. Senator Heffernan’s election into office proved to be one of the biggest upsets in the election, as Addison County typically is thoroughly Democrat. Senator Heffernan replaced Senator Chris Bray, who was the previous chair for the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy (Weinstein, 2024). We invite all our legislators to come visit us at the Green Mountain Audubon Center! 

This year, Audubon Vermont will continue to monitor bills and issues related to our mission. Our priorities remain forests, farms, youth leadership, community building, biodiversity, and priority birds, just to name a few. We will be watching bills that were passed in the previous legislative session to ensure that they remain strong and intact. For example, Act 182—passed during the last legislative session—restricts the use of neonicotinoid pesticides due to their harmful environmental effects. Because these chemicals pose a threat to birds and pollinators, Audubon Vermont will closely monitor the law’s implementation to ensure it remains strong and effective.  We will also be observing Act 181, legislation focused on community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use planning. Enacted in the last legislative session, this bill made revisions to Vermont’s long-standing land use law, Act 250, aiming to address the housing crisis while also protecting critical habitats. Finally, we will be working to ensure that progress toward implementing Act 59, an act relating to community resilience and biodiversity protection, continues. 

Stay tuned for ways to get involved with Audubon Vermont during the 2025-2026 legislative session! One way is to join our email list to receive Action Alerts. Action Alerts are messages sent by Audubon Vermont to our members to inform or suggest ways to take action on policy issues advancing Audubon’s mission. Sign up for emails, updates, and action alerts here.  

Works Cited  

Petenko, E., & Fountain, K. (2024, November 6). Where Democrats lost ground in Vermont’s House. VTDigger. https://vtdigger.org/2024/11/06/where-democrats-lost-ground-in-vermonts-house/  

Robinson, S. (2025, January 8). Jill Krowinski reelected Vermont House speaker, overcoming challenge by Laura Sibilia. VTDigger. https://vtdigger.org/2025/01/08/jill-krowinski-reelected-vermont-house-speaker-overcoming-challenge-by-laura-sibilia/  

Russell, J. (2024, December 14). Why Democrats Lost More Seats in Vermont Than Any Other State. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/us/vermont-election-democrats-republicans.html 

Stewart, M. (2024, November 15). “Voters cleared up the confusion”: Here’s why Vermont saw a “Red Wave” in Election 2024. Burlington Free Press. https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2024/11/15/vermont-legislature-republican-party-increase-democrat-progressive-parties/76258487007/  

Weinstein, E. (2024, November 6). Republicans flip six seats in the Vermont Senate, shattering Democratic supermajority. VTDigger. https://vtdigger.org/2024/11/05/republicans-flip-grand-isle-senate-seat/