On your mark, Get set…
GO! We’re off to a great start.
January 8th began our first week in session. It was full of pageantry and ceremony. We accomplished all the required steps to constitutionally kick-off the biennium. On Wednesday, with friends and family filling the balcony and guest seating, we officially convened with a roll call of all members elect, we re-elected Jill Krowinski as Speaker of the House over challenger Laura Sibilia, all new members took the oath of office led by the new Speaker, and we were officially sworn-in. After lunch we were ceremonially assigned our seats in the House Chamber and a joint Senate-House Canvasing Committee was appointed to verify the vote counts of the state-wide offices, the standing House committees were defined, and members were announced to their committee assignments.
A new standing committee was formed this year called the “Energy and Digital Technology Infrastructure” committee making a total of 14 standing House Committees. Important bills that effect the fate of the Clean Heat Standard, Global Warming Solutions Act, and other energy legislation will be addressed in that committee. You can track activity in the new House Energy Committee HERE.
I have been assigned to the House Committee on Environment chaired by Representative Amy Sheldon of Middlebury. In addition to the necessary work to further amend Act 250 and resolve Water Quality issues, this committee will intersect with important work from other committees especially in Housing, Energy, and Agriculture. My experience on the Act 250 commission in Addison County and interest in clean water and agriculture make this a good fit for me. You can track activity in the House Environment Committee HERE.
Thursday morning the first series of bills were introduced on the House floor. Most notable of the 25 bills introduced from my perspective was the bill H.16 described in my previous posting concerning the repeal of the CHS. The House then invited the Senate to join us and we convened a Joint Assembly in the House chamber to hear the report of the Canvassing Committee after which we jointly elected John Rodgers to Lt. Governor. This was necessary because no Lt. Gov. candidate received greater than 50% of the general election votes cast in that race.
Thursday afternoon, in another Joint Assembly, with all appropriate formality, ceremony, seating of dignitaries and family, invocations, and songs, Governor Phil Scott was sworn in by Vermont Chief Justice Paul L. Reiber. Governor Scott then administered the oath of office to the remaining state-wide officers and presented his inaugural address. Governor Scott’s message was clear: the legislature needs to work together with his office to fix the affordability problems in Vermont, especially regarding Housing and Education. His full address is worth watching and can be seen HERE.
On Friday morning a solemn memorial was held for 8 former House members that passed in 2024. Three more bills were introduced and we adjourned the Assembly for the weekend to meet in our assigned Committees. The House Environment Committee took testimony from Attourney Michael O’Grady who instructed us on the legal landscape of Vermont’s Water Quality law. Recordings of this material as well as livestream of the House Environment Committee when in session can be found HERE.
We will reconvene at 10am Tuesday morning, Jan 14, 2025.
All information and videos of the Vermont Legislature can be found at https://legislature.vermont.gov
We capped off the week at the Governor’s Inaugural Gala at the Barre Auditorium. It was a wonderful showing with live local bands including Patty Casey and goods and food from all 14 Vermont Counties including everyone’s favorite LuLu ice cream.
This report was lengthy to give you a feel for the Vermont Legislature, its regality, importance, organization, and how to track its activity. Going forward I’ll provide more terse summaries of the important activities and bills. Please contact me directly through my website or email if you have further questions or suggestions on upcoming legislation.
Representative Rob North, Vermont State House, Addison-3
North.VTHouse@gmail.com
