LobbyComply Blog

The Legislature met in a one-day special session on November 22 to approve a bill allowing municipalities to impose their own mask mandates.

Legislative leadership agreed to the special session after Gov. Scott made it clear he would not impose statewide masking requirements.

This session marked the Legislature’s first return to the Statehouse since the pandemic began.

Gov. Phil Scott will reconvene the Vermont Legislature for a special session on November 22 to address mask mandates.

The special session will aim to pass legislation allowing municipalities to implement their own time-limited mask mandates.

It is not yet clear when the session will end. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Elizabeth “Liz” Harrington, the Lobby Systems Administrator for the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office, passed away on October 28.

A funeral mass will be held at Saint Augustine’s Church in Montpelier on November 13 at 11:00 a.m. and professional colleagues can send condolences to Liz’s family courtesy of the Secretary of State’s Office at the following address:

Vermont SOS-Elections, Attn: Family of Liz Harrington, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633.

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 21.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 legislative session was conducted remotely.

During the session, lawmakers failed to pass proposed ethics bills including House Bill 64 prohibiting gifts to legislators from lobbying entities.

Lawmakers are expecting to lift all COVID-19 restrictions by the summer and resume an in-person legislative session for 2022.

Both the Vermont House and Senate are scheduled to begin their 2021 sessions Wednesday, January 6.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of lawmakers will be attending remotely to swear in new members of both chambers and to elect the speaker of the House and the president pro tem of the Senate.

Gov. Phil Scott will remotely give his inaugural address on Thursday, January 7.

Incumbent Gov. Phil Scott won reelection for a third term as Governor of Vermont and defeated a challenge from current Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman.

Gov. Scott has one of the highest governor approval ratings in the country and won the reelection by receiving nearly 69% of the vote.

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned sine die on September 25.

The Legislature normally adjourns in May but was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers adjusted to the pandemic by holding remote online meetings.

During the remote legislative session, lawmakers were able to pass bills relating to the 2021 fiscal year budget, police reform, and a land use reform.

On August 25, the Vermont General Assembly will reconvene the legislative session to discuss the governor’s proposed 2021 budget.

Lawmakers will return to a virtual statehouse and all meetings will be conducted remotely.

The budget public hearings will be available to watch live on YouTube at the following link: https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/streaming/house-appropriations.

On March 13, the Legislature adjourned until Tuesday, March 24, due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

The State House will be closed for cleaning and all staff except essential security and IT personnel will work remotely.

Legislative leaders will reevaluate whether to extend the break after the one-week closure.

On February 14, State Rep. Matt Trieber announced his resignation from the Windham-3 District.

Trieber resigned his legislative seat to focus on his job as a youth counselor.

Gov. Phil Scott will appoint a nominee to fill the vacancy from the same party as the departing representative.

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 29.

During the session the Legislature introduced a bill changing lobbying reporting dates from the 15th to the 3rd of the month.

Lawmakers also introduced Senate Bill 157, proposing to grant the ethics commission authority to adopt an enforceable code of ethics, adjudicate complaints, and impose penalties upon finding a violation.

Both bills will carryover to 2020 as they failed to pass this legislative session.

The Vermont special session adjourned sine die on June 29.

Gov. Phil Scott called the special session after vowing to veto the budget bill passed last month to prevent tax rate increases.

On Monday, Scott announced his intention to let the third version of the budget bill become law without his signature to prevent a government shutdown on July 1.

Lawmakers reconvene today in Montpelier for a special session called by Gov. Phil Scott.

The focus of the special session will be on the state budget and property tax bills passed by the General Assembly during the regular session.

Gov. Scott has signaled to the Legislature his plan to veto both bills in their present form.

Gov. Phil Scott called a special session for May 23, 2018. The governor is planning to veto the state budget and property tax bills passed during the regular session.

Gov. Scott has promised to veto any legislation that increases taxes or fees. If vetoed, the Legislature has until the end of June to pass a spending bill before the new fiscal year commences on July 1.

Lawmakers hope Gov. Scott will sign the current bills and make the special session unnecessary.