New Microphones in the Chamber of the Vermont House of Representatives
What happens pre-session?
The next biennium of the Vermont General Assembly will begin January 4th. But a good deal happens between now and then. This page is about what happens in the House of Representatives before the session begins.
The election
A lot of work is held off until the results of the November election are official. Until then there is mostly speculation about who will win, what party will have how many votes, who will be on what committee and who will be occupying the various leadership positions. The election results confirmed a Democratic supermajority in both the House and Senate. Now the emphasis switches from campaigning to preparing to legislate.
Who has the votes?
The balance of power between the three official parties (Democrats, Republicans and Progressives) of the General Assembly determines what legislation will be proposed and how successful the majority party will be in accomplishing its goals. The Democratic caucus now has 104 out of 150 seats in the House and 22 out of 30 seats in the Senate. That gives Democrats a two-thirds majority in each body, enough to override a Governor's veto and enough to suspend legislative rules in order to expedite the often slow legislative process, if (and that's a big "if") all Democrats agree.
The big questions
There are two fundamental questions that the majority party needs to answer prior to the first day of the session: what will be the legislative priorities and who will lead the party in accomplishing those priorities. Both questions are being asked and answered in November and December.
What are the legislative priorities?
I am a Democrat and privy to the process within that party. I do not know what the Republicans are doing, but I suspect much of the same activity is going on there, and within the Progressive party as well. The Senate may well have their own process, but here's what the House does.
Small Groups
During November the Democratic party has been holding small-group meetings throughout the state. In the meetings ten to twenty members discuss what they heard while campaigning. What are the issues that are of most concern to Vermonters? The twenty or so members that showed up by Zoom at the meeting I attended reiterated that housing, child care, cost of living, and workforce development top the list. Also mentioned were broadband development, mental health supports, and education funding.
House Democratic Caucus Meeting
Last week House Democrats met for a public day-long caucus at the Capitol. There was first the business of nominating and electing party leadership. But much of the day was spent reviewing and discussing what was brought up in the various small group sessions. The same topics: child care, housing, workforce, broadband, cost of living were revisited.
Who will lead the party?
There are two tiers to party Leadership: the Party Leaders and the Committee Leadership. Who will fill those positions is generally resolved before the session begins in January.
Party Leadership in the House consists of the following:
Speaker of the House - Leader and spokesperson for the House. The Speaker presides over the chamber and appoints committee chairs, vice-chairs, ranking members and committee members for each committee. The Speaker is elected by all the members of the House during the first meeting of the new legislature. Rep. Jill Krowinsky of Burlington was unanimously nominated for this position. Her official election will be on the first day of the session. She was the Speaker for the previous session.
Majority Leader - This person supports the speaker. The majority leader is elected by the caucus. Rep. Emily Long was unanimously selected. She was the Majority leader last session.
Assistant Majority Leader - Whip - Aside from providing policy input to the Speaker, the Whip counts votes. That means a lot of running around talking to members and asking them how they intend to vote on upcoming bills or issues. Rep. Kathleen James was chosen as Whip for this session.
Assistant Majority Leader - Development & Strategy - Works with the Speaker and the committee chairs to develop long-term for policy development. Elected by the caucus, this person also helps count votes. Rep. William Notte was selected.
Assistant Majority Leader - Communications - This person supports and advised the Speaker but is also responsible for managing caucus communication to the general public. This person also helps count votes. Rep. Jana Brown will fill this position.
Of all these positions, the Speaker is the most important as that's the person who will have the greatest influence on who will fill the other positions. The Speaker is not officially elected until the first day of the session, but by then the decision has been made. And though the Speaker need not be a member of the Majority party, or even a member of the Legislature, she/he is generally selected behind the scenes by the majority caucus. It's not a smoke-filled-room decision. It's just a lot of phone calls. And depending on the make-up of the members, there can be competition. Each party likes to be united behind a candidate before the actual election.
Committee Leaders
The Speaker determines who will be on what committee and who will fill the positions of Chair, Vice-chair and Ranking Member. This is not a simple process. The Speaker consults with the leadership in all parties for these important decisions. Throughout the month of December the Speaker will work to place all 150 members on the various committees and decide who should lead each committee.
Committee leadership is important as the Chair of each committee determines how legislation flows through that committee. Committee chairs also meet as a group during the session to keep the Speaker informed and to make further policy decisions.
Beyond all that
Prior to the start of the biennium the non-partisan Joint Fiscal Office delivers a presentation to the General Assembly on Vermont's economic health. That public presentation was on December 7th this year. You can find more information here. December is also the time for advocates to begin prodding Representatives with legislative proposals. Non-profits hold forums and invite legislatures to attend. Once the session begins, things get very busy, so this is the time for Legislative Breakfasts and discussions.
The Session Begins
The first week of January will be filled with rituals, speeches, and trainings. The rituals include determining which seat a member will have in the chamber. The speeches will probably include a welcome by the Governor. The training will include sessions on ethics, sexual harassment, and the rules of the chamber. The pace for the first several weeks is a little slow while new members and new committee chairs find their footing. When the Governor presents his budget proposal late in January, the work begins in earnest.