Week 1: January 4th to January 6th

And so it begins

Wednesday, January 4th was the first day of the 2023-24 Vermont legislative biennium. That day, and the following two days as well, were filled with ritual, pomp, and circumstance. And none of the drama that marked the opening days of our national House of Representatives. Speaker Jill Krowinski was re-elected as speaker, with only one dissenting vote. The re-organization of some committees was also  agreed to with only one dissenting vote. If you're wondering about that "one dissenting vote" it was Anne Donahue the Representative from Northfield. She is a careful reader of bills, resolutions, and procedures and frequently raises important objections. She had some valid objections this time, but they weren't important enough to change any votes.

Oaths of Office

After the Speaker is selected, the House then nominates and votes upon a Clerk. This was a unanimous vote for BetsyAnn Wrask who served as Clerk for the last biennium. The Speaker administered the Oath of Office to the Clerk. The members of the House then took their Oath of Office. And after a similar oath was administered to the assistant clerks, the chamber could get down to business.

Two Important Facts

By the end of the day Wednesday all members knew two important facts concerning the next two years:

1. What seat in the chamber they will occupy.

2. What Committee they will be on.

The answer to the first is complicated. The second is easier.  

Seat Selection

Seat selection is a mix of politics and personal choice, Most of the Republicans sit in one area. Most of the Progressives sit in another area. The rest are Democrats and a few Independents. Some people like to sit in the front row because then you may get to shake hands with important people when the walk by on their way to the podium. Others like the back row because no one is looking over your shoulder and you can watch all the action. Some people like to whisper and make snide comments and want to sit next to friends who like the same.  Some don't like seats where the TV cameras can see what's on their open laptops. Other like to be opposite the TV cameras so they can be seen more. At any rate, there is a ritual to it all.

Returning members can keep their seats or select a new one, so first the chamber is cleared of all but the returning members. They sit down in either the same seat they had last time or an empty new one. There were close to 50 new members this biennium so there were plenty of seats to choose from. I switched to seat 142 in the back row, away from the cameras, and close to several members with whom I consult.

Next, any members who have served in the past are given the opportunity to select a seat. And finally the names of the new members are drawn from a box and called out one-by-one to select a seat and sit down.

Committee Assignments

Ultimately it is the Speaker who determines the makeup of all 13 or so committees. She does that in consultation with her leadership team and anyone else she wants to bring into the discussion. She looks for a balance of political parties, geographic area, expertise and a lot else. It's a complicated puzzle made that much more difficult by the large number of unknown new members. I was told that there were changes being made up to the morning of the day they were announced. 

Late in the afternoon Wednesday the Speaker finally read the list of committees and who would be on each. For Colchester that means the following:

CHI-20 District - The Village

Rep. Seth Chase - Assigned to the committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs which which considers matters relating to -

the structure, organization, and oversight of State, local, county, and regional government, the administration of public safety, compensation and retirement benefits for public officials and employees, elections, liquor and lottery, municipal corporations, military affairs, public records and open meetings, technology and cybersecurity, reapportionment, and other similar policies.

Rep. Chase was previously on the, now dissolved, committee on Energy and Technology

Rep. Curt Taylor - Assigned to the committee on Ways and Means which considers matters relating to - 

the revenue of the State, and which shall report the amount of taxes necessary to be raised for the support of the government and inquire what measures, if any, ought to be adopted, the better to equalize the public burdens, and otherwise improve the financial concerns of the State, including all matters relating to taxation, local or otherwise and all matters relating to the grand list, and other similar policies

This is a welcome change for me. I had been on the committee for Corrections and Institutions for the previous six years.

CHI-19 District - The Bay

Rep. Sarita Austin - assigned to the committee on Education, which shall consider matters relating to - 

education, libraries, literary and scientific subjects, and other similar policies.

This is the same committee she has always been on.

Rep. Pat Brennan - moved from Ways and Means to the committee on Appropriations as ranking member. The ranking member is next in line after the vice chair and helps out with scheduling and setting committee priorities. The Appropriations committee is responsible for the following:

The House Committee on Appropriations considers matters relating to appropriating money from the State Treasury.

By 3:30 in the afternoon, the first day's house keeping was done and the House adjourned.

The Governor's Inaugural Address

On Thursday the House and Senate met together to hear Governor Scott's inaugural address. That meant stricter security with lots of State Police in the building. The Oath of Office was administered to the Governor who, in turn, administered the Oath to the other constitutional officers: treasurer, auditor, etc. And then he gave his speech, after which the joint assembly dissolved and we were done for the day.

Training

Committees began meeting Friday, but briefly, as we had sexual harassment training. I also attended a presentation on taxes. In committee, members did a little "settling in." The real work will begin this coming week. 

Conclusion

During the first week of the session 25 bills were introduced and routed off to committees for consideration. Next week committees may begin those considerations.