In the Legislature

League of Women Voters^®
of Vermont

Your League at the State House. Legislation. Legislators.

Your League at the State House

As the legislative session progresses, the LWVVT continues to be a presence in the State House, observing committee meeetings and talking with our legislators. Details about legislation and legislators of interest are given below.

Legislation

Current legislation addressing the League's issue priorities deal with Campaign Finance, Renewable Energy, Instant Runoff Voting and Health Care.
Last June the Supreme Court struck down parts of Vermont's Campaign Finance Law. S.278 is the Senate's response to that decision. It may be voted on by the full Senate as early as January 18.
S.108 is a bill calling for Instant Runoff election in the event that no candidate achieves a majority of votes for U.S. Senate or House of Representatives. Although the LWVVT would like IRV to apply to more offices, this could provide a test of how IRV will work in Statewide elections, and the League supports it. The bill is currently in the House Appropriations Committee.
Two energy bills are now in committee. S.209 is now in the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. This is the bill that Governor Douglas vetoed last session, and it will be amended in the hope that it will become law this year. Another complex energy bill, S.339 promoted by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, is now in the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee.
The final legislation that the League will be following this session is H.304, a bill filed by Rep. McFaun of Barre, which would provide hospitalization coverage to all Vermonters. The House Health Care Committee has promised to take the bill under consideration this session.
Update
The Senate Government Operations Committee has begun taking testimony on two proposals for Constitutional amendments dealing with four year terms. Proposal 2 calls for four-year terms for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor of Accounts, and Attorney General. Proposal 4 provides for 4-year terms for those offices and state Senators and Representatives. The LWVVT has a position in favor of four year terms for Governor and Lt. Governor, but has no position on the other offices listed in these proposals.

The Legislators

A list of state Senators by county can be found here and Representatives and their districts can be seen by clicking here
The chairs and membership of the committees mentioned above are as follows:
House Appropriations (Room 42) - Reps. Martha Heath (Chair), Mark Larson, Robert Helm, Joe Acinapura, Donald Bostic, Peter Hunt, Jim Hutchinson, Mitzi Johnson, Kathleen Keenan, Alice Miller, and John Morley III.
House Health Care (Room 45) - Reps. Steven Maier (Chair), Harry Chen, Francis (Topper) McFaun, Bill Keogh, Lucy Leriche, Virginia Milkey, Pat O'Donnell, Hilde Ojibway, Scott Wheeler, and John Zenie.
House Natural Resources and Energy (Ethan Allen Room) - Reps. Robert Dostis (Chair), Joyce Errecart, Betty Nuovo, William Canfield, Sarah Edwards, Tony Klein, Joseph Krawczyk, Jr., Kathy LaVoie, Mark Mitchell, and Rachel Weston.
Senate Government Operations (Room 4) - Sens. Jeanette White (Chair), William Doyle, Claire Ayer, George Coppenrath, and Ed Flanagan.
Senate Natural Resources and Energy (Room 8) - Sens. Virginia (Ginny) Lyons (Chair), Mark MacDonald, Robert Hartwell, Richard McCormack, and Dianne Snelling.
Click here to find scheduled hearings for a particular bill, and here for the weekly committee schedules. They are posted every Monday, but are subject to change, so check again if you are interested in a specific day.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 12, 2010 10:42 PDT.