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Editor’s note: This article was updated at 6:50 p.m. on March 25.
Leaders of the Vermont House were forced to call in 76 legislators to gather and pass emergency COVID-19 legislation in Montpelier on Wednesday, after one representative demanded that a quorum of the chamber vote on a proposed change to the chamber’s rules.
House leaders had hoped to minimize the number of lawmakers that would have to come in to vote on the COVID-19 legislation, to assuage public health concerns and prevent the possible spread of the virus.
Only about a dozen lawmakers were in the House chamber when proceedings were scheduled to restart at 1 p.m.
But as the House was about to vote on a rule change that would allow the body to begin holding votes remotely, Rep. Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington, called on Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, to bring a quorum of lawmakers into the Statehouse Wednesday afternoon.
According to the House’s rules, a quorum of lawmakers is assumed unless a member of chamber asks if one is present.
“I think it’s very serious how we vote in this building and that people’s behavior and voting is transparent and accountable. And to have a ‘Rump Parliament’, a ‘Rump’ House be approving these things … I just don’t think that’s right,” Browning said in an interview.
The rule change — approved later in the afternoon — allows the chamber to approve remote voting at a future date, if they agree to do so with a three-quarters majority in a vote that would be held remotely itself.
Browning said that she believed there was enough space in the chamber to accommodate 76 House members sitting 6 feet apart to vote on the rule change.
And she said requiring only half the chamber to attend the vote would still provide enough flexibility so that members with health problems, or who aren’t comfortable doing so, don’t have to come in.
“It’s just 76 people,” Browning said. “It really matters how you do things. Once you start cutting corners, there’s no end to what corners you’re going to cut.”
Over the next few hours, dozens of lawmakers from all over the state began to arrive, some wearing masks and gloves. At around 4:30, the roughly 80 lawmakers present passed the rule change, along with two major COVID-19 bills in about five minutes, without any debate.
Browning, a moderate Democrat who is often either respected or resented for her frequent attempts to challenge party leaders, faced widespread criticism for her decision to demand a quorum in the midst of a pandemic.
“We have a lot of members who are elderly and potentially somebody from this one event could contract it and become grievously ill. I hope that doesn’t happen,” said Rep. Sam Young D-Greensboro. “She’s within her rights. But it’s also pretty callous.”
“I used to be somewhat impressed by her constant protesting,” said Rep. Jay Hooper, D-Randolph. “But this is too far.”
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said she was disappointed that Browning was willing to put House members’ health at risk. But said that ultimately, the legislator was within her rights to ask for a quorum.
Johnson explained that a tripartisan group of House leaders agreed on the resolution that could allow for remote voting.
The speaker said virtual voting would allow the House to “honor the Democratic process” while addressing health concerns, and that Browning’s demand for 76 lawmakers to assemble in Montpelier “jeopardizes” public health.
“I do believe this is principle over public health and for me, the safety of Vermonters is of paramount importance here,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday.
Johnson presided over the chamber wearing a mask that covered her mouth and nose and spoke about twice as fast as she normally does, as lawmakers passed the measures in rapid succession.
The House sent two bills to the governor’s desk Wednesday, H.742 and H.681, both aimed at providing immediate relief during the COVID-19 crisis.
One bill will expand unemployment insurance benefits to Vermonters during the COVID-19 crisis, and the other aims to expand the capacity of Vermont’s health care system to address the pandemic.
The Senate sent the legislation back to the House Tuesday after spending about two weeks working on it remotely.
Before the vote, lawmakers spaced themselves throughout the Statehouse, sitting on couches and chairs, waiting in committee rooms and at cafeteria tables, putting a safe social distance between one another.
Statehouse Sergeant-at-Arms Janet Miller helped escort lawmakers throughout the chamber, making sure they were seated 6 feet apart. A handful of them joined members of the press in the balcony.
“This feels like a really unnecessary risk,” Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, the chair of the House’s government operations committee, said after Wednesday’s vote. She noted that after the vote, House members would disperse back to about 80 communities around Vermont.
But she said that because lawmakers were properly distanced from one another, it’s unlikely anyone would have been able to contract the virus.
Walking into the chamber on Wednesday, Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, said she understood why Browning made the decision to call the quorum on Wednesday.
“I felt that my constitutional oath was being impaired, I would have done the same thing,” Donahue said.
Donahue, a member of the House Rules Committee, only supported the rule change after Democrats agreed to require three-quarters of the chamber to agree before moving forward with remote voting.
This agreement will effectively give Republicans the ability to block remote voting in the coming days if enough of the party isn’t comfortable with it.
Before he walked into the chamber, Rep. Dan Noyes, D-Wolcott, expressed frustration about Browning’s quorum call.
“I hope Vermonters are OK after this,” he said.