Unlike the last time the Senate Rules Committee met, no fireworks erupted Thursday at a committee hearing focusing on disclosure forms and updating the Senate’s policies on preventing sexual harassment.
Last time, there was a blowup between the committee chair, Sen. John Campbell, D-Windsor, and Sen. Philip Baruth, D-Chittenden, over what financial information senators should provide, including interests in companies or shares of stock. Campbell said he and Baruth settled their “misunderstanding,” and the question of what financial interests should be disclosed, the heart of their dispute, was moved to another Senate committee that is looking at the establishment of a statewide ethics commission.
According to Campbell and Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, the ethics commission would develop the standard on what ownership stake a legislator would have to disclose. If a violation were to occur, that would be handled by each chamber’s ethics commission.
The five-member Senate Rules Committee also reviewed an updated draft of the sexual harassment policy. The only major change, according to Campbell, is that the policies now would also apply when the Legislature is not in session, an apparent gap.
The committee also had a brief discussion about the need to register interns and other aides who work for senators while at the Statehouse. The move comes in the wake of the suspension of Sen. Norm McAllister, R-Franklin, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he hired as an intern. But Senate Secretary John Bloomer said the policy was also needed for security reasons, such as if the building needed to be cleared. Bloomer also said it would provide clarity about who was ultimately responsible for the intern or aide.