[A] key committee in the Vermont Senate has delayed a vote on the controversial merger between the Department of Labor and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
The Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee was scheduled to take an advisory vote Friday at 9 a.m. That vote has been postponed to Tuesday at 9 a.m. following discussions between the committee and the administration.
Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, the chair of the committee, met with leaders of the Department of Labor and the Agency of Commerce before the scheduled vote. After he announced the delay to his committee, he said the panel wants to give the administration more time.
Mullin is the only Republican on the committee. He said he supports some of the concepts in the proposal to unify workforce development programs, “but we can’t pick and choose on the executive order,” and the committee likely would have voted “no.”
Sen. Michael Sirotkin, D-Chittenden, the vice chair of the committee, has vocally opposed the proposal, and Sen. Philip Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, said he would vote against the proposal.
Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint, D-Windham, who sits on the committee, said she’s still withholding judgment, and Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, declined to say how she would have voted.
Gov. Phil Scott signed the executive order Jan. 15, and either the House or Senate has 90 days from that date to effectively veto the proposal before it becomes law. The proposal has gained support from business interests and stiff opposition from labor interests.
The order would dissolve the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and turn it into the Agency of Economic Opportunity, with oversight over the Department of Labor, which is currently a standalone department devoted to regulating worker rights.
“The real problem (with the proposal) was having promoters of industry also be the enforcers, and that was problematic. And I think, we want to work collaboratively with them to try to make things more efficient, but we’re not going to jeopardize the worker in the process,” Mullin said.
Since the proposal first came out, Mike Schirling, the secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, said he has been seeking feedback from lawmakers on how to create a “requisite firewall” between enforcement and promotion work.
Jessica Gingras, the spokesperson for the Department of Labor, said in a statement “the delay is welcomed” so that the parties can find a solution “that addresses the concerns we’ve heard and also the priority of the Governor to better align the needs of the workforce with the needs of Vermont’s businesses and workforce development programs.”
Mullin said: “We were prepared to vote yes or no on the executive order, but we, as a courtesy, we wanted to give them time to review what our vote would have been, and our resolution on the issue.”
“We’re not trying to slam the door,” he said. “We’re trying to work collaboratively, and obviously we feel there’s some issues with what they’ve proposed, but we’d rather work in a collaborative manner and we share some common goals.”
