[T]he Vermont House of Representatives reconvened Wednesday with its Democratic leader appointing a slew of new committee chairs, and welcoming the largest freshman class of legislators the chamber has seen in decades.
Only half of the chairs tapped by House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, are returning to their posts — seven of the 14 policymaking panels will see new leaders this session.
Democrats, who have a bolstered majority following the November elections, will continue to lead 13 of the panels. Only the economic development committee will be chaired by a Republican. Johnson tapped Rep. Michael Marcotte, R-Coventry, to replace the committee’s previous chair, Bill Botzow, who retired in 2018.
But Johnson removed Rep. Pat Brennan, R-Colchester, the longtime chair of the House Transportation Committee, and replaced him with Curt McCormack, a Democrat from Burlington.
Johnson said she appointed McCormack because she wants the transportation panel to focus on crafting policy that would expand the state’s public transportation network.
“We have sort of individual regional networks and systems but when we talk about workforce and poverty, getting people to work and moving people out of poverty, transportation and child care are the two biggest hurdles,” she said. “And so I think we could be doing a better job of looking at how to integrate those public transportation pieces and moving them forward.”
Brennan, who chaired the committee for nine years and will now serve on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he was disappointed in Johnson’s decision.
He suspects his unwillingness to vote on the final budget bill during the Legislature’s impasse with Gov. Phil Scott over the spending package in 2018 may have contributed to his ouster.
But he said he never got a direct answer from Johnson about her decision to remove him.
“She alluded to the fact that they’re going to focus on the carbon footprint and if that leads to a carbon tax, I am not the man to lead that charge anyway,” he said.
Johnson said the decision had nothing to do with an interest in pursuing a carbon tax.
Although some environmental activists are pushing for carbon pricing legislation this year, Johnson has said that because Vermont offers limited access to public transportation and electric vehicles, it doesn’t make sense to raise taxes on those in rural parts of the state who have no choice but to drive gas-fueled cars.
“My constituents don’t have a lot of options and increasing their gas taxes without providing any kind of alternative doesn’t work,” she said.
After she was swiftly re-elected speaker Wednesday morning, Johnson gave a speech to lawmakers outlining her priorities for the session. Many, like advancing bills to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and institute a statewide paid family leave program for workers, were familiar.
She spoke of others, like a proposal to implement ethnic and social equality standards in schools, with newfound urgency.
Addressing the proposal, which would push schools to adopt ethnic studies curriculum, she referenced former representative Kiah Morris, who declined to run for re-election last year after she was the target of racially motivated threats and harassment.
“We have much to do to ensure that all voices are at the table in the crucial discussions we have and to carefully look at the rules and systems of our society to make sure that they are equal and just,” she said.
She also outlined a focus on crafting policy to benefit the state’s agricultural economy. Reflecting this priority, the House adopted new rules moving three members of the Agriculture Committee — two to the natural resources committee and one to the energy and technology committee.
She highlighted the importance of placing “robust voices” for agriculture and Vermont’s rural economies throughout the chamber.
“We have to do more to make sure that we have a strong diverse rural economy and agricultural sector moving forward and we have to make sure that our successes touch every corner of our state,” she said.
Although Republicans lost 10 House seats in the November election, Johnson said she made sure to appoint seven Republicans as committee vice chairs — up from five in the last legislative biennium. She also placed four Republicans on both of the influential appropriations and natural resources committees.
House Minority Leader Patty McCoy, R-Poultney, said she was disappointed in some of Johnson’s committee decisions, including the replacement of Brennan on the transportation committee. But she was satisfied with others, like the placements on appropriations.
McCoy has said that with fewer members, and having lost the ability to automatically sustain the governor’s veto pen, the power Republicans have to influence policy in committees takes on additional importance this session.
“We have to really test our voices in committee,” McCoy said.