[T]he Vermont Senate has approved giving the governor the power to appoint the adjutant general.
The voice vote Tuesday, almost unanimous and after no debate, sets up a clash with the Vermont House, which decided last month to retain the power to pick the head of the Vermont National Guard.
It’s unclear if lawmakers will have time as the session winds down to settle their differences. Rep. Tom Stevens, the chair of House General, Housing and Military Affairs, said Tuesday he was “eye deep” in trying to resolve the minimum wage issue, but said he would request a conference committee over H.530.
“I hope we can have a fruitful discussion over a bill that was supported overwhelmingly in the House,” said Stevens, a Waterbury Democrat. The bill passed 123-15.
Gov. Phil Scott favors having the governor make the choice.
Both chambers sought to change a selection process they say is fraught with politics as the candidates sell themselves to the 180 lawmakers. Vermont is the only state where the legislature makes the pick. In all other states, the governor makes the choice.
Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, chair of Government Operations, said many lawmakers know little about military matters. The governor, she said, has more staff and resources to look into the background of the candidates.
The current system “makes little sense. It’s little more than a popularity contest,” White told her fellow senators.
Col. Greg Knight was selected the new adjutant general in February, defeating three other candidates. The adjutant general serves a two-year term.
Under the bills passed in both chambers, a committee would be set up to vet the candidates the same way judges are reviewed for retention to the bench every six years. Both Senate and House agree to move the adjutant general election to the second year of the biennium to give the vetting committee, which could include new lawmakers, more time to work. Minimal qualifications for the adjutant general candidates would also be established.
