This is an excerpt from the Final Reading of Friday, March 20. Xander Landen and Grace Elletson are VTDigger’s Statehouse correspondents.
After a week of teleworking, the Vermont Senate will reconvene Tuesday to vote on emergency legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sixteen senators need to be in attendance for a quorum.
Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, said he doesn’t want the Senate chamber to have more than 10 people in it at one time, so senators will be spaced out in nearby rooms and brought in to vote in small groups.
“We’re trying to discourage people from attending to vote if not necessary,” Ashe said on a call with reporters Friday.
“Obviously we can’t tell someone they can’t show up, but if someone feels like they should stay home, we want them to stay home so long as we have 16 to carry out our vote.”
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who is 76, says he’d like to be there.
“I do plan to come up there on Tuesday,” Sears said. “Unless you’re saying ‘Wow you’re too old.’”
Senate leadership will determine who comes in for the vote in the coming days.
Sen. Majority Leader Becca Balint, said leadership is polling senators about their comfort attending given their current risk, and that of those they live with.
“It’s no secret that two-thirds of chamber in the Senate in particular is in the high risk for age,” she said
Ashe said Friday morning that he doesn’t want any of the bills lawmakers vote on next week to be controversial.
He said he hopes the entire chamber will reach a “prearranged agreement” on the measures in the coming days, so that they can be swiftly sent to the House.
Lawmakers are poised to pass measures that will expand eligibility to unemployment benefits, institute emergency elections and open meetings protocols, and legislation to assist health care providers in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House will also likely return next week, and leaders are working out a plan for how legislators will vote in person while taking health precautions.
It will be an even bigger challenge for the House given that it is composed of 150 lawmakers — opposed to 30 in the Senate.
Johnson said that in addition to passing coronavirus-related measures, the House will also likely vote to change its rules so that the full chamber can vote remotely.
“It’s impractical to move 150 people carefully and safely through the building,” Johnson said.
Ashe said that it’s possible that the Senate would also switch to remote voting, but at this point the chamber has yet to discuss the option.
“It’s possible we will, but we have to put one foot in front of the other,” Ashe said of remote voting.
Leaders of the House and Senate are also planning to restrict press access to the upcoming votes over public health concerns.
Ashe said Friday that he was thinking of limiting two journalists — one broadcaster and one member of a print or digital news organization — to be allowed into the chamber next week.
Members of the media are pushing for as much access as possible during the votes.
This is an excerpt of Final Reading. For the full rundown of bills in motion at the Statehouse, the daily legislative calendar and interviews with newsmakers, sign up here for the unabridged version delivered straight to your inbox Tuesday through Friday evenings.
