The Vermont Senate plans to join the House in allowing lawmakers to vote remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sen. President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe, D/P Chittenden, said Monday that the chamber will soon vote on a rule change that would let lawmakers send bills to the House or governor’s desk without being present in Montpelier.
However, voting on the rule change will require at least 16 of the 30 senators to once again return to the Statehouse. At this point, it’s unclear when senators will reconvene to pass the measure.
Ashe said that as the House and Senate work in the coming days on measures related to COVID-19, lawmakers will “get a sense of whether there’s a need to return” to Montpelier in the next two weeks.
“We’re not going to put people in the position of having to gather in any way unless absolutely necessary,” Ashe said on a call with reporters.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate returned to the Statehouse last week to pass emergency COVID-19 measures.
In the House, 76 representatives convened in person on Wednesday, March 25, and passed a resolution that would allow lawmakers to cast ballots remotely, if three-quarters of the legislators approve the rule change in a virtual vote.
That vote will likely be held soon, but not this week, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said Monday.
In the coming days, lawmakers will continue to discuss how to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and may take more immediate action.
Johnson and Ashe say they are looking to respond to the “immediate health care needs of Vermonters,” and are still determining the additional steps they will need to take.
“Some of the economic things are really critical but those are things that we can also work out over a little more time,” Johnson said. “You don’t have a whole lot of time when you’ve got not enough ventilators to meet the needs of Vermonters.”
Ashe said the Senate would also look into whether there are additional measures to be taken to expand the delivery of health care services in the state.
“I would not be surprised if by the end of the week we don’t identify some things that really need to happen legislatively in order to give some flexibility out in the field,” Ashe said.
Legislation passed by the Legislature last week and signed by Gov. Phil Scott, H.742, expands telemedicine, loosens regulations so hospitals can build surge capacity, and changes rules so that out-of-state medical providers, and those who have retired, can temporarily practice in Vermont.
In an op-ed, Johnson and Ashe said they will also be working “ensure Vermonters’ basic needs are met” and “to stabilize and rebuild Vermont’s economy for businesses and their employees.”
They offered few specifics on the legislative proposals they will be taking up in the coming weeks.
But they noted the House and Senate are working on a bill that would give people the ability to notarize legal documents remotely during the pandemic.
Ashe said that the Senate will also be looking at how to improve the delivery of special education services to public school students during the crisis.
He said special education has become “very stressed” and that some students have lost services as a result of the move to remote learning.
