New leaders will be present in both chambers of the Vermont Statehouse on Wednesday as the 2021 legislative session kicks off. Not present will be many of each body’s members: Guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 place strict capacity limits on the House and Senate chambers.
Incoming House Speaker Jill Krowinski and Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint will be sworn in before small crowds. Only a few House members will appear in person on Wednesday, and a quorum of senators will be present for just one day before the body convenes remotely starting Thursday.
Through at least March, lawmakers will participate in sessions and committee meetings via Zoom, with proceedings streamed on YouTube.
The governor’s inaugural address is also going remote, and for the first time in recent memory will be held in the evening. Phil Scott will be inaugurated for his third term as governor on Thursday. Scott will briefly address a joint session of the Legislature at about 2 p.m. and will deliver his full speech at 7 p.m. via livestream.
State Curator David Schütz said the switch to an evening speech was “possibly a first” in Vermont’s history, and certainly the only inaugural address delivered this way in the past 40 years. Scott will speak from the auditorium of the Pavilion building, where he also holds his twice-weekly Covid-19 press briefings.
Where to watch
VTDigger will broadcast key moments from the opening week on our Facebook Live stream. The Legislature also provides complete live feeds for the Vermont House and Vermont Senate. Times are approximate and subject to change.
Wednesday, Jan. 6
10 a.m.: The House and Senate each convene, with many members participating remotely. Rep. Jill Krowinski will be sworn in as House speaker, and Sen. Becca Balint will be sworn in as Senate president pro tem. Each will address their respective chambers.
Thursday, Jan. 7
11:30 a.m.: Molly Gray will be sworn in as lieutenant governor and will address the Senate.
1 p.m.: Gov. Phil Scott will be sworn in along with the four statewide officeholders reelected in November: Attorney General TJ Donovan, Treasurer Beth Pearce, Secretary of State Jim Condos and Auditor Doug Hoffer.
2 p.m.: Scott will briefly address a joint session of the Legislature.
7 p.m.: Scott will deliver his full 2021 inaugural address. Watch it live.
Getting to business
Covid-19 is expected to dominate the Legislature’s agenda — again. Balint and Krowinski have said the coronavirus crisis will be their primary focus this year, and many non-Covid policy debates may be pushed to 2022. Our legislative preview looks at expectations for broadband, paid family leave, climate change, vote-by-mail, Act 250 and more.
Business groups are pressing lawmakers to “stick to the essentials.” A group of 22 associations wrote to lawmakers and to Scott on Dec. 28, asking them not to try for a typical legislative session in the extraordinary era of the pandemic. “We ask that legislation focus solely on the health and safety of Vermonters, must-pass state bills/budgets, and our economic recovery,” the letter said.
Gray, Krowinski and Balint comprise a historic all-female leadership team in the Legislature.
Krowinski, D-Burlington, has long been a fixture in the speaker’s office. Before she became a legislator, she was assistant to House Speaker Gaye Symington. After she was elected to the House herself, she was an assistant majority leader under Shap Smith, who was speaker until 2016. And for the past four years she has been the majority leader, collaborating closely with Speaker Mitzi Johnson to advance the Democratic Party’s priorities in the Statehouse.
Balint, D-Windham, will be the first woman and the first openly gay person ever to hold the position of Senate president pro tem. Balint was a member of the inaugural class of Emerge Vermont, an organization former Gov. Madeleine Kunin had founded to prepare Democratic women to run for office. She entered the Statehouse as a senator in 2015 and ascended to majority leader in just two years.