The Vermont Legislature will continue to work remotely through the remainder of the 2021 session, Democratic leaders announced Tuesday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, told lawmakers in the Democratic caucus Tuesday to plan on remote work through early spring, when the Legislature typically adjourns. The Statehouse has been closed to most legislators and the public since last March, when Gov. Phil Scott declared a state of emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Senate leaders finalized the decision earlier Tuesday in a meeting of the Senate Rules Committee.
“If at some point in the spring, the governor decides to rescind the order, which I do not think is likely, then we would have to decide whether to continue working remotely,” Balint said during the meeting
“At this point, we’re anticipating working remotely until mid-May, wrapping up our session at that point and if we need to change that plan we will let you know in a timely manner,” she said.
Balint added that lawmakers would begin working in the coming weeks on how to spend Vermont’s portion of an expected federal Covid-19 stimulus package currently being negotiated by President Joe Biden and Congress.
Sen. Cheryl Hooker, D/P-Rutland, the Democratic whip, told fellow lawmakers on the Rules Committee that she believed it was important to give senators clear expectations about how they would conduct business for the remaining months of the session.
“It’s important for the body to know — have some parameters — because this is not going to be easy, transitioning back to Montpelier,” Hooker said. “People are going to have to have places to stay. They’re going to have to make those arrangements.”
Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, and the House Rules Committee also approved a resolution Tuesday afternoon to extend remote legislative work until May 15. The lower chamber differs from the Senate in that it must pass resolutions making clear that lawmakers do not need to gather in person. The House must pass a resolution to continue remote work before the current binding measure ends March 10.
The House is expected to adopt the resolution Wednesday, according to the speaker’s office.
“I’m at this point where I’m feeling like I don’t see us changing the way that we’re working remotely and I think that as much clarity as we can give staff right now and members the better,” Krowinski said.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, added that there might have been a point to contemplate hybrid, in-person legislating, but that now it is best to continue the status quo for the remainder of the session.
She added that the Legislature should be thinking about how to retrofit the Statehouse in preparation for when lawmakers do eventually return to the building.
Krowinski said that discussions were already taking place in committees that have jurisdiction over state building construction projects.
