This commentary is by Jeremy Ayotte of Fletcher, a member of the Vermont Republican Party.
From the legislature.vermont.gov website: “The Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel is a nonpartisan office that provides legal and editorial support and services to the Vermont General Assembly.”
In my opinion, its function is like a mechanic. It is asked to do a job and as a “mechanic” it has to make sure that all parts work to make the bill function within our laws. Its obligation is to legally act in a nonpartisan way in crafting bills. Its staff members are not lobbyists. They should leave any bias at the door on any issue. That’s what makes these individuals who work in this office so important/valuable. They work for us.
The professionalism and craft of what they do is important to the citizens of Vermont. I believe the Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel works for the members in Montpelier who are elected but I would argue that its role in our society is so important that it truly works for the citizens of Vermont ultimately. How its staff members craft the bill, how they use words, how they edit, how they give legal advice to the representatives all goes into the decision-making that ultimately becomes how we live our lives.
These beliefs are why I’m writing this letter. Since the pandemic, I’ve been able to watch our legislators through YouTube. After watching on March 16, I feel that the representative from the office who drafted the bill at times acted as a lobbyist for his bill. The bias and how he presented it at times by using the words “I” and “me” and commentary in respect to the Fish and Wildlife Board; wondering if he was presenting the work on behalf of the committee or if he was lobbying for his bill.
I would think you would present the bill, instruct how the bill would govern and discuss all features of striking out words or adding words or phrases that are underlined. Personal reflection by him should be left out. They should discuss legal changes sought by the sponsor(s). Instead, in this body of work, it seemed those values were not present. Also, large portions of important changes were passed over in the last two and half pages of the bill.
When someone within the Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel starts sounding like they are writing bills with a lobbyist tone/intent and structure of the bills, we should pause and stop and think. As I pause and think, I wonder who oversees those who write the bills for the Legislature, which then becomes the laws in which we live by? What are the rules they follow? Is this common practice within the counsel? Does this person have a history or pattern of doing this? Who has oversight, administrative or Legislature? Who do they answer to? I would think the Legislature and the Vermont Supreme Court.
The Vermont Supreme Court has the power under the Vermont Constitution to oversee the professional conduct of all attorneys practicing in Vermont. The court even formed the Vermont Professional Responsibility Board to administer the professional responsibility program, which regulates the legal profession.
The Legislature can stop allowing this to happen as well by sending a message when these actions take place. The Legislature may want to consider creating an ethics/oversight board to review such actions or find other ways to ensure the legislative counsel stays within its nonpartisan roles.
