While meeting over Zoom has made the 2021 legislative session unusual, one thing hasn’t changed: The deciding votes on some of the year’s most important bills are slated to happen in rapid succession over the session’s final days.
VTDigger is launching our 2021 Bill Tracker to help readers keep up with the process. We’ve identified roughly 30 key bills that could see movement in the coming days — or not. This page will be updated daily with the latest status of each measure.
The list spans the range of subjects the Legislature has tackled this year, from redefining sexual consent to reforming the state’s bottle redemption program.
It also includes critical budget measures that dictate how roughly $1 billion in federal Covid relief money will be spent, including a proposed $100 million broadband expansion package. An array of relief programs could also be funded through the $7 billion state budget — typically the last bill approved by each chamber.
Adjournment is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, although Senate and House leaders have signaled that business could conclude on May 21.
Bills passed by both chambers next move to Gov. Phil Scott. The governor has up to five business days to sign a bill into law, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
If Scott vetoes a bill, the Legislature would return June 23-24 for a veto session, during which lawmakers would vote on whether or not to override the governor’s veto.
After adjournment, bills that have not passed both chambers may be revived next year, in the second half of the biennium.
Read all of VTDigger’s coverage of the 2021 legislative session.
—Mike Dougherty
Compiled by: Lola Duffort, Ellie French, Katie Jickling, Alan J. Keays, Xander Landen, Kit Norton
Produced by: Stacey Peters
Additional production: Mike Dougherty, Erin Petenko
