Vermont legislative leaders met Tuesday to discuss myriad issues in preparation for the 2022 session. Among other things, members of the Legislative Advisory Committee on the Statehouse considered updates to the building, as well as how to manage school groups amid the rise of the Delta variant.
In two separate proposals requesting $750,000 and $900,000 respectively, Sergeant-at-Arms Janet Miller and director of legislative information technology Kevin Moore laid out plans to upfit the Statehouse as well as two other government buildings along Aiken Avenue in Montpelier.
The money will come from a $2.5 million federal allotment previously designated for “costs incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic and to fund preparatory measures for the 2022 legislative sessions,” according to a memo read by Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, who chairs the committee.
Miller requested flexible spending authority for the $750,000, which she said would go to building a gender-neutral public bathroom and reconfiguring committee rooms in the Statehouse, as well as electrical, paint and floor repair for the two buildings on Aiken Avenue. The request for flexible spending authority was to mitigate slowdowns in acquiring necessary materials due to ongoing supply-chain issues as a result of the pandemic, she said.
Meanwhile, Moore requested $400,000 to fit committee rooms with audio-visual equipment to allow public streaming of legislative business and $500,000 to do the same in the House and Senate chambers. This includes new microphones and cameras to make sessions more accessible to the press and the public.
After a brief debate, the committee first voted on a motion to recommend the approval of the funds Miller requested and then of the funds Moore requested to the Joint Legislative Management Committee, which is set to formally approve them Thursday. Both motions were approved unanimously.
Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, the Senate majority leader, expressed urgency in moving these proposals forward so improvements can be put into motion ahead of the January 2022 legislative session.
As the session came to a close, the committee revisited an earlier discussion about school groups visiting the Statehouse during the upcoming session. Angelica Caterino, the building’s tour manager, recommended that school group size be limited in order to protect public health during.
Caterino suggested 25 students be allowed in the morning and 25 in the afternoon. She did not specify how many chaperones and teachers would be allowed. The committee supported her proposed limitation on school group size and said individual members wishing to give tours to friends or constituents would need to clear it with the sergeant-at-arms first so as not to exceed the daily limit.
The Joint Legislative Management Committee meets Thursday and will vote to formally authorize these recommendations.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Angelica Caterino’s name.
