In June, the Legislative Advisory Committee on the Statehouse began working on a way to safely reopen the building in which the Vermont Legislature meets next January. Last week, the panel wrapped up its summer meetings. In the interim, a lot has happened.
“It’s interesting how people’s concerns have changed between June and August,” said Sen. Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington. “In June we were really enthusiastic about reopening, but come August there’s been a reversal in that thinking.”
With the Delta variant sweeping through Vermont, the prospect of the Statehouse reopening has become murky.
Half of the 2020 legislative session and nearly all of the 2021 session were conducted via Zoom. When the latest session ended in May, legislators were enthusiastic about meeting in person again next January. The Legislative Advisory Committee on the Statehouse — whose work usually focuses on such matters as “choosing potential artwork for the Statehouse,” according to Pollina — was asked to recommend safe ways to conduct business next year in the historic building.
The committee examined such ideas as moving committee meetings into larger rooms, streamlining foot traffic through the building and updating an outdated HVAC system. Its recommendations — approved last week — now go to the Joint Legislative Management Committee and the Joint Rules Committee, which will make final rulings this fall on Statehouse operations.
“The No. 1 takeaway message is that … we may not actually know what reopening looks like until sometime in December,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham. Balint noted that many people working in the Statehouse — herself included — have children under age 12 who cannot yet be vaccinated. She said she plans to take that safety concern into account when making decisions about reopening for next year’s session.
House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said the Legislature has approved funding for more cameras and video equipment, which will be used whether or not the Legislature convenes in person next year.
“It’s really important that we keep this openness that we’ve created online so people can watch these committee hearings on YouTube,” Krowinski said.
Throughout its deliberations, the Legislative Advisory Committee on the Statehouse considered several recommendations for the next year’s session, including space considerations, video and HVAC equipment, as well as potential vaccination requirements.
Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, who chairs the committee, said it decided to “strongly encourage people to be vaccinated,” but not require it. The committee did not weigh in on masking, she said. That decision lies with the Senate president and the House speaker, though the committee recommended that leadership come up with uniform rules.
“I’d like to see the Delta variant go away and all of us return to the Statehouse without masks or any problem with anyone being vaccinated,” said Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia. However, he said, “There is no possible way of knowing today what our status will be in January.”
Benning said he opposes requiring proof of vaccination to enter the Statehouse.
“If it’s bad enough that we require proof of vaccination, then we should go back to being remote,” he said. “What do you do if somebody shows up and says their doctor won’t allow them to be vaccinated? Do you tell them they can’t come in? This is the people’s house, and if it can’t be open for one, it shouldn’t be open for all.”
Emmons expressed similar hesitation about a vaccine mandate. “We have to be very conscientious of our constitutional duty that the public has the right to their state government,” she said.
The committee also considered limiting building capacity, but Pollina expressed concerns about that option.
“If the room capacity is 10 and you’re the 11th person walking in the door, what does that mean if you’re a member of the media, or an advocate, or a citizen?” Pollina asked. “If the building’s open, it has to be open. You can’t be excluding people.”
Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, said she would have liked the committee — of which she’s a member — to take bolder steps toward changing Statehouse operations for next year’s session. Hardy had a family obligation that prevented her from voting on the committee’s report but said she would have cast the lone dissenting vote, had she been there.
“My concern was we didn’t do a good job of responding to the changes in status of the pandemic. The final report continues to have recommendations in it that were discussed and decided back in June,” Hardy said. “I think it’s unrealistic and problematic that we left those recommendations in the report. This is an ongoing situation.
“Right now the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is recommending masks. There are lots of places requiring vaccines. I would like to see us make a stronger statement about vaccines,” Hardy said.
Balint said it’s important to respond to the pandemic in real time.
“I don’t want us to have a George W. Bush moment,” she said, “where we’re on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier with a huge banner that says ‘Mission Accomplished’ — or ‘Pandemic Over’ — then actually realize that was premature.”
