The Vermont Legislature’s 2022 session is in its waning weeks, which means that lawmakers are moving faster than ever to get key bills across the finish line. Inevitably, some won’t make the cut.
And with this year rounding off the Legislature’s biennium, whatever bills don’t become law this spring will officially be dead.
To help avid Statehouse watchers keep up, VTDigger is launching its 2022 Bill Tracker. This page will be updated daily with major developments in 65 key bills spanning both years of the biennium.
Vermont faced longstanding, systemic issues well before the coronavirus was detected in the state, but the pandemic has made them all the more pressing. Flush with cash from the federal government, this was the year that lawmakers promised to make substantial, generational change.
But will they deliver?
We’re tracking bills that promise to ease Vermont’s statewide housing crunch, fix state employees’ broken pension system, reform policing and criminal justice, establish lawmakers’ first-ever statewide ethics code — and more. And, of course, we’re looking closely at the state’s multi-billion dollar annual budget.
Lawmakers haven’t yet settled on what day they’ll adjourn sine die, but the legislative session typically ends in the first weeks of May.
Bills passed by both chambers move to Gov. Phil Scott, who has up to five business days to sign them into law, veto them or let them become law without his signature. Should Scott veto bills after the session concludes, lawmakers can arrange to return to Montpelier at a predetermined date to attempt to override his vetoes.
Read more in VTDigger’s 2022 Legislative Guide.
—Sarah Mearhoff
