Gov. Phil Scott alleged poor legislative management led to technical errors in several bills approved this year, according to a letter he sent to legislators Thursday — a charge rebuffed by legislative leaders.
Scott suggested H.720, meant to improve the system of care for people with developmental disabilities, contained the “most egregious” error this year. But he still let it pass without his signature, as he said he thought the bill was important to those Vermonters and their families.
“I could have vetoed it due to a significant error,” Scott wrote. “It is not good practice, nor good government, to allow legislation with errors to become law, even with documented intent to fix the error.”
The “documented intent” refers to a June 2 letter sent to the governor from the conference committee that shaped the bill, in which the six legislators pledged to correct the error next year before the legislation takes effect.
Scott wrote he hoped the next Legislature would “resolve to have a better managed process with greater attention to detail.”
“I know good working relationships require trust,” he wrote. “So, I will trust legislative leadership to keep their commitment to correct the error in January.”
Scott’s claims of significant management issues and errors in the drafting of legislation came as a surprise to Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint and House Speaker Jill Krowinski. In a joint statement, they said such errors are rare.
“Mistakes are few and far between, but when they happen, we understand and work with the interested parties to fix any undue impacts,” they said. “Our legislative staff, state employees, and community partners work hard to get the details right, but as in all sectors of employment, mistakes happen.”
The one-word error in H.720 was quickly identified and communicated to the administration, they said, with a plan to address it.
“It was our belief that all interested parties understood the situation,” they said. “The Governor’s letter publicly calling out this error is unwarranted. Good leadership and strong management are both critically important to us.”
State Sen. Cheryl Hooker, D-Rutland, who was on the six-person conference committee ironing out House and Senate differences in the bill, said she was grateful Scott allowed the bill to take effect. The committee had agreed to accept the Senate’s proposed amendments, but that intent was altered by a scrivener’s error, she said.
“Instead of a word that suggested that we were not accepting the House proposal, it was a word suggesting that we were accepting the House proposal, and it was just a function of the prefix,” Hooker said. “I don’t want to minimize it, because it makes a huge difference.”
Scott wrote that the Legislature allowed numerous bills to “languish until the final days of the session,” when there was a rush toward adjournment.
Hooker said a lot always happens near adjournment, but “those things have been worked on throughout the session.” She said this is the first bill she’s worked on that she knows resulted in a mistake.
