At least three reporters were turned away from committee hearings at the Statehouse last week after members of the Vermont House of Representatives and state Senate said their meeting rooms had reached capacity limits.
Legislative leaders and staff have said these capacity limits, which lawmakers ordered the sergeant-at-arms to impose in November 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, are designed to keep people safe in cramped and aging meeting rooms with poor ventilation.
But with the Legislature’s first fully in-person session since the start of the pandemic underway, lawmakers’ decisions to turn away reporters raise questions about how they are balancing public access to the Statehouse — long called “the people’s house” — with public health.
In a letter sent Tuesday morning to House Speaker Jill Krowinski and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, leaders from Vermont newsrooms decried lawmakers’ actions last week, writing that “these restrictions fly in the face of centuries of precedent and tradition in the Statehouse and violate the Vermont Constitution.”
The letter was signed by editors and news directors from VTDigger, WCAX-TV, FOX44/ABC22 News, Vermont Public, the Valley News, The Times Argus, The Rutland Herald and Seven Days.
“You have had nearly three years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to come up with a plan to accommodate the public and the press in a fully in-person legislative session,” it states. “The solution cannot be to continue meeting in cramped committee rooms and then shut the doors on all but a handful of staff and witnesses.”
Krowinski’s chief of staff, Conor Kennedy, said in an interview Monday afternoon that the speaker was open to having further discussions about ways to improve Statehouse access for journalists and other members of the public.
“It’s not easy,” Kennedy said. “But given the space that we have right now, I think we’re trying to operate and be as flexible as we can.” He noted that even prior to the pandemic, accommodating people in some Statehouse rooms was an issue.
Paul Heintz, VTDigger’s editor-in-chief, said committee rooms can sometimes get “really, really crowded,” with reporters needing to stand by the door or hover over other people — though it’s unprecedented for reporters to have to leave as a result.
“It’s not always been convenient to be in a committee room,” said Heintz, who signed the letter. “But it has always been possible to be in a committee room.”
On Jan. 12, at least two reporters were turned away from a House Committee on Ways and Means hearing because of capacity limits: VTDigger’s Peter D’Auria and Josh Morrill of FOX44/ABC22. The same day, at least one reporter — WCAX’s Calvin Cutler — was turned away from a Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy hearing.
Cutler was also turned away from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing the following day.
Capacity limits vary across the roughly 20 rooms used for House and Senate committee hearings in the Statehouse. For instance, according to data shared by Baruth’s office, the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee — which has five members — meets in a room with a stated capacity for 10 people, while the 12-member House Committee on Appropriations meets in a room officials say can hold up to 37.
Baruth’s office initially resisted calls for increased access last week, according to the letter, which states that the pro tem “suggested that Vermont could learn a thing or two from Washington, D.C., where it is common to restrict access to a small pool of journalists, who then provide reporting to others.”
By Monday afternoon, Baruth’s office appeared to have softened its stance somewhat. In an interview, the pro tem’s chief of staff Ashley Moore reiterated that the capacity limits were put in place to protect people’s health, adding that “we obviously value and recognize the importance of media access.”
“We’re always reviewing and adjusting policies as needed, and always welcome recommendations from the press or others on ways that we could make it more accessible within our constraints,” said Moore, who noted that Senate committees guarantee at least one seat per room is made available for reporters.
The letter also states that legislative leaders and staff have attempted to bar photographers and videographers from the House and Senate floor. Heintz said to his knowledge, photographers were ultimately allowed onto the floor, though Wendy Mays, executive director of the Vermont Association of Broadcasters, said Tuesday that some television and radio journalists are still facing restrictions on where they can record.
Baruth said in an email responding to the letter Tuesday afternoon that the Senate, at least, would be loosening restrictions on where reporters could record in its chamber starting Wednesday. “Other conversations still moving on room capacity, and we’ll see where those land,” Baruth wrote in the email, which was addressed only to Heintz.
Heintz said he thinks legislative staff from both chambers seem to be putting the onus on news organizations to figure out how to safely accommodate reporters in the Statehouse, when that responsibility — under the state’s constitution — lies with the Legislature. He suggested lawmakers “get creative” by finding other meeting spaces, even if they’re a short walk from the Statehouse, that can safely hold more people.
WCAX News Director Roger Garrity, who also signed the letter, said in an email Monday afternoon that he was “hopeful legislative leaders will find a resolution that balances concerns about health and safety with Constitutional requirements to provide open access for the media and public to the legislative process.”
Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said Tuesday it is essential that all journalists get equal access to committee meetings.
“If these restrictions that are currently in place don’t allow that to happen, then the Legislature should reconsider those restrictions and determine whether they are still necessary given the health concerns of Covid,” he said.
Legislative staffers have also argued that even if reporters — or other members of the public — are turned away from a committee meeting because of capacity limits, they can still watch the proceedings on live video feeds of each meeting streamed on YouTube.
But Silverman said video streams, while important for transparency, don’t provide the level of access that reporters need — a concern echoed in the letter from newsroom leaders.
“Journalists need the opportunity to be in the room because they need to hear side conversations,” Silverman said. “They need to be there to witness what happens before that livestreaming starts, and what occurs after it ends.”
“Journalists need the opportunity to follow up with legislators in-person, face-to-face,” he added, “and ask difficult questions that could otherwise be evaded.”
Editor’s Note: VTDigger editors advocating for Statehouse access were not involved in the assigning, editing or publication of this story.