Anyone can show up at the Statehouse, at 115 State St. in Montpelier. But the Vermont General Assembly — what we usually just call “the Legislature” — also livestreams most of its activity on YouTube.
The Legislature consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Within each chamber are more than a dozen committees of lawmakers that meet to discuss, debate and amend certain types of legislation.
Each of those bodies has its own YouTube channel. New streams begin every time the body convenes, and videos are saved on the channel for later viewing.
The House and Senate calendars, posted daily on the Legislature’s homepage, list the bills and other items that each chamber plans to take up.
But much of the deliberation on any given bill takes place in committee. Agendas for each committee are posted weekly on the Legislature’s website, typically on Sunday or Monday, then updated throughout the week. (The same information is available in a single document that includes agendas for all committee meetings.)
Vermont House of Representatives (YouTube link)
The House typically convenes on the following schedule:
Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Thursday at 3 p.m.
Friday at 9:30 a.m.
House committees meet throughout the day, Tuesday through Friday, whenever the full chamber is in recess.
House Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry
House Commerce and Economic Development
House Corrections and Institutions
House Government Operations and Military Affairs
Caucuses are regular gatherings of lawmakers from each political party. House caucuses typically take place on Tuesdays after the full chamber adjourns. Caucuses for all three parties — Democratic, Republican and Progressive — use the same YouTube channel.
Vermont Senate (YouTube link)
The Senate typically convenes on the following schedule:
Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Thursday at 1 p.m.
Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Senate committees meet in either the morning or the afternoon, Tuesday through Friday, when the full chamber is in recess.
Morning committees:
Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs
Senate Natural Resources and Energy
Afternoon committees:
Senate caucuses typically take place on Tuesdays after the full chamber adjourns.
Other channels
The House and Senate may enter a joint session — meaning members of both bodies gather together in the House chamber — for ceremonial purposes, such as the governor’s State of the State or budget address. Those sessions use the Joint Assembly channel.
Certain committees meet on an ad hoc basis using the following channels: