News from Montpelier 2021 session week 7

The House revisited the election of members to the Judicial Nominating Board from two weeks ago. Upon the resignation of Rep. Burditt the Speaker nominated Rep. Goslant and the House voted to accept the nomination. Other elections that occurred this week included the General Assembly’s unanimous votes on the elections of the unopposed candidates for Sergeant at Arms and Adjutant and Inspector General. Four candidates were nominated to the three positions for U.V.M. Trustee which required a ballot to be mailed to the members of the General Assembly. The results will be announced at the reconvening of the Body on February 25th at 2 P.M.. Action was taken on H.81 an act relating to statewide public school employee health benefits which included extended Floor debate and three roll call votes. One roll call was on an amendment from Rep. Beck, one was to accept the bill as amended by the committee and to allow it to be read a third time and the third was to commit the bill to the Education Committee for review. The commitment of the bill to the Education Committee failed as did Rep. Beck’s amendment and the vote to accept the bill as amended by the Committee passed in the affirmative allowing H.81 to return the next day for third read and receive a vote to pass it to the Senate. The House also passed both H.122 an act relating to boards and commissions and H.138 an act relating to fiscal year 2021 budget adjustments to the Senate. The number of bills introduced in the House reached 299 this week with 35 of these in the Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs as well as J.R.H.2 which is being treated as a bill.
The committee received testimony on J.R.H.2 https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2022/J.R.H.2 by three authors who have written on the topic of the Vermont eugenics survey. The committee also began the discussion of H.96 an act relating to creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Development Task Force. The final task of the Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs to be accomplished Friday was the completion of a memo for House Appropriations on the areas of the Governor’s FY22 budget that relate to the committee’s subject area. Drafting this memo provided a framework for the many varied discussions and testimony throughout the week. Much of the discussion included the need to distinguish between ongoing expenditures and those targeted with onetime funds. A history of the Department of Liquor and Lottery, testimony on Pathways Vermont and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition were a few of the subject areas covered. Other agenda items included a few more bill introductions and the committee’s unanimous vote on S.14 an act relating to deed restrictions and housing density.
Representative Barbara S Murphy bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us 802-849-6545