Vermont State Legislature

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The Vermont General Assembly is the state legislature of Vermont. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the title of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself [1]. The Legislature is a bicameral assembly, consisting of the 150-member Vermont House of Representatives and the 30-member Vermont Senate.

Members of the House are elected by single and two-member districts. 66 districts choose one member, and 42 choose two, with the term of service being two years. The Senate includes 30 Senators, elected by 13 multi-member districts.

The Vermont General Assembly meets at the State House in Montpelier.

Overview

Elections

Legislative elections are held in November of every even-numbered year. Representatives and Senators serve two-year terms. One must be a resident of the state for the two years, and of the legislative district for the one year, immediately preceding the election in order to qualify for either house.

Leadership

The House is headed by the Speaker of the House, while the Senate is headed by the State's Lieutenant Governor as the Senate President. The Senate President has only a casting vote. More often, the Senate is presided over by the President Pro Tempore, or temporary President.

Functions

The Legislature is empowered to make law, subject to the Governor's power to veto a bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each House.

The Legislature has the sole power to propose amendments to the Vermont Constitution. An amendment must originate in the Senate, where it must receive a two-thirds vote. After passing the Senate, it must also receive a majority vote in the House. Any amendment that passes both Houses, must be repassed by majority votes, after a newly elected legislature is seated; again, first in the Senate, then in the House. The proposed amendment must then be passed by a majority of the state's voters at a referendum. Only every other Senate session may initiate the amendment process. Thus, Senates elected in off-year (i.e. non-Presidential) elections may initiate amendments, but not Senates elected during Presidential elections. (Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Section 72)

The role of third parties

The General Assembly is notable for being the only state legislature in the United States with a significant third-party presence. Six members of the House belong to the Vermont Progressive Party, a center-left party similar to the Social Democratic Party of Germany or the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP). Several other parties that have won legislative seats include the Green Party, and the Liberty Union Party, based largely on the philosophy of Eugene V. Debs. Some members of the smaller parties caucus with members of the Vermont Democratic Party.

Senate

The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly. The Senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-member districts, three three-member districts, and one six-member district. Each Senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. There is no limit to the number of terms that a Senator may serve.

As in other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate is reserved with special functions such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions, boards, and electing members to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Senators are elected from a total of 13 single and multi-member Senate districts. The districts more or less correspond to the boundaries of the state's 14 counties with adjustments to ensure equality of representation. Two small counties (Essex and Orleans) are combined into one district. Each district elects between 1 and 6 senators depending on population.

In addition, Vermont is one of the 14 states where the upper house of its state legislature serves at a two-year cycle, rather than the normal four-year term as in the majority of states.

Current make-up

The current make-up of the Senate is 23 Democrats, 7 Republicans.

House of Representatives

The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members. Vermont legislative districting divides representing districts into 66 single-member districts and 42 two-member constituences, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives are elected to a two year term without term limits.

Current make-up

The current make-up of the House is 93 Democrats, 49 Republicans, 6 Vermont Progressives, and 2 Independents.

Joint Committees

The Vermont Legislature has ten standing committees:

• Administration Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Corrections Oversight, Vermont Legislature
• Energy Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Government Accountability Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Health Access Oversight Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Judicial Retention Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Judicial Rules Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Legislative Information Technology Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Mental Health Oversight Committee, Vermont Legislature
• Transportation Oversight Committee, Vermont Legislature

References

• Wikipedia: Vermont General Assembly

External links

• Vermont General Assembly
• The Vermont Constitution
• Government of Vermont portal

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