2020 Vermont legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Vermont: The Vermont State Legislature suspended its session, effective March 13, 2020, through March 24, 2020.
Vermont State Legislature

Seal of Vermont.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 7, 2020
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
David Zuckerman (D)
House Speaker:  Mitzi Johnson (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Becca Balint (D)
House: Jill Krowinski (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Joe Benning (R)
House: Patricia McCoy (R)
Structure
Members:  30 (Senate), 150 (House)
Length of term:   2 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Section 7 of the Legislative Department of the Vermont Constitution
Salary:   $693.74/week + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Vermont Legislature has control

In 2020, the Vermont State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 7 and adjourn on August 30.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Vermont State Legislature suspended its session, effective March 13, 2020, through March 24, 2020. On April 8, 2020, the Vermont State Senate approved a measure to allow remote voting in the chamber. Prior to this, a quorum of senators physically present in the chamber had been required in order to pass legislation. The Vermont House of Representatives was expected to consider a similar measure.[1][2]

At the start of the 2020, Vermont was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 22-6 supermajority over Republicans and two members of the Vermont Progressive Party in the Senate and a 95-43 majority over Republicans and twelve third-party members in the House. Republicans controlled the governorship, meaning neither party held a state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a supermajority in the Vermont state Senate and a majority in the state House.
  • Vermont was one of 14 states with a divided government.
  • Vermont’s governor was Republican Phil Scott.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Vermont was one of 14 states without a state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Vermont was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Vermont State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Vermont State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 22
         Republican Party 6
         Vermont Progressive Party 2
    Total 30

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Vermont State Senate shifted in favor of the Democratic Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 16-14 majority. Democrats flipped the chamber in 1996 and, by 2018, expanded their majority to 22-6. The table below shows the partisan history of the Vermont State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Third-party legislators have had a strong presence in the Vermont State Legislature throughout the state's history. Those third-party legislators are not represented in the graphics below.

    Vermont State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 14 12 17 17 16 19 21 23 23 22 21 20 21 22
    Republicans 16 18 13 13 14 11 9 7 7 8 7 9 7 6

    The most significant shift in the partisan balance of the state Senate occurred as a result of the 1996 elections. Democrats gained five seats in that election and took control of the chamber. The Democratic majority steadily expanded until, in 2006, Democrats had a 23-7 majority. Between 2010 and 2018, there were minor movements in partisan balance that ultimately favored Republicans by one seat.


    Vermont House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 95
         Republican Party 43
         Vermont Progressive Party 7
         Independent 5
    Total 150

    Between 1992 and 2020, Democrats controlled the state House following 12 out of 14 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Vermont House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff. Third-party legislators have had a strong presence in the Vermont State Legislature throughout the state's history. Those third-party legislators are not represented in the graphics below.

    Vermont House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 87 86 88 77 62 70 83 93 95 94 98 85 83 95
    Republicans 57 61 58 66 83 73 60 49 48 48 43 53 53 43

    As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held an 87-57 majority. There were two significant shifts in the partisan balance of the state House between 1992 and 2018. In 2000, Republicans gained 17 seats and took control of the chamber. The GOP held the state House until the 2004 elections, when Democrats picked up 13 seats and took back the chamber, with an 83-60 majority that expanded to a 95-43 majority following the 2018 election.


    Leadership in 2020

    Vermont State Senate

    Vermont House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Vermont state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 40 standing committees in Vermont's state government, including 13 joint legislative committees, 12 state Senate committees, and 15 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Vermont Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Amendments of the Vermont Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Vermont

    Section 72 of the Vermont Constitution lays out the procedure governing changes to the Vermont Constitution. Vermont does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated state statutes or initiated constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in the Vermont State Senate and a simple majority vote is required in the Vermont House of Representatives in the first legislative session. A simple majority vote is required in both chambers in the second legislative session to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 20 votes in the Vermont State Senate and 76 votes in the Vermont House of Representatives in the first session and 16 votes in the state senate and 76 votes in the state house in the second session, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    The Vermont Constitution, like that of several other states, does not provide for constitutional conventions. Perhaps as a result, Vermont's current constitution is one of the oldest in the country, having been adopted in 1793. The Massachusetts Constitution is the only older constitution.

    Although there are no provisions in the state's constitution governing the calling of a constitutional convention, in 1969, the Vermont State Legislature referred an advisory measure to the ballot which asked "Shall a Vermont Constitutional Convention be convened at the state house in Montpelier on October 6, 1969 to consider the following topics which shall receive a majority of the votes cast upon it in this election, and no others?" The question was rejected by the voters.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Vermont.

    Vermont Party Control: 1992-2024
    Ten years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D R R R R R R R R
    Senate D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Vermont State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Vermont State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Vermont Legislature to shut down for a week due to coronavirus concerns," March 13, 2020
    2. ↑ VT Digger, "Senate returns to Montpelier to approve remote voting measure," April 8, 2020
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