2021 Vermont legislative session

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2021 Vermont legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 6, 2021

Session end:    May 21, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Molly Gray (D)

House Speaker
Jill Krowinski (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Alison Clarkson (D)
House: Emily Long (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Randy Brock (R)
House: Patricia McCoy (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the Vermont State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on May 21.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Democrats won a 21-7 majority (with two third party members) in the Senate and a 92-47 majority (with four independents and seven third party members) in the House. Republicans controlled the governorship, creating a divided government. At the start of the 2021 session, Vermont was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Vermont State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Vermont was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

Leadership in 2021

Vermont State Senate

Vermont House of Representatives

Partisan control in 2021

See also: State government trifectas

Vermont was one of 12 states under divided government at the start of 2021 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 2021 legislative session.

Vermont State Senate

Party As of January 2021
     Democratic Party 21
     Republican Party 7
     Vermont Progressive Party 2
Total 30

Vermont House of Representatives

Party As of January 2021
     Democratic Party 92
     Republican Party 47
     Independent 4
     Vermont Progressive Party 7
Total 150

Regular session

The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Vermont after the 2020 census

Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

Vermont's one United States representative and 180 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

To learn more about the redistricting process in Vermont after the 2020 census, click here.

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 2021 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

Historical Senate control

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 2020, expanded their majority to 21-7, with two third-party members. The table below shows the partisan history of the Vermont State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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: 1992-2020

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

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 2020, there were minor movements in partisan balance.

Historical House control

Between 1992 and 2020, Democrats controlled the state House following 13 out of 15 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Vermont House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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. Third-party and independent legislators are not represented in the graphics below.

Vermont House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
Democrats 87 86 88 77 62 70 83 93 95 94 98 85 83 95 92
Republicans 57 61 58 66 83 73 60 49 48 48 43 53 53 43 46

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 2020. 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 control of the chamber.

See also

Elections Vermont State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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External links

Footnotes

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