Vermont General Assembly

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.

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, who is chosen at the start of each session.

For past partisan compositions of both houses see Political party strength in Vermont.

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 chamber.

The Legislature has the sole power to propose amendments to the Constitution of Vermont. 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)

History

Vermont had a unicameral legislature until 1836. It added a senate by constitutional amendment. Prior to 1915, the legislature opened its session in the fall. In 1915 it began opening in January. The legislature takes a break the week of Town Meeting Day in March.

One Town, One Vote

From 1777 to 1965, each city/town elected one representative to the Vermont House of Representatives, regardless of the population of the municipality. This changed with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1964 decree of "One Man, One Vote" in Reynolds v. Sims, which affected all state legislatures across the Union.

Footnotes

• Two senators and one representative are split P/D in their caucus

References

References

1. [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/ Vermont Legislature]
2. [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/const2.htm Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Article 7.]
3. "REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT BOARD: The 2001 Tentative Plan for the Vermont Senate".
4. Lefebvre, Paul. (January 7, 2009). "Legislators cast wary eye at state budget". the Chronicle.
5. Moore, Kimberly C.. (January 1, 2009). "Crowds have juicy time at Big Squeeze". Burlington Free Press.
6. (2021-12-15). "Unpacking Vermont’s history of reapportionment - Mountain Times".
7. Bushnell, Mark. (2020-01-12). "Then Again: Until 1965, the smallest town had as much clout as the biggest city in the Vermont House".
8. Shull, Charles W. (1941). "Reapportionment: A Chronic Problem". ''National Municipal Review''. '''30''' (2): 73–79. [[Digital object identifier. doi]]:[[doi:10.1002/ncr.4110300204. 10.1002/ncr.4110300204]]