Bill also would create group to study length of legislative session
By Guy Page
The 30 members of the Vermont Senate tomorrow, Tuesday April 11 will consider S.39, increasing lawmakers’ pay and benefits.
It also creates a legislative working group to recommend changes in when and how often the Legislature meets – potentially opening the door to an extended or year-round session.
S.39, as amended unanimously by Senate Government Operations Committee, features:
Base pay hike – Increase base weekly, in-session pay from the current $811 to $1,210, beginning in 2025 – the first year of the next biennium.
Special Session per diem – pay a per diem (daily) rate equal to one-fifth of the weekly pay.
Health insurance benefits – legislators would be eligible for the same health care benefits now enjoyed by State of Vermont executive branch employees.
Adjournment Pay – when out-of-session, lawmakers would receive weekly pay one-fifth of the in-session pay ($242/week).
Mileage reimbursement – travel from home to the Capitol at the federal mileage reimbursement rate (currently 65.5 cents).
Professional development out-of-state – Lawmakers would receive a per-diem (pro-rated from weekly salary) for attending out-of-state professional development and other duties.
Meals reimbursement or allowance – Lawmakers would elect either actual meals reimbursement or the federally-established government meals allowance for Montpelier, Vermont – which is currently $69/day.
Lodging reimbursement or allowance – Lawmakers would elect either actual lodging reimbursement or the federally-established government lodging allowance for Montpelier, Vermont – which is currently $127/day.
Childcare/eldercare – Each lawmaker with $75K or less of household income will receive up to $1600/year for necessary childcare or eldercare.
Parking – A member who attests that physical limitations make it difficult or impractical to walk from lodging to the State House may receive reimbursement for actual costs incurred for overnight parking.
Orientation pay for members-elect – Each newly-elected non-incumbent will be paid a per diem based on lawmakers’ weekly pay for attending new member orientation, usually held in December.
Death pay – The estate of a deceased member will receive the entire pay of the two-week period in which the member died.
Legislative leave of absence – Employers of lawmakers will be required to provide leaves of absence for lawmakers in pursuit of their legislative duties. Candidates must inform employers shortly after filing to run for office.
Speaker of the House, Senate President pay hikes – the elected leaders of both chambers would receive $20,716 annually plus an additional $1,340/week when the Legislature is in session.
The Gov Ops version of the bill appropriates $875,000 to cover these added expenses. However, a Seven Days media report estimates the likely added cost at $2.4 million.
The Senate Appropriations Committee version covers many of the same bases, but differs somewhat in details. For example, base pay for lawmakers would begin at $1000 for 2025 and rise to $1100 for 2026. The Speaker and Senate President also would receive substantial pay hikes, but the terms are somewhat different.
The bill also creates a Legislative Service Working Group to consider further pay and benefits, and “whether changes should be made to the length or structure of the legislative session.” Gov. Scott has said he would consider supporting the bill if the Legislature limited itself to a three-month session.
S.39 was sponsored by Sen. Ruth Hardy, chair of Gov Ops, and Sens. Alison Clarkson, Sen. Martine Gulick, Nader Hashim, Robert Norris (the only Republican sponsor), Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Tanya Vyhovsky, Anne Watson, and Rebecca White.
The Vermont Senate is scheduled to convene at 9:30 AM tomorrow. S39 is the only bill on the agenda.
If approved by a full Senate vote tomorrow, it will likely be voted on Wednesday for final Senate approval. Then, S.39 would go to the House.
All Senate chamber meetings can be viewed live here. All senators’ names, districts, and legislative email addresses appear below.
| Senator Philip Baruth | Chittenden-Central | Burlington | Dem/Prog | Appropriations/ Judiciary/ Rules | pbaruth@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Christopher Bray | Addison District | New Haven | Democrat | Finance/ Natural Resources and Energy | cbray@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Randy Brock | Franklin | St. Albans | Republican | Economic Dev., Housing and General Affairs/ Finance/ Rules | rbrock@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Brian Campion | Bennington | Bennington | Democrat | Agriculture/ Education | bcampion@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Thomas Chittenden | Chittenden-Southeast | S. Burlington | Democrat | Finance/ Transportation | tchittenden@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Alison Clarkson | Windsor | Woodstock | Democrat | Economic Dev., Housing and General Affairs/ Rules/ Gov. Operations | AClarkson@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Brian Collamore | Rutland | Rutland | Republican | Agriculture/ Institutions | bcollamore@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Ann Cummings | Washington | Montpelier | Democrat | Economic Dev., Housing and General Affairs/ Finance | acummings@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Martine Gulick | Chittenden-Central | Burlington | Democrat | Education/ Health and Welfare | mgulick@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Ruth Hardy | Addison | East Middlebury | Democrat | Gov. Operations/ Health and Welfare | rhardy@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Wendy Harrison | Windham | Brattleboro | Democrat | Economic Dev., Housing and General Affairs/ Institutions | wharrison@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Nader Hashim | Windham | Dummerston | Democrat | Education/ Judiciary | nhashim@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Russ Ingalls | Essex | Newport | Republican | Institutions/ Transportation | ringalls@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Jane Kitchel | Caledonia | Danville | Democrat | Appropriations/ Transportation | jkitchel@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Virginia “Ginny” Lyons | Chittenden-Southeast | Williston | Democrat | Appropriations/ Health and Welfare | vlyons@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Mark A. MacDonald | Orange | Williamstown | Democrat | Finance/ Natural Resources and Energy | mmacdonald@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Dick Mazza | Grand Isle | Colchester | Democrat | Institutions/ Transportation/ Rules | dmazza@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Dick McCormack | Windsor | Bethel | Democrat | Finance/ Natural Resources and Energy | rmccormack@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Robert Norris | Franklin | Sheldon | Republican | Gov. Operations/ Judiciary | rnorris@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator andrew Perchlik | Washington | Montpelier | DemProg | Appropriations/ Transportation/ Rules | aperchlik@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale | Chittenden-Southeast | Burlington | Democrat | Economic Dev, Housing and General Affairs/ Finance | kramhinsdale@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Dick Sears Jr. | Bennington | N. Bennington | Democrat | Appropriations/ Judiciary | rsears@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Robert Starr | Orleans | N. Troy | Democrat | Agriculture/ Appropriations | rstarr@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Tanya Vyhovsky | Chittenden-Central | Essex | Prog/Dem | Government Operations/ Judiciary | tvyhovsky@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Anne Watson | Washington | Montpelier | Dem/Prog | Gov. Operations/ Natural Resources and Energy | awatson@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator David Weeks | Rutland | Proctor | Republican | Education/ Health and Welfare | dweeks@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Richard Westman | Lamoille | Cambridge | Republican | Agriculture/ Appropriations | rwestman@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Rebecca White | Windsor | Hartford | Democrat | Gov. Operations/ Natural Resources and Energy | rwhite@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Terry Williams | Rutland | Poultney | Republican | Education/ Health and Welfare | twilliams@leg.state.vt.us |
| Senator Irene Wrenner | Chittenden-North | Essex | Democrat | Agriculture/ Institutions | iwrenner@leg.state.vt.us |