Raising Minimum Wage (S.67) to deal with higher livable wage, inflation also introduced.
by Timothy Page
The Vermont State Senate last week passed significant health insurance legislation and made several key appointments to state boards and committees.
Two major health insurance bills cleared the chamber. S.30, which updates and reorganizes health insurance statutes, and H.35, which separates the individual and small group health insurance markets, both passed their final readings. The Senate also approved S.9, a bill aimed at improving after-hours access to sexual assault protection orders.
In legislative appointments, Senators Joseph Major (Windsor), Robert Norris (Franklin), and Nader Hashim (Windham) were elected to serve two-year terms on the Judicial Nominating Board. The JNB has the important task of selecting candidates for judicial appointments, to be ratified by the rest of the Senate. Hashim and Norris are chair and vice-chair respectively of Senate Judiciary. Major, a freshman Democrat from Windsor County, is vice-chair of Senate Agriculture and sits on the Institutions Committee.
The Senate also named several members to various state committees, including Senator Brennan to the Governor’s Snowmobile Council and Senators Brock, Clarkson, Hashim, and Vyhovsky to the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules.
Also, Kerrick Johnson of Middlesex was confirmed 30-0 as the new Commissioner of the Department of Public Service.
Several new bills were introduced, including legislation to increase the state minimum wage based on the livable wage (S.67), a proposal to repeal the Affordable Heat Act (S.68), and a bill establishing an age-appropriate design code (S.69). The Senate also received H.118 from the House, which aims to expand the scope of hate-motivated crimes.
The chamber is preparing for a joint assembly with the House on February 20 to elect a Sergeant at Arms and three trustees of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. A special resolution was adopted to streamline the trustee election process through a plurality vote system, a method that has proven more efficient than majority voting in past elections.
Daily sessions began with moments of silence in lieu of devotions, with the exception of Tuesday, when the Reverend Katelyn Macrae of Richmond led the devotional exercises.
The Senate also recognized the service of the latest class of legislative pages: Peter Burkholder of Barnard, Salvador Doyle of Montpelier, Lucy Hakim of Shelburne, Daphne Krohn of South Burlington, Dean Roy of Stowe, Hayley Sherman of East Montpelier, and Henry Smith of Shelburne.
The Senate will reconvene after the Presidents’ Day weekend break, with both chambers having agreed to adjourn on Friday, February 14, until Tuesday, February 18.
Article written with data from the Senate Journals.