What’s the Senate doing on guns? And other questions
2023-02-14
Dear friend,
I'm one representative for 4,200 residents in Windham-6.
As of today, 83 bills have been introduced in the State Senate, 257 in the House, and one proposed Constitutional amendment.
The House operates 17 committees and the Senate 15. Each committee meets for four to eight hours per day. What is each one doing? Here's the agenda of all the committees for this week. That document is 135 pages long, before even getting into the content those committees are considering.
The State Legislature has excellent staff as a body, but no one assigned to help individual legislators. How do we keep up? I'd compare it to joining a new football or soccer or any team. Different legislators find different roles. We operate as a team of teams.
Our committee seats four Republicans, seven Democrats, and one Progressive/Democrat. I hear a lot about there are "two sides" on every issue and how the country is divided. If you want another perspective on that, tune into our YouTube. Here's one from today where you'll hear the pride and the pain of Vermont's correctional officers.
I've seen not two or three but eleven different perspectives emerge from our conversations.
Hearing from correctional officers and members of the Vermont State Employees Associations
In this way, on all these committees you have 150 Representatives working for all Vermonters.
What's going on with the Affordable Heat Act? It's in the committee of jurisdiction. I haven't been able to study it.
What's the Senate doing with gun legislation? I know broad brushstrokes, but waiting till a bill comes before the House to dig in. There are several gun bills in the Senate and it's hard to know what will move forward.
I'm counting on the teams on each of the House committees to study an issue before recommending it (or not) to the full House.
I can talk to you for hours about the Governor’s Recommended FY24-FY25 Capital Budget, because it's in my committee. To know about S.1 through S.83 or H.1 through H.257, I would need to go to those committees and study each one. To find out what's going on, we talk to someone on that committee.
We're a team of 150 in the House and 30 in the Senate.
Ask me about any bill, and I'll get back to you as soon as it takes me to find the right one of my colleagues to ask, or to dig in myself.
Go ahead -- email me back if you have a bill question. I haven't reported on a lot of bills in these emails partly because I haven't gotten many questions. If you want more of that and better yet, have a topic -- let me know! (I will also be offering a thorough update and Q&A at the Town Meetings in Halifax, Wilmington, and Whitingham.)
That's also why I speak a lot in our committee about core values of Vermont and Vermonters. I believe in the power of having a shared vision and values to shape behavior.
When you have an $8.4 billion proposed budget, the best way I can track whether that spend is effective is not through poring over every line, though I'll do that too. It's through understanding the values and vision that shaped it and that will shape the behavior of the individuals spending that money.
To help me do that, and to know more what's going on around Montpelier, I'm looking to expand my team.
Come intern at the State House with Rep. Roberts
Would you like to help me research policy development in Vermont, and related policies in other states around the nation?
Do you like producing social media content and promoting a cause you believe in?
I am hiring one or a couple legislative interns that I will pay a living wage and also mentor.
Only a few hours here and there are fine. I have lots of projects that could be suited to a variety of people. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested, please send an email to tristan@tristanroberts.org to introduce yourself and tell me your favorite place to swim or ski in Vermont, and we'll go from there.