Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Vermont House of Representatives

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Type
  
Lower house

New session started
  
January 5, 2015

Term limits
  
None

Vermont House of Representatives

Speaker of the House
  
Mitzi Johnson (D) Since January 4, 2017

Majority Leader
  
Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (D) Since January 7, 2015

Minority Leader
  
Donald H. Turner (R) Since January 5, 2011

The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives are elected to a two-year term without term limits.

Contents

Vermont had a unicameral legislature until 1836. It added a senate by constitutional amendment. The House meets in Representatives Hall at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.

Leadership

The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the full House by Australian Ballot. If there is only one candidate for Speaker it is commonly a voice vote for the election of the Speaker. In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the chamber.

The current Speaker is Democrat Mitzi Johnson of the Grand Isle-Chittenden District. The Majority Leader is Jill Krowinski of the Chittenden-6-3 District. The Minority Leader is Republican Donald H. Turner of the Chittenden-9 District.

The current Clerk of the House is William MaGill. The First Assistant Clerk is Melissa Kucserik, and the Second Assistant Clerk is Rebecca Silbernagel.

Composition

Seven members of the Democratic Caucus are also affiliated with the Vermont Working Families Party.

Members

† Originally appointed

Past notable members

Nearly all of the governors of the state, most US representatives and most US senators, were first members of this house. The following were also members:

  • Nathaniel Chipman, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (1791–1794), U.S. Senator (1797–1803)
  • Ray W. Collins, pitcher, Boston Red Sox (1909–1915)
  • Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (2005–2009)
  • Lyman Enos Knapp, Governor of the District of Alaska (1889–1893)
  • Madeleine M. Kunin, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland (1996–1999)
  • Matthew Lyon, Member of the U.S. House from Vermont (1797–1801) and Kentucky (1803–1811), United States Factor to the Cherokee Nation in Arkansas (1820)
  • Edna Beard (1877–1928), who was the first woman to be elected to the Vermont House, and the first elected to the Vermont Senate

    • Operations

    The house typically meets Tuesday through Friday during the session.

    References

    Vermont House of Representatives Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA