Minority (7)
34-512: The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont . The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. Senators are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit to the number of terms that a senator may serve. As in other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and
68-824: A Legislative Council prior to joining Canada , as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada ) to 1968. Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska , the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble. The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems, though all members are now directly elected (the two self-governing territories, along with Norfolk Island until 2016, have always been unicameral). Like Queensland,
102-410: A lower house) is described as unicameral . An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: Status: In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or a "house of review" chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of
136-504: A new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill. Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include a means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other. In recent times, parliamentary systems have tended to weaken
170-592: A position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism." The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example is the British House of Lords . Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , the House of Lords can no longer prevent
204-793: A two-year term without term limits . 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 . It is the only U.S. state legislature whose debating chamber seating layout comes closer to that of the Westminster-style parliament found elsewhere, being similar to debating chambers in Australian state parliaments. The Speaker of
238-517: The German state of Bavaria had an appointed second chamber, the Senate of Bavaria , from 1946 to 1999. The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with
272-650: The Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by the President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of the members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate
306-667: The Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in the British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947. It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of
340-520: The U.S. Senate , the Vermont Senate has special functions, such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to executive departments, the state cabinet , commissions, boards, and (for the first six-year term) the state's judiciary. The Vermont Senate meets at the Vermont State House in the state capital of Montpelier . The 30 senators are elected from 16 single and multi-member senate districts. The districts largely correspond to
374-859: The United States Senate and United States House of Representatives also served in the Vermont Senate. U.S. senators include Samuel S. Phelps , George F. Edmunds , Jonathan Ross , Porter H. Dale , Frank C. Partridge , Ernest Willard Gibson , Jim Jeffords , and Peter Welch (incumbent). U.S. House members who served in the Vermont Senate include William Henry , Ahiman Louis Miner , George Tisdale Hodges , Frederick E. Woodbridge , H. Henry Powers , David J. Foster , William Hebard , Andrew Tracy , William W. Grout , Kittredge Haskins , Frank Plumley , Alvah Sabin , Homer Elihu Royce , Worthington Curtis Smith , Bradley Barlow , Augustus Young , Richard W. Mallary , Peter Plympton Smith , and Becca Balint (incumbent). Other notable members of
SECTION 10
#1732776865524408-472: The Committee on Committees. This panel consists of the lieutenant governor, the president pro tempore and one member chosen by the full Senate. For several years the third member of the committee was Richard Mazza . The full Senate meets Tuesday and Friday mornings only for the first seven weeks of the annual session. The Vermont Senate is aided by a small administrative staff, including the secretary of
442-528: 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, the election is usually held by voice vote. In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker controls committee assignments and the flow of legislation. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders and whips , are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in
476-735: The House and Senate—has served longer than Doyle. The following is from the Vermont Secretary of State. Most individuals who have served as governor or lieutenant governor had experience in the Vermont legislature; many served in the State Senate. For more than 100 years from the 1850s to the 1960s, the Vermont Republican Party won every election for statewide office. In keeping with the "Mountain Rule" , which
510-750: The Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck the Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in the Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999 , which preserved 92 hereditary peers in
544-531: The Senate, but casts a vote only if required to break a tie. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the president pro tempore presides over the Senate. The president pro tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation from the entire body through a Senate resolution, and is the Senate's chief leadership position. The majority and minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses. Committee assignments are determined by
578-440: The Vermont Senate and several assistants. Since 2011, the Senate secretary has been John H. Bloomer, a former member of the Senate. Previous secretaries include Ernest W. Gibson Jr. , Murdock A. Campbell , and Franklin S. Billings Jr. Vermont had a unicameral legislature until 1836; most of the functions normally performed by an upper legislative house were the responsibility of the governor and council . The state abolished
612-505: The Vermont Senate include: 44°15′44″N 72°34′51″W / 44.26222°N 72.58083°W / 44.26222; -72.58083 Upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature , the other chamber being the lower house . The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor
646-505: The abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad. Vermont House of Representatives Minority (38) The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont . The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives are elected to
680-493: The boundaries of the state's 14 counties with adjustments to ensure equality of representation. Each district elects between 1 and 3 senators at-large depending on population. For the 2023–2033 districts, Seven districts elect one senator each, four districts elect two each, and five elect three. Senators in multi-member districts are elected at-large throughout the district. Vermont is the only state to have any senate districts represented by more than two senators each, as well as
714-404: The bulk of the district is located. However, due to equal representation requirements of the federal and state constitutions, most districts do not have precisely the same boundaries as their respective counties, containing either one or more towns from neighboring counties or not containing one or more from their own county (or both). The lieutenant governor of Vermont serves as the president of
SECTION 20
#1732776865524748-653: The chamber. There are three party caucuses in the Vermont House; the Democratic Caucus which is currently in the majority, and the Republican and Progressive Caucuses, each currently being in the minority. Independent members of the House may choose to caucus with a party or none at all. Jill Krowinski ( D - Burlington ) is serving her second term as House Speaker. Nearly all of the Governors of
782-484: The following restrictions are often placed on upper houses: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses the Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in the same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office,
816-473: The governor's council and added a senate by constitutional amendment. The longest-serving member of the Vermont Senate was William T. Doyle ; he was elected in 1968, reelected every two years until 2014, and defeated for reelection in 2016. Doyle served from January 1969 to January 2017; no other legislator in Vermont history—member of the Vermont House , member of the Vermont Senate, or member of both
850-467: The house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make the Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay a bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces
884-417: The only state to employ bloc voting for senate elections. Vermont is one of the 14 states where the upper house of its state legislature serves at a two-year cycle, rather than the more common four-year term in the majority of states. Senate district lines are drawn with an eye toward adhering to the boundaries of the state's 14 counties, and the districts are named after the county or counties in which
918-457: The passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. The House of Lords is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding
952-424: The powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct the business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time. In presidential systems,
986-533: The restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987. A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a referendum on the abolition of its upper house , the Seanad Éireann , during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported
1020-719: The state senate include: Waitstill R. Ranney , Leonard Sargeant , William C. Kittredge , Jefferson P. Kidder , Burnham Martin , Levi Underwood , Abraham B. Gardner , Stephen Thomas , George N. Dale , Russell S. Taft , Lyman G. Hinckley , Eben Pomeroy Colton , Henry A. Fletcher , Farrand Stewart Stranahan , Zophar Mansur , Nelson W. Fisk , Henry C. Bates , Martin F. Allen , Zed S. Stanton , Charles H. Stearns , Leighton P. Slack , Hale K. Darling , Roger W. Hulburd , Abram W. Foote , Walter K. Farnsworth , Consuelo N. Bailey , Robert S. Babcock , T. Garry Buckley , Barbara Snelling (post-lieutenant governorship), Doug Racine , and David Zuckerman . Many of Vermont's members of
1054-507: The uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The House of Lords has a number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however, the two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when
Vermont Senate - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-526: The upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or a mixture of these. Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by the head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of
1122-867: Was chosen by state legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to the lower house - for example, the senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population. Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Hungary , Iceland , Iran , Mauritania , New Zealand , Peru , Sweden , Turkey , Venezuela , many Indian states , Brazilian states , Canadian provinces , subnational entities such as Queensland , and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had
1156-1372: Was created to ensure party unity, governors and lieutenant governors were from opposite sides of the Green Mountains , and were limited to two years in office. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor were agreed upon by party leaders years in advance, and were often chosen for leadership positions in the House or Senate to groom them for statewide office. Governors who served in the Vermont Senate include: William A. Palmer (post-governorship); Horace Eaton ; Carlos Coolidge (post-governorship); John S. Robinson ; Ryland Fletcher ; Frederick Holbrook ; Paul Dillingham ; George Whitman Hendee ; John Wolcott Stewart ; Julius Converse ; Horace Fairbanks ; Redfield Proctor ; Roswell Farnham ; John L. Barstow ; Ebenezer J. Ormsbee ; William P. Dillingham ; Carroll S. Page ; Levi K. Fuller ; Josiah Grout ; John G. McCullough ; Charles J. Bell ; Fletcher D. Proctor ; George H. Prouty ; John A. Mead ; Allen M. Fletcher ; Charles W. Gates ; Percival W. Clement ; Redfield Proctor Jr. ; John E. Weeks ; Stanley C. Wilson ; Charles Manley Smith ; William H. Wills ; Mortimer R. Proctor ; Lee E. Emerson ; Joseph B. Johnson ; Philip H. Hoff (post-governorship); Peter Shumlin ; and Phil Scott (incumbent). Vermont's lieutenant governors who served in
#523476