This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee amended S. 1 (technical corrections to judicial restructuring) and passed it on to the full senate for action. The changes made to the original were not substantive and some additional language clarifies employment benefit and bargaining unit issues for the county employees that become state employees as of February 1st.
When passed the bill has an effective date of February 1st. That’s the day the probate court becomes the probate division of the superior court; and it’s also the date the inadvertently repealed sections of title 12 take effect. So, the rush is on to get the bill through the house and to the governor’s desk before February 1.
The Senate Judiciary committee is so concerned about that date that they asked the new Pro Tem, Senator John Campbell, to schedule a floor session for tomorrow to advance the bill from the Notice Calendar to the Action Calendar. So, the senate should be able to consider the bill on Friday at second reading. It will still need to be “read the third time” next Tuesday, which would delay its arrival in the house until next Thursday unless there is a rules suspension. There remains plenty of time to get this done but it’s good news that Senator Sears had it on his radar and moved so quickly on it.
I will be out of the statehouse for the next few days as I travel to the YLD Thaw; so my next report to you will likely be next Tuesday. But before I sign off, I want to link you to the remarks of our governor at a memorial service for David Gibson in the Senate Chamber yesterday: http://governor.vermont.gov/newsroom-David-Gibson-remarks.
Thanks for reading.
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