Guess What day It Is?

Well, the 2015-2016 session is underway. There are some shifts in committee membership, as expected. But, the interesting thing this year is that the House Judiciary Committee has undergone a change such as I don’t ever remember. Five committee members did not seek re-election; two were defeated. The long time Chair, Bill Lippert, is now the Chair of the House Health Care Committee. Here is the current committee membership:

Rep. Maxine Jo Grad, Chair

Rep. Willem Jewett, Vice Chair

Rep. Tom Burditt, Ranking Member

Rep. Chip Conquest

Rep. Bill Frank

Rep. Martin LaLonde

Rep. Marcia Martel

Rep. Betty A. Nuovo

Rep. Barbara Rachelson

Rep. Vicki Strong

Rep. Gary Viens

With all those new faces it will no doubt take some time to bring committee members up to speed on the work they’re about to undertake. It is, of course, the committee we work with most closely. In fact, on Friday morning Chief Superior Judge Brian Grearson and Court Administrator Pat Gabel are giving an overview of the judiciary. I am presenting right after them on the VBA, the VBF, the Access to Justice Coalition, etc.

Other committee of importance are Commerce and Economic Development where we expect to see a bill updating the LLC laws. Here are its members:

Rep. Bill Botzow, Chair

Rep. Michael Marcotte, Vice Chair

Rep. Warren F. Kitzmiller, Ranking Member

Rep. Fred Baser

Rep. Steve Carr

Rep. Maureen Dakin

Rep. Jean O'Sullivan

Rep. Corey Parent

Rep. Heidi E. Scheuermann

Rep. Laura Sibilia

Rep. Valerie A. Stuart

Perhaps most importantly, especially for the judicial branch budget is the House Appropriations Committee. It looks like four new members of that committee this biennium:

Rep. Mitzi Johnson, Chair

Rep. Peter J. Fagan, Vice Chair

Rep. Kathleen C. Keenan, Ranking Member

Rep. Bob Helm

Rep. Marty Feltus

Rep. Mary S. Hooper

Rep. Diane Lanpher

Rep. Anne Theresa O'Brien

Rep. Albert "Chuck" Pearce

Rep. Kitty Beattie Toll

Rep. Matthew Trieber

As always, I’ll do my best to keep you up to date on the happenings under the golden dome; stay warm, and, thanks for reading.