The Vermont General Assembly is the

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly", but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The General Assembly is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislature, consisting of the 150-member

Vermont House of Representatives 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 a ...

and the 30-member

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator repre ...

. Members of the House are elected by single and two-member districts. 68 districts choose one member, and 41 choose two, with the term of service being two years. The Senate includes 30 Senators, elected by seven single-member and nine multi-member districts with two or three members each. It is the only state legislative body in the United States in which a third party has had continuous representation and been consecutively elected alongside Democrats and Republicans. The Vermont General Assembly meets at the

Vermont State House The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the ...

in the state capital of Montpelier. Biennial terms commence on the Wednesday following the first Monday in January (beginning in 1915; thus, terms commence in odd-numbered years).

Elections

Legislative elections are held in November of every even-numbered year. Representatives and Senators serve two-year terms. One must be a resident of the state for the two years, and of the legislative district for the one year immediately preceding the election in order to qualify for either house. The House is headed by the Speaker of the House, while the Senate is headed by the State's

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

as the Senate President. The Senate President has only a

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

. More often, the Senate is presided over by the President pro tempore, who is chosen at the start of each session. For past partisan compositions of both houses see Political party strength in Vermont.

Functions

The Legislature is empowered to make law, subject to the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

's power to veto a bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each chamber. The Legislature has the sole power to propose amendments to the Constitution of Vermont. An amendment must originate in the Senate, where it must receive a two-thirds vote. After passing the Senate, it must also receive a majority vote in the House. Any amendment that passes both Houses must be repassed by majority votes, after a newly elected legislature is seated; again, first in the Senate, then in the House. The proposed amendment must then be passed by a majority of the state's voters at a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. Only every other Senate session may initiate the amendment process. Thus, Senates elected in off-year (i.e. non-Presidential) elections may initiate amendments, but not Senates elected during Presidential elections. (Vermont Constitution, Chapter 2, Section 72)

History

Vermont had a

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

until 1836. It added a senate by constitutional amendment. Prior to 1915, the legislature opened its session in the fall. In 1915 it began opening in January. The legislature takes a break the week of Town Meeting Day in March.

One Town, One Vote

From 1777 to 1965, each city/town elected one representative to the Vermont House of Representatives, regardless of the population of the municipality. This changed with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1964 decree of "

One Man, One Vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...

" in '' Reynolds v. Sims'', which affected all state legislatures across the Union.Shull, Charles W. (1941). "Reapportionment: A Chronic Problem". ''National Municipal Review''. 30 (2): 73–79. doi: 10.1002/ncr.4110300204

Footnotes

* Two senators and one representative are split P/D in their caucus

References

External links

Vermont General AssemblyGovernment of Vermont portal
{{Authority control Government of Vermont Politics of Vermont Bicameral legislatures