Senate rules committee approves temporary allowance for short-form education finance bills
January 18, 2025 | Rules, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont
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The Senate Rules Committee approved a resolution to allow short-form bills limited to education and education finance, with the rule expiring May 1, 2025. A senator moved approval on the floor and a second was recorded; the committee adopted the resolution by voice vote.
The resolution permits a senator to request a short-form bill in the education or education-financing space rather than submit a full, detailed bill at introduction. The Senate Secretary described the measure as "setting up a temporary rule to allow short form bills only for education financing and reform" and said the language largely was adapted from House practice.
Under the resolution as described to the committee, a short-form bill must include a name and topic and would receive a notice period before committee consideration. The Senate Secretary told members that under House practice a short form may be placed on notice for two days; the transcript notes the committee did not include one particular House provision concerning conversion from short form to standard form, judging that the committee-majority process made that provision redundant.
Committee members discussed the scope and limits of the proposal. The rule, as presented, would:
- Apply only to education and education finance matters; it would not permit short-form bills in other policy areas.
- Be optional: a senator may file a short form but is not required to do so.
- Include a May 1, 2025 expiration date; the Senate Secretary said that after that date a short-form bill introduced late in the session would likely not pass in short form.
A senator who moved the resolution said the change was intended to help legislative counsel manage an unusually heavy drafting workload in the education space; another senator expressed reservations about short-form bills in general but acknowledged the measure was narrowly drawn. The motion was moved and seconded; the transcript records a voice vote with multiple "Aye" responses and no recorded nays, and the resolution was approved by the committee.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally or list member votes by name in the transcript excerpt. The committee indicated staff and the rules committee would provide the implementing language and clarified the limited scope and temporary nature of the permission for short-form bills.
The resolution permits a senator to request a short-form bill in the education or education-financing space rather than submit a full, detailed bill at introduction. The Senate Secretary described the measure as "setting up a temporary rule to allow short form bills only for education financing and reform" and said the language largely was adapted from House practice.
Under the resolution as described to the committee, a short-form bill must include a name and topic and would receive a notice period before committee consideration. The Senate Secretary told members that under House practice a short form may be placed on notice for two days; the transcript notes the committee did not include one particular House provision concerning conversion from short form to standard form, judging that the committee-majority process made that provision redundant.
Committee members discussed the scope and limits of the proposal. The rule, as presented, would:
- Apply only to education and education finance matters; it would not permit short-form bills in other policy areas.
- Be optional: a senator may file a short form but is not required to do so.
- Include a May 1, 2025 expiration date; the Senate Secretary said that after that date a short-form bill introduced late in the session would likely not pass in short form.
A senator who moved the resolution said the change was intended to help legislative counsel manage an unusually heavy drafting workload in the education space; another senator expressed reservations about short-form bills in general but acknowledged the measure was narrowly drawn. The motion was moved and seconded; the transcript records a voice vote with multiple "Aye" responses and no recorded nays, and the resolution was approved by the committee.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally or list member votes by name in the transcript excerpt. The committee indicated staff and the rules committee would provide the implementing language and clarified the limited scope and temporary nature of the permission for short-form bills.
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