Rep. Wood: Tradition, ceremony, then legislative work begins
Jan. 3, 2022To the Community:
As the new year kicks off, so does the Vermont Legislature. The day of opening gavel is set in the Vermont Constitution as the first Wednesday following the first Monday of January. This year we will gavel in on Jan. 4. The first week will be mostly tied up with tradition — we will elect a speaker and clerk of the House. All members will be sworn in. The secretary of state will call the initial attendance. There will be a “seating ceremony” where new members receive their seat assignments; legislators will hear their committee assignments announced on the House floor, and the governor will give his State of the State address.
As the pomp and circumstance of the first week fades, with what might be a record number of new legislators and committee chairs, the first couple of weeks will be spent with training, learning the scope of committee assignments, and getting updates from the governor’s administration.
I expect to be reassigned to the House Human Services Committee. Our committee will be busy with continued work on child care. A financing study will be released by Jan. 15, which will help guide our work, as will the governance study released earlier this year. There are many challenges in this area, not the least of which is the number of providers who have closed in the last two years, decreasing accessibility of child care services — which, in addition to impacting families, has an impact on employers as well.
Other areas of interest in committee will be continued work on services impacting people with disabilities and older Vermonters; additional efforts to reduce the harm caused by opioid and other substance addictions; and supports necessary to impact individuals and families who lack housing.
I remain committed to representing you at the State House. Please feel free to reach out to me at twood@leg.state.vt.us.
Rep. Theresa A. M. Wood, Washington-Chittenden
Bolton, Buel’s Gore, Huntington, Waterbury