Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Well, senate, please come to order. We will observe a moment of silence in lieu of a devotional. Thank you. Now we will gavel out to recognize our pages, who I can't believe once again, six weeks have gone by, and we would invite all the parents up into the well of the chamber so that you can take pictures, and we will, yep, do that now. James Laughlin.

[Senator Brian Collamore (Rutland)]: So, if

[Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor)]: you come and join Phil and John. Ready? Yeah.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Thank you, guys. Now you can get back to work. Will senate please come to order. Are there any announcements? Seeing none. Orders of the day. Oh, we do have it. Rule 31. A rule 31. That's right here in front of me. We have senate bill h five nineteen. Oh, excuse me. Yes. That has a h. House bill h five nineteen being on the calendar for notice and affecting the revenues of the state under rule 31 is referred to the committee on finance. We have house bills for reference. H five nineteen, an act relating you give me the wrong one. We'll try that again. I'll double check the number this time. We have h six fifty seven, an act relating to enabling unaccompanied homeless youth to obtain certain services without parental consent, introduced by representative McGill. It passed the house on 04/01/2026. Listen to the first reading of the bill.

[John H. Bloomer Jr. (Secretary of the Senate)]: H six fifty seven, an act relating to enabling unaccompanied homeless youth to obtain certain services without parental consent.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Now you've heard the first reading of the bill. It's referred to the committee on health and welfare. H nine forty one, an act relating to municipal regulation of agriculture, introduced by the committee on agriculture. It passed the house on 04/01/2026. Listen to the first reading of the bill.

[John H. Bloomer Jr. (Secretary of the Senate)]: H nine forty one, an act relating to municipal regulation of agriculture.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Now you've heard the bill's first reading. It's referred to the committee on government operations. Orders of the day. We have h a d four for third reading. Are there any amendments prior to third reading? Seeing none, listen to the third reading of the bill.

[John H. Bloomer Jr. (Secretary of the Senate)]: H 84, an act relating to allowing telehealth appointments to be recorded with patient and provider consent.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Question is, shall the bill pass in concurrence? Are you ready for the question? If so, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes have it, and we have passed h 84 in concurrence. We now have h five forty for third reading. Are there any amendments prior to third reading? Seeing none listen to the third reading of the bill.

[John H. Bloomer Jr. (Secretary of the Senate)]: H five forty an act relating to the recommendations of the post adjudication reparative program working group.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Question is, shall the bill pass in concurrence? Are you ready for the question? If so, all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed nay. The ayes have it, and we have passed h five forty in concurrence. We are passing over h two thirty seven. Senator from Rutland.

[Senator Brian Collamore (Rutland)]: Thank you, mister president. I move that the rules be suspended, and the gubernatorial appointee who appears in the calendar today, whose name is not underlined, be taken up without debate and be confirmed by the senators.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Rutland moves that the senate rules be suspended and that the gubernatorial appointee who appears in the calendar whose name is not underlined be taken up without debate and be confirmed by the senate. Are you ready for the question? If so, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes have it, and the motion carries. Senator from Rutland.

[Senator Brian Collamore (Rutland)]: Thank you, mister president. I would further move that the rules be suspended and that pending entry on the calendar, we take up confirmation for consideration, the commissioner of labor, Kendall Smith, and I believe the report will be presented by the senior senator from Windsor County.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: The senator from Rutland has moved that the senate suspend its rules to take up for immediate action the confirmation of Kendall Smith as the commissioner of Department of Labor. Are you ready for the question? If so, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes have it. We I got that one. Thank you. We have an appointment report out of committee to take up for confirmation. It is the appointment of Kendall Smith as the commissioner of the Department of Labor for a term from and including 09/22/2025 to and including 02/28/2027, and until a successor is appointed and is qualified. The question is, shall Kendall Smith be appointed as the commissioner of the Department of Labor? Senator from Windsor.

[Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor)]: Thank you, mister president. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Kendall Smith for twelve years. From her early days at the Chamber of Commerce as Betsy Bishop's government affairs person on through her ex being executive director of the Vermont Futures Project and then to working for eight years as governor Scott's director of policy development and legislative affairs. And now now we are working together in her in her new capacity as the commissioner of Vermont's Department of Labor. To see such a considerable person grow and flourish and assume ever more important leadership roles in state government is really wonderful. Having grown up in Callis And Barrie Vermont, Kendall graduated from Spaulding High School. She went to American University in Washington, DC, where with her international studies degree, could have gone anywhere, but she chose in a very intentional way to return to Vermont to engage in public service. Kendall credits her love of public service to her days as a farm kid and a member of a four h club. There she, experienced adults who modeled important Vermont values and public service, giving back to their communities in a really meaningful way. I always enjoyed my interactions with Kendall, but I got to know her really well as we navigated getting some workforce development work through the legislature. That work led us to serving on the special oversight committee on workforce development for two years, which is when I really got to know Kendall well and figured out we even left all the same things at Foe Capital together. She is one of the most organized, thoughtful people. She listens well and thinks outside the box. She is a problem solver and an incredibly positive energy force. More importantly, Kendall is someone you can trust, which is gold in this building and in life. Governor Scott appointed Kendall as commissioner of the Department of Labor in September after her service as the Deputy Commissioner. Asked her what her vision and goals were for the department and here are a few of them. Short term, the successful launch of the new UI system this spring. After fifty years, it is about time, and we're all very excited about that. Creating a better user experience of claimants and the morale of the department staff and the public perception of and trust in the Department of Labor. Her long term vision is a little different. When this new system successfully launches, this will also create more capacity for the aspirational work of the department across our other three divisions. This includes providing more prominent leadership role in supporting job seekers and employers across the state, creating bridges with our education and training systems and participating anticipating needs, job market demands, and ensuring we are appropriately supporting and protecting employees as the nature of work evolves. Always thinking ahead. That is Kendall. The most important word for me is partnerships. Having stronger partnerships with education, professional licensure, human services, and hireability, philanthropy, nonprofits, regional and regional efforts. The strength of our partnerships will dictate the strength of our success. Kendall has many additional priorities for workforce working through org with organized labor and employee protections, and she sets very high expectations for herself as a leader. Her style is inclusive and has a stab she's established herself very early on as being very accessible. I asked her what she was proudest of so far in her new post, and this was her answer. I am most proud of the staff. I am proud of their resiliency, the passion they have for their work, and their care for each other. Kendall will be a great asset to the Department of Labor, and we wish her well. On a vote of five zero zero, your Senate Economic Development Housing and General Affairs Committee voted to confirm Kendall Smith as our new commissioner of labor, and we ask for the senate's support. Thank you.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: The question is, shall the appointment of Kendall Smith as the commissioner of the department of labor be confirmed by the senate? Are you ready for the question?

[Senator Brian Collamore (Rutland)]: Roll call.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Roll call has been requested, and when the vote is taken, it shall be by roll. The senate secretary shall call the roll. Senator Hardy? Those voting yes, 29. Those voting no, zero. And the senate has confirmed the appointment of Kendall Smith as the commissioner of the Department of Labor. Believe that completes the orders of the day. Senator from Chittenden.

[Senator Philip Baruth (Chittenden Central) – President Pro Tempore]: Thank you, mister president. Pending announcements, I move that the senate stand in adjournment until 09:30AM, Tuesday, 04/07/2026.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Are there any announcements? Senator from Washington.

[Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor)]: Thank you, mister president. Senator, we'll meet at 01:00.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Washington. Thank you. Senator appropriations will also meet at 01:00. Senator from Rutland.

[Senator Brian Collamore (Rutland)]: Thank you, mister president, as well as senate government operations.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Windham.

[Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor)]: Thank you. 1PM is the time for institutions as well.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Bennington.

[Senator Seth Bongartz (Bennington)]: Mister president, the education committee will meet at 01:15.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Windsor.

[Senator Alison Clarkson (Windsor)]: Classic. It is now the April 3, and I am giving my colleagues in the senate fair warning that cabaret is now set, and it is set for Thursday, April 23, and you have plenty of time to now start working on your cabaret act. I also would like to give you a heads up that Wednesday, this coming Wednesday from five to seven, I think it is, there's gonna be a wonderful program. I think it's in Room 11, I'll get you more details on Tuesday about Braver Angels, which is committed to building and improving our relations party to party with learning how to overcome differences and barriers in the way we can communicate with each other. And I would encourage all of us to look at Candace Morgan's email and to think about joining. It should be really terrific, and I'll bring you more details Tuesday. Thank you.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: Senator from Windsor.

[Senator Rebecca "Becca" White (Windsor)]: Starting at ten minutes, there are mini cupcakes and mini trucks out front of the State House in honor of our unanimous decision to support the legalization of mini trucks in the DMV miscellaneous bill. They'd love to meet you and thank you for your votes.

[Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (President of the Senate)]: It's great to see that we finally made them legal because like so many other things, they've been being used for a long time. That's nice. Are there any other announcements? Seeing none, the senator from Chittenden Central has moved that the senate stand in adjournment until 09:30AM, Tuesday, 04/07/2026. Are you ready for the question? If so, all in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Aye. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. We'll stand in adjournment until 09:30AM, Tuesday, 04/07/2026.