Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Unidentified Legislative Staff (Committee/Legislative Council)]: And you're live. Alright. Good afternoon, everyone.

[Philip Baruth (Chair)]: This is joint rules meeting on 01/23/2026. We have two items on our agenda today. We are going to review our crossover dates

[Unidentified Legislative Staff (Committee/Legislative Council)]: which is a

[Philip Baruth (Chair)]: vote that we need to take and then review the amendment that we have had discussed at a previous meeting around the State House Security camera and data retention policy procedure.

[Unidentified Legislative Staff (Committee/Legislative Council)]: So, big picture crossover is the date by which the two chambers agree that committees will vote out bills and they want the other chamber to consider this year and this committee establishes crossover because it's a committee that has jurisdiction over matters of common concerns. We vote for the chambers And so the speaker has proposed for you in this memo, the standard crossover dates. I see standard crossover dates revolve around town meeting. Town meeting by statute is the March. You've already adopted your town meeting meets rate resolution, so you are out that committee that has built, we need to vote out that bill. The following Friday, which would be Friday, March 20, would be the date for specifically money committees that were referred bills because they had a fiscal impact that were already voted out of the policy committee and were referred to the money committees by Senate thirty one or House thirty five A. Those money committees, both of them would have to have those bills voted out by that second Friday, Friday, March twentieth. Just a note on the money committee, some of our money committees, like Senate Hopkins and and the state And at the bottom of the memo, the the state speaker has provided the standard California, exceptions to crossover, which are your major money bills. So that's the big bill, budget, the t bill, the capital bill, and the revenue bills. So these are the standard dates that Yes. Great. Thank you again, speaker and to the committee. So, just a reminder at your last meeting which was November, you adopted this security camera policy and procedure that is administered by the office of sergeant policy that is administered by the Office of Sergeant in Arms, and so it was drafted by the Office of Sergeant in Arms in collaboration with the Office of Legislative Council. Both they would return to those two entities and discuss with them the potential revision that we discussed here last meeting, and also provided that proposed or potential revision to discuss it with all legislative staff office directors because we all also reviewed that this original document and this revision that is before you today for your review. So specifically, the question was in regard to section three b, the general principles for the operation of security cameras. And so if you can look at this language that's highlighted, this is the potential change. So this policy and procedure set general principles for their use. So here, the original language, the current language that applies, says that security cameras shall be used for monitoring and recording by the Office of Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police Department to protect the safety and security, here's the current language, of the General Assembly, the State House, and the surrounding community, period. And the flag came up at last meeting, why are we using surrounding community? All of us want to set a staff and are here to support the legislative branch. That is the scope of everyone's role here. And so we briefly discussed the last meeting using the same language that is used above in the policy for the camera use responsibilities in three A1, which is that the sergeant at arms and the chief capital police use these security cameras, quote, for the purposes of the safety and security in and around the State House, and the spaces used for the operation of the Vermont General Assembly. And so what this revision would do, and all of us as staff who reviewed this language, I think the policy does same thing. If we just repeat that language and then it will be consistent in alignment to say, in general principles here in section three b one, have security cameras shove use for monitoring and reporting by law office sergeant Arms, the appellate police department to, quote,