Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House)]: You're live. Thank you, Teresa. Welcome everyone to the Joint Rules Committee meeting, and it is Thursday, February 26. We are gonna start with a conversation around the security screening plan, and we will start off with Betsy Ann.

[BetsyAnn Wrask (Clerk of the House)]: Sure. I'll just do it from here, Madam Speaker. Quick intro.

[Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House)]: For the record Betsy Ann,

[BetsyAnn Wrask (Clerk of the House)]: ask Clerk of the House, Clerk of this Committee this biennium. And just for background, as you members are already aware, pursuant to Joint Rule 26, that regulates public conduct in the State House and also provides the Sergeant Arms with the responsibility to have general supervision over the public conduct in the State House, and that includes the authority to take measures to prevent disruption of essential government operations, and that authority is repeated in statute into the SA-sixty two which also specifically requires the sergeant at arms to provide security for the state house. Pursuant to that authority, the sergeant at arms and chief of the Capitol Police are here to discuss their plans to update their security screening measures. Since this might be considered a substantive change, this matter before this committee, the Committee of Jurisdiction over general matters of common concern to the two chambers for you to potentially approve those plans that updates those security screening measures. And that is it.

[Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House)]: Thank you. Can we join you? Yeah. Hi. Thank

[Kesha (Sergeant at Arms)]: you. You. Good morning. Morning. Morning. Thank you, Betsy, for that background introduction. So I I have the Kesha, sergeant Arms for the record.

[John Paulway (Capitol Police Chief)]: John Paulway, chief of police.

[Kesha (Sergeant at Arms)]: So we are here to present the plan for updating security screening at the State House. This plan, this update is built on our current operations. In order to implement security screening in a more consistent and efficient manner, we would like to review with the committee the following. And I was going to ask Teresa if you wouldn't mind putting up well, there's one slide for this presentation. Mhmm. And it kind of the slide has the things we wanna go over. So the first is resources. The resources we would need to more appropriately staff the screening station and more effectively heat, light, and occupy the vestibule that we currently use for screening. We'd like to discuss the screening schedule. We'd like to discuss the prohibition set forth in joint rule 26 related to dangerous and deadly weapons. And we'd like to discuss the secure entrance that is co located next to the public entrance. So that's the door that's locked by the service, the service elevator. We would ask that the committee consider entering executive session for this discussion as it relates to state house security and may pose a risk of exposing security vulnerabilities of the state house.

[Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House)]: Thank you. Senator Baruth, would you mind making that first motion for us to Sure. Move into executive session?

[Philip Baruth (Chair)]: See. I move that the committee enter executive session in order to discuss sensitive information that, if disclosed, would pose a risk to state property or security.

[Jill Krowinski (Speaker of the House)]: Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. The ayes have it, and we will move into

[BetsyAnn Wrask (Clerk of the House)]: executive session. And we'll just pause for room then. Speaker