VT General Assembly

The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the “General Assembly,” but the style of “Legislature” is commonly used, including by the body itself.  The General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the 150-member Vermont House of Representatives and the 30-member Vermont Senate. Members of the House are elected by single and two-member districts. 58 districts choose one member, and 46 choose two, with the term of service being two years. The Senate includes 30 Senators, elected by 3 single-member and 10 multi-member districts with two, three, or six members each. It is the only state legislative body in the United States in which a third-party has had continuous representation and been consecutively elected alongside Democrats and Republicans.

The Vermont General Assembly meets at the Vermont State House in the state capital of Montpelier. Biennial terms commence on the Wednesday following the first Monday in January (beginning in 1915; thus, terms commence in odd-numbered years).

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VT Judicial Branch

The Vermont courts are established in the Vermont Constitution in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Department). The justices of the Vermont Supreme Court and judges of all lower courts except assistant judges and probate judges serve for six-year terms, which are renewable following a majority retention vote in the Vermont General Assembly.

All Vermont Constitution provides for a mandatory retirement of Supreme Court justices and lower court judges at 90 years of age, as prescribed by law by the General Assembly, or if the General Assembly has not so provided by law at the age of 70 or at the end of the term of election during which they attain the age of 70. The constitution also provides that justices and judges be given a pension as provided by law and that the chief justice “may from time to time appoint retired justices and judges to special assignments as permitted under the rules of the Supreme Court.”

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VT Executive Branch

The government of Vermont is a republican form of government modeled after the Government of the United States. The Constitution of Vermont is the supreme law of the state, followed by the Vermont Statutes. This is roughly analogous to the Federal United States Constitution, United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations respectively. Provision is made for the following frame of government under the Constitution of the State of Vermont: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. All members of the executive and legislative branch serve two-year terms including the governor and senators. There are no term limits for any office.

The Vermont state capital is Montpelier. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the fourteenth state.

An in-depth evaluation of government in 2008 ranked Vermont high compared to other states. It ranked highest in “small discrete issues and huge global ones.” It performed poorly in the issues in-between and planning for the future.

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