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For Teachers
VPT's first-ever, live "Field Trip to the State House" was televised on Wednesday, January 24 from 9 to 11 am. We returned for a second visit on Tuesday, March 27 from 9:30 to 11:00 am.
 The field trips offer students the opportunity to: see parts of the Capitol with State Curator David Schutz; witness the Speaker of the House Walter Freed call the chamber to order; e-mail questions to Governor Dean, Lt. Governor Doug Racine and their local legislator; learn the roles and responsibilities of the press; meet some of the students working as pages; witness the reading of a bill by the Senate; and visit the State House Dome.
This website is a companion to the live field trip. It contains activities, resources and links designed to enhance the broadcast component. School rights for these programs are in perpetuity.
 Our goal with "Field Trip to the Vermont State House" and this companion website is to introduce students throughout the state to the legislative process here in Vermont, while at the same time providing them with a virtual tour of the Capitol building in Montpelier. At a time when citizen apathy is on the rise across the country, it is our hope that the children learning from this program will translate their knowledge into involvement. Our system depends on it.
For more information, please see the description below of the Vermont legislature as well as the following links:
THE VERMONT LEGISLATURE: AN OVERVIEW
State governments, like the federal government, are divided into three distinct branches. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch carries out the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. This field trip's focus is the legislative branch and the process by which laws are made in Vermont.
The Vermont Legislature is bicameral, or composed of two chambers. The other states also have bicameral legislatures with one exception. The Nebraska legislature is unicameral, or composed of only one chamber. The two chambers of the General Assembly are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 150 members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years. Each represents approximately 3,500 citizens. The 30 senators are also elected every two years. Senatorial districts are made up of one or more counties, so that each senator represents approximately the same number of residents (17,000-18,000).
Vermont's citizen legislature meets annually at the state capitol in Montpelier. It is a part-time legislature that meets from January to late spring every year. The legislative session begins on the first Wednesday following the first Monday in January. This year's session began on January 3, 2001.
WHO ARE OUR STATE LEGISLATORS?
The people who serve in the state legislature are as diverse as the population of the state in general. There is no way to define a "typical legislator" in Vermont. It is safe to say that most legislators fit the image of an average Vermonter more closely than they fit the image of a politician. Many members have other jobs as teachers, lawyers, farmers or nurses from which they take leave to participate in the legislative session. When they are not in Montpelier devoting their time to lawmaking, the legislators are in their respective districts living among those they represent.
The qualifications necessary to run for the legislature are simple, and they are the same in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Candidates must be at least twenty-one years old. They must also be United States citizens who have lived in Vermont for the two years just prior to the election. Additionally, they must live in the particular legislative district they wish to represent. The term of office for both senators and representatives is two years.
THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
In Vermont our legislative body is bicameral, meaning it is made up of two separate but equal chambers. This means that before any bill can be implemented, it must be ratified by both chambers of the legislature and signed by the Governor.
An idea for a bill may come from anyone, but only a legislator can introduce it. If you want to get a piece of legislation introduced, you will need to find a legislator who will sponsor your bill. Bills may originate in either the House or the Senate, except for any bills generating or requiring revenue; these must be introduced in the House.
Most of the work on any proposed legislation takes place in committees. These committees hold hearings, take testimony and discuss the merits of the bill and then vote to either: amend it; table it; or vote it out favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. The bill is then presented to the full chamber for a floor vote, the final step in the process of each chamber.
If the Senate passes a bill the House must then consider it. If the House passes a bill the opposite is true. When a bill has passed both the House and the Senate, but in different versions because of changes and amendments, the two chambers try to agree on a single version by appointing a conference committee. If this new committee can resolve the differences, the bill is sent back to both chambers for a final vote.
Bill H.0065 "Expansion of Youth Hunting Day" was read live during VPT's Field Trip to the State House on March 27th. Click here to research H.0065.
If a bill is passed in both the House and Senate, it is sent to the Governor who will either veto or sign the new legislation. At that point, the bill is a law.
RETURN TO FIELD TRIP HOMEPAGE
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