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Vermont Lawmaker Loses Tax Committee Seat After In-Person Vote

Posted on Mar. 31, 2020

A Vermont representative has been stripped of her seat on the state’s top tax committee after calling for an in-person quorum vote on a COVID-19 relief bill.

House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D) removed Rep. Cynthia Browning (D) from the House Ways and Means Committee on March 26, according to a March 30 statement from the Vermont Democratic Party issued to Tax Notes.

Browning on March 25 made a procedural motion to require an in-person quorum vote to approve a rule change allowing the 100-member House to vote remotely. Her call for a quorum vote came less than a day after Gov. Phil Scott (R) issued a stay-at-home order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In total, 76 members appeared in person the next day and voted to pass several pieces of emergency legislation providing COVID-19 relief.

Following the vote, Johnson announced that she was stripping Browning of her seat on the House Ways and Means Committee and appointing Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D) as her replacement.

In a March 30 statement to Tax NotesVermont Democratic Party spokesperson R. Christopher Di Mezzo said, “We support the decision made by House leadership. Rep. Browning’s stunt recklessly endangered the safety of her colleagues and others in the State House, and for that, Speaker Johnson was right to impose consequences. Rep. Kornheiser will make a terrific addition to the Ways and Means Committee."

Among the bills voted on, H. 742 would grant the Agency of Human Services the authority to reduce or postpone hospital provider taxes. The legislation was sent to the governor’s desk March 26.

Browning did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

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