The Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee convened on Jan. 10 for an organizational meeting in which members set rules for committee conduct, outlined a schedule of agency briefings and planned a joint hearing on a pending clean heat standard report.

Committee chair (unnamed) opened the meeting by outlining procedural expectations and daily logistics, saying, "I am gonna include Senator Williams as my vice chair in the discussions around that decision making process." The chair said the committee will aim to begin work at about 9 a.m. each day, will take periodic breaks and prefers members hold substantive questions until presenters finish their testimony.

The nut graf: The orientation establishes how the committee — responsible for legislation and oversight in energy and natural resources — will operate as it receives agency briefings, reviews previously passed bills and takes new testimony. Members emphasized decorum for witnesses and set expectations intended to streamline hearings and testimony.

In the body of the meeting, the chair described the committee's near-term plan: staff and agency briefings on the departments and programs within the committee’s jurisdiction; an education session to align members on scientific and technical topics relevant to the work; updates on implementation of bills already passed; and then consideration of new bills. The chair said the committee will ask agency presenters to hold off on policy pitches during the earliest briefings so members can first learn each agency’s scope and operations. The committee also plans to "interrupt things with a joint hearing on the clean heat standard report" and is "aiming for [the] 16th" to receive testimony on that report.

The meeting included introductions from members and people in the room. Judy Newman, the committee assistant, introduced herself: "I've been here for 9 years in this committee," and described her prior career in education. Senator Williams was identified by the chair as vice chair; other members provided brief personal and professional backgrounds. Senator Hardy joined partway through the meeting, and Senator Rudy Cardi introduced himself as representing the Addison district.

Attendees who introduced themselves or were named included Peter Tucker (Vermont Association of Realtors), Katie Regan (contract legislative assistant), Jeremy Little (Vermont Chamber of Commerce outreach and policy associate), John Gray Band (regulatory affairs director, Clean Environment), Rebecca Romps (contract lobbyist, Krasen Group), Gabrielle Molina (contract lobbyist, representing Vermont Electric Co-op and Washington Electric Co-op and ISO New England), and others who identified themselves as lobbyists, staff or reporters.

The meeting was interrupted by a building-wide evacuation announcement; participants later returned and the chair said the situation was resolved and characterized it as an issue related to a microwave and "living bacteria," which had been addressed. After the return, the chair reiterated the agenda and next steps for upcoming hearings.

Ending: The committee chair asked members to prepare for the next meeting by thinking about the values they bring to the committee and to identify witnesses who might provide helpful testimony. The chair signaled that the committee will return to agency briefings, scheduled the joint clean heat standard hearing for the 16th (month not specified in the meeting), and said members will be asked next time about priorities and any bills they plan to advance.