Using the VT Legislature’s Website to Track What’s Going On

If you’ve ever tried to follow what’s happening in Montpelier, you know it can feel like trying to read a map written in wet ink. Bills appear, vanish, get renamed, cross houses, or die quietly in committee. The good news: Vermont’s legislative websites actually give you every tool you need to watch the process in real time — you just need to know where to look. Here’s how to use them.

Start at the Source: legislature.vermont.gov

Everything starts at https://legislature.vermont.gov. The home page looks plain, but every link goes somewhere meaningful. Think of it as the control panel for democracy in Vermont.

The important links to track activities are: Bills & Resolutions, Committees, Senate, Senate Calendar, House, House Calendar, and Reports & Research,. Most of what citizens care about are there — that’s where you’ll find the bills, the people working on them, and the schedules that show what’s coming next.

Finding and Following Bills

Click “Bills & Resolutions.” You’ll land on a searchable database that lists every piece of legislation introduced in the current biennium (Vermont runs on two-year sessions). You can search by:

Bill number (e.g., “H.123” or “S.45”)
Keyword or topic (“education,” “tax,” “housing”)
Sponsor name (the legislator who introduced it)

Each bill has its own page, showing:

The official text (original and amended)
Sponsors (the legislators who are supporting a bill)
Committee assignment
Status timeline (dates introduced, amended, or passed)
Roll call votes (how legislators voted on a bill – if a roll call was called for)
Documents (fiscal notes, testimony, summaries)

At the bottom of most pages, you’ll find links to the committee currently handling the bill — and that’s where the real debate happens.

Tip: Filter for “Active Bills” to see what’s still alive this session, or “Passed” to see what made it to law. Each bill page updates automatically as it moves.

Committees: Where the Work Happens

Committees are the legislature’s engines. Every bill starts in one, and most end there too. From the main menu, choose Committees → House or Senate to open a list of every standing committee — Agriculture, Judiciary, Health & Welfare, and so on.

Click any committee name and you’ll see:

Members and contact info
Daily schedule
Meeting materials (testimony, draft language, fiscal notes)
Streaming and recordings

Each committee has a “Documents” section — this is where you’ll find the memos, draft bills, and reports that don’t make headlines but drive the conversation.

Pro tip: Nearly all committee meetings are streamed live on the Vermont Legislature YouTube channel. Search by committee name — like “House Judiciary VT” — and you’ll find both live meetings and archived recordings, usually posted the same day.

Additional Sources: YouTube & goldendomevt.com

The site https://goldendomevt.com is a companion resource built by a dedicated Vermonter. It provides audio and transcript archives of committee meetings and floor sessions going back years. If you want the exact wording of testimony or debate, this is a good place to find it.

Each day’s meetings are posted under the Committee Recordings section. You can watch the linked YouTube videos and read their rendered transcripts. The search function lets you filter by date, committee, or keyword — handy for tracing how a bill evolved over time or what concerns were raised in testimony.

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Nearly all legislative committees also stream their meetings live on YouTube. You can find both live and archived sessions there by searching for a committee name — like House Judiciary VT or Senate Education VT. Recordings are usually uploaded within hours, and YouTube’s transcript tool makes it easy to skim or search within the conversation. It’s the simplest way to follow the process as it unfolds, no matter where you are in the state.

Paired together, Golden Dome VT and YouTube give Vermonters full access — the words, the voices, and the context — behind how laws are written. Combine those with the Legislature’s main site, and you have a complete record of Vermont’s lawmaking in motion.

Schedules and Agendas: What’s Happening Today

From the legislature’s homepage, the right-hand sidebar links to the Daily Calendar — the official schedule of what’s happening in the House and Senate. Click “View All” to see the full agenda.

There’s also a Committee Meetings link that lists all hearings across both chambers, with times, topics, and invited witnesses. If you care about a particular issue, this is the place to see when it’s being discussed — and by whom.

Submitting Testimony or Public Comment

Most committees welcome public input. Each committee page lists a committee assistant who manages scheduling and submissions. You can email them to request to testify (in person or via Zoom) or to submit written comments for the record.

Attach your statement as a PDF, include your name and town, and clearly note the bill number — for example, “Testimony on H.123.” Every public submission becomes part of the official record.

Tracking Votes and Outcomes

To see what’s actually passed, visit Bills & Resolutions → Passed Bills. Each entry links to the final text and, once signed, the Acts & Resolves archive — Vermont’s law book.

For a detailed record of floor votes and motions, check the House Journal or Senate Journal. These are updated daily and serve as the permanent record of legislative action.

Stay Connected

Vermont doesn’t yet offer automated bill tracking by email, but you can:

Bookmark committee pages and bill URLs
Subscribe to committee mailing lists
Follow YouTube committee channels directly for live notifications

In Short

Between legislature.vermont.gov, goldendomevt.com, and YouTube, Vermonters have an unusually transparent view into how laws are made. Every bill, hearing, vote, and voice is public — free to read, watch, or replay.

Democracy here isn’t hidden behind jargon or paywalls. It’s all out in the open — you just have to know where to click.

If you found this information valuable and want to support independent journalism in Vermont, become a supporter for just $5/month today!

Dave Soulia | FYIVT

#fyivt #VermontLegislature #GoldenDomeVT #Transparency

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