While the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has forced the hand of virtually every state legislature this year, causing a handful of states to try something new:  abandoning centuries-old precedent and conducting “virtual” sessions where legislators participate in committee functions and floor sessions from home, or from wherever they can connect to the Internet.

The following four still-active legislatures have fully transitioned to remote status.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania was one of the first states to experiment with remote sessions.  Many members from both chambers have been casting ballots from afar since Mar. 16, when the House voted to allow members to cast votes remotely.  The Senate already had rules in place enabling remote voting.  A significant portion of members from both parties now cast votes and participate in caucus meetings from home, and members of the public can watch by livestream, both for floor sessions and committee meetings, guaranteeing transparency throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

New Jersey

Under emergency legislation this year, the state legislature enacted new rules on allowing members to vote remotely as of Mar. 24.  The legislature remains in active session, and while it began with only remote voting, the legislature has since began holding hearings remotely as well.  An Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 4 represented the first remote hearing via video in that chamber’s history of the Assembly.  After hearing testimony called in by stakeholders, the committee then approved eight COVID-19 relief measures.  Three days later the Assembly Commerce Committee held its first remote hearing, with testimony again being offered via telephone.

Massachusetts

 

On May 4 House Democrats and Republicans came to agreement on compromise rules to accommodate remote debate and voting during the coronavirus pandemic.  This breakthrough after tense, partisan negotiations allowed the House to hold its first virtual session on May 6.  Meanwhile, the Senate also amended its rules to allow members either to proxies to vote on their behalf or to communicate their votes directly to a court officer in the chamber.  For now, the chambers continue to hold remote formal sessions weekly, supplemented by an occasional informal session to advance uncontroversial legislation.

Joint committees, meanwhile, have experimented with different models to fulfill their obligations to hold hearings on all bills before them.  Some have conducted remote video hearings via Zoom, while have set aside blocks of time for electronic submission of written testimony only.

Vermont

The Vermont legislature has been meeting fully remotely since April 24, when nearly all 150 members the House participated in that chamber’s first virtual session, a few weeks after the Senate moved to remote voting.  For now it seems likely that the legislature will remain in session through the summer and perhaps into the fall.  Both the House and Senate have also transitioned to also holding remote committee meetings, in particular via video conference, with livestreaming links available on the committee pages of the legislature’s website.  Now that an initial rush of COVID-19 emergency legislation has been enacted, the Senate in particular is looking to clear out its backlog of non-COVID bills that have lingered on the calendar for the many weeks.  As of May 14 it has been working to move bills on the action calendar, starting with those that reflect key priorities and non-controversial bills reported unanimously from committee.