Becca Balint recaps the historic 'Covid session'

The 2021 legislative session is in the books. The historic Covid-19 session was conducted entirely online over Zoom. Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, was often eerily alone in her office at the Statehouse in Montpelier. The session confronted — and then deferred on — some intractable issues such as state pension reform, but it was largely notable for the lack of rancor between Balint, Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) and Republican Gov. Phil Scott. That’s partly due to the fact that Vermont is receiving enormous amounts of federal Covid relief money. The unprecedented cash glut has shifted the dynamic in the Statehouse from fighting over scraps to dividing up the bounty to address big ticket problems such as expanding broadband coverage, responding to the climate crisis, and building affordable housing. But not all is peaceful in the Vermont Statehouse. On Tuesday evening, Gov. Scott vetoed two bills that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in Montpelier and Winooski, setting a new record for the number of vetoes issued by a Vermont governor. Balint has spoken candidly about her interest in running for Congress in the event that Sen. Patrick Leahy retires. We spoke about the legislative session that has passed, and her plans for her future in politics.