MONTPELIER — Two lawmakers are proposing an amendment to merge the Department of Liquor Control and the state’s Lottery Commission in January as the House prepares to debate legislation today that creates a working group to study the issue.
The legislation up for debate today comes on the heels of a resolution passed by the House last week that nullified an executive order from Gov. Phil Scott that would have merged the two entities beginning this week.
Scott signed the executive order in January, but state law allows either the House or Senate to nix such a restructuring of the executive branch with a resolution.
While the Scott administration has questioned whether that de facto veto power over the executive branch is constitutional, it has not yet moved to challenge it.
On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Chittenden, who was appointed to the House by Scott last week to fill a vacancy, is sponsoring an amendment along with Rep. Jim Condon, D-Colchester, to merge the Department of Liquor Control and Lottery Commission starting Jan. 1, 2018.
“It looks long and complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Harrison said. “It maintains the study committee that’s in the underlying bill, however, it limits the scope to just a couple meetings and it reports back to the General Assembly if there are further changes that are recommended.”