A key Vermont Senate committee this year is made up completely of Democrats, and that’s got some Republicans upset.
The Senate Finance Committee had one Republican, but former Sen. Hull Maynard of Rutland County resigned his legislative seat in November.
The Senate has a 23-7 Democratic majority. Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin says he and the Senate Committee on Committees could have put a first-term Republican on the Finance Committee.
But Shumlin says those seats are coveted, and it wouldn’t have been fair to veteran Democratic senators who have been hoping for years to get a Finance Committee seat.
The panel will consider any new taxes and the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.