SmartTranscripts website on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIt is news to exactly no one that the number of reporters roaming the halls of the Statehouse has dropped dramatically in recent years. Try as we might, we scribes can only be in one — maybe two — places at once, when we’d often love to be in three, or five, or maybe 10. Essential to our work — in addition to sources who keep us apprised of key developments — are the Legislature’s YouTube livestreams, which were set up with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But could there be a way to make parsing those videos even easier? Tom Evslin, the former state technology guru and cabinet secretary, thinks so. Evslin has built a website, GoldenDomeVT, that employs artificial intelligence to listen through videos of House and Senate committee meetings, as well as each chamber’s daily floor sessions, and automatically generate a transcript of what was said — and by whom. Then, his site links the words in the transcript to the corresponding parts of the YouTube stream. Evslin wants the site to be a resource for anyone interested in following the Statehouse sausage-making, but said that the original intent behind the project came from his time on the boards of Vermont Public and the Vermont Journalism Trust. (The latter is the parent organization of VTDigger, though Evslin hasn’t been a board member since 2020.)“In both situations, you’re painfully aware that there simply aren’t enough reporters covering the Statehouse to get to every committee meeting,” he said, adding, “by the time things get a lot of attention — when they get to the floor — most possibilities have, in a sense, been precluded.”Evslin is quick to acknowledge that his transcripts are not fully accurate — the tech is currently “a little better than closed captioning,” he said. (Tuesday afternoon’s House Ed hearing, for instance, featured Education Secretary “Zoe Founders,” according to GoldenDomeVT.)That’s why it’s key, Evslin said, for the site to link each part of the transcript to the video itself. “It’s more a way of finding the quote, and then having a verification mechanism there,” he said.Evslin said he’s already heard feedback on ways to improve GoldenDomeVT since it went live just ahead of this year’s session, and he urged people to get in touch with their own ideas.And if any newsy quotes catch your eye in the process — well, you know where to find us.— Shaun RobinsonIn the knowGov. Phil Scott on Wednesday previewed a wide ranging crime bill targeting younger and repeat offenders that he’ll soon be proposing to legislators.The administration intends for the bill to target people who repeatedly commit crimes while awaiting trial by clarifying rules around bail revocation. The bill would also increase potential punishments and criminal liability for older youth and young adults.It’s one of four packages of specific changes to state law that his administration is putting together, the governor said at his weekly press conference. The other three will focus on education, housing and affordability. Read more here. — Ethan WeinsteinThe Secretary of State’s office announced today that projects begun in 2023 to upgrade both the Campaign Finance and Lobbying Information systems are complete. The new software interfaces are intended to make it easier for the public (and journalists) to comb through the required filings, and for candidates and lawmakers and lobbyists to submit them.Nearly 2,800 campaign finance disclosure reports were submitted in 2023 and 2024 alone, while 727 lobbyists registered during that biennium for 563 individual employers, the office reported in a press release about the launch. Lots to look at!— Kristen FountainOn the hillPam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General, told Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch Wednesday that she would not investigate or prosecute somebody for political purposes — something Trump has nevertheless repeatedly threatened to do once he takes office next week. Welch, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was questioning Bondi during the first day of her confirmation hearing. “You’ve satisfied me that this is not an agenda you have. President Trump has satisfied me that when he says things that are pretty provocative, he’s often serious,” Welch told Bondi. “And my understanding, in listening to your answers to questions along this line, is that you have no intention of pursuing people on the basis of them being a political opponent.”  “No one will be prosecuted, investigated because they are a political opponent. That’s what we’ve seen for the last four years in (President Joe Biden’s) administration,” replied Bondi.“Alright, that’s good,” Welch told the former Republican AG of Florida. “I disagree about the characterization of the past four years. But we don’t have to discuss that.”— Shaun RobinsonWelch, and the other two members of Vermont’s congressional delegation, all have somewhat different roles in Congress this year than they did last year. Notably, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., lost his position at the helm of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee when Republicans won control of the chamber last year. Sanders is still on the HELP committee, but as its ranking member. Still, that position means he’ll likely play a large role in the upcoming confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. Sanders has reportedly signaled some openeses to approving RFK’s nomination. The independent is also serving on the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the committees on environment and public works, on the budget, and on veterans’ affairs. Welch, meanwhile, in addition to the judiciary committee, has a spot on the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, as well as the committees on finance, and on rules and administration.Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., will serve her second stint on the House Judiciary Committee, though this time as “vice ranking member,” the no. 2 Democrat on the panel.— Shaun RobinsonRead the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: New website aims to help Vermont’s Statehouse press corps.