Mark Mullen, Vermont’s speaker of the House, following his supportive and glowing speech about law and order and the Reynolds Bill, immediately set about taking the latter apart, piece by piece. He did this in time-honored fashion, spreading the responsibility far and wide among his colleagues, vowing he was improving the Senate’s work by giving it the thorough and careful review it deserved. At least his method was original. He pushed a resolution through the House creating a special committee—traditionally an advisory group—with full authorization to act in place of all the standing committees that would normally consider such a bill. Thus, instead of trying to manipulate several dozen people sitting on Appropriations, Judiciary, Government Ops, and the rest, Mullen simply handpicked a few representatives from each—and from both parties—and appointed them to the study committee. Their job was to analyze the bill, listen to testimony supporting and decrying it, and eventually report to the House membership for a full vote.
