SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -
As the 2013 legislative session gets under way, a state senator is hoping this year has more organization in Montpelier.
State Senator Diane Snelling is a Republican who represents Chittenden County. She ran for Senate pro tem but ultimately nominated her would-be competitor, Democrat John Campbell, for the position.
She says she was running because of concerns about the Senate not following the spoken and unspoken rules, but she backed Campell because she says he's making changes.
Now her focus is on the budget and fixing what she sees as Vermont spending beyond its means.
"I think the biggest challenge is that we're under enormous pressure to expand programs and we simply don't have the money," she says. "We need a government that Vermonters can afford and that gives us the services that Vermonters need. And it's a very difficult balance because everybody wants more services."
Snelling has served on the Senate Appropriations Committee for nearly a decade.
