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by Guy Page
A House bill co-sponsored by a Republican, a Democrat, and an independent would make mere goals of carbon emission reduction mandates.
H.52, sponsored by Reps. Jim Harrison (R-Chittenden), Jed Lipsky (I-Stowe), and Kristi Morris (D-Springfield) would have the effect of returning emissions reduction guidelines to the aspirational status they once held. Only in recent years have the emissions reductions been mandated requirements.
The bill does not address the 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act’s controversial right to sue the State of Vermont for failing to meet emissions goals.
Despite tri-partisan sponsorship, H.52 may face a tough time in House Energy and Digital Infrastructure. None of the sponsors are members. The only three Republicans are all newcomers, whereas the committee leadership is comprised of Global Warming Solutions Act and Clean Heat Standard supporters.
And speaking of dangerous man-made emissions, cigarette smoking is making a modest comeback among legislators. Not in government policy, but in practice.” Said one smoking House chair between puffs outside between the State House and the ‘Pink Lady’ Joint Fiscal Office building, “our caucus is growing.” Word is that even Health Care Committee Chair Alyssa Black (D-Westford) partakes in the semi-official smoking area. No smoking allowed indoors, of course.
And continuing in the same, sooty theme – H.48 introduced Jan. 21 would prohibit operation of a motor vehicle that has any device or equipment installed that enhances the vehicle’s ability to emit soot, smoke, or particulates; or has an exhaust system that has been modified to increase the amount of soot, smoke, or particulates emitted by the vehicle.” The bill, sponsored by Reps. Angela Arsenault (D-Williston) and Edye Graning (D-Jericho), appears to strengthen current law banning removal of anti-pollution equipment (catalytic converters etc.). It does not say whether purposely soot-making tech is currently a problem in Vermont.
Turn state buildings into affordable housing? A pair of legislators representing Montpelier City have introduced a bill that would convert (often empty/underused) state buildings into affordable housing. Conor Casey (D) and Kate McCann (D) introduced H.50 on Tuesday, Jan. 21. It’s been sent to the General and Housing Committee.
Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Scott dished details on his housing reform plan at a press conference today. It creates new housing targets for towns and cities statewide and waives Act 250 review for some areas now requiring a permit. More in VDC soon.
Funeral services for Gov. Tom Salmon will be held August 16 in Bellows Falls.
Familiar face: Diane Lanphere, the Democrat legislator from Vergennes unseated by Republican Rob North, is still working in the State House as a state employee. She’s Director of Legislative Affairs for the Green Mountain Care Board.
New face: The number of dairy farming lawmakers has declined steadily since the 1960’s. The November election saw their number grow by one: Richard Nelson (R-Derby). Raised in Derby, studied at UVM, and operating a very large farm, Nelson – a longtime selectman – ran for office at the request of Derby’s previous legislator, Brian Smith.
At the State House he’s learning a new set of chores. “I still have more fun calving cows, but I’m gaining,” he said over lunch today.
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Categories: Energy, Environment, Legislation, State Government
Democrats are polluting the State House with too many bills. We need legislation emissions reductions mandates.
“A pair of legislators representing Montpelier City have introduced a bill that would convert (often empty/underused) state buildings into affordable housing”-
Imagine that! They are just NOW thinking of this?
so all three parties still want to screw us over. Throw them all the f out.
IMHO H.52 changing the carbon emissions from mandates to goals, with tri-partisan support, is a positive piece of legislation. I am annoyed by H.48 soot bill and H.50 “affordable” housing bill, because H.48 soot bill – although I might agree with the intent – is a bill that currently serves as micro-managing busy-work so the sponsors can FEEL like they are doing important work at taxpayer expense, while we already paid the incompetent legislators AND appointed, unelected committee members to come up with the unwieldy, unnecessary, and punitive GWSA/AHA-CHS. VT legislators created the housing crisis through their policies and are now “here to save the day! with “affordable” housing subsidized at taxpayer expense, which is the opposite of affordable – see Rob Roper’s article on that. Republicans are still a minority in the VT State House. Sometimes their only option is to try to make things less bad amongst the closed-door wheeling and dealing that is about power and control, not serving the people. Our founders did not divide up into committees to form the Constitution for the United States. I disagree with breaking our House and Senate into committees, which only serves to concentrate power into the hands of very few people – committee chairs, House and Senate leaders. We need five issues tops addressed at the state level each legislative session, every other year, per the VT Constitution: keep expenses low, reduce state power (repeal a ton of over-regulation), come up with a budget, and go home and leave us alone to direct our own lives free from government interference.
When all the parties agree, that is perhaps the most dangerous sign for the citizens, more so when we have who we have in office.
Let’s applaud that they agree to remove mandates. Making them goals is an easier pill to collectively swallow. I applaud UNITY in an atmosphere that has been too divisive. The CO2 emission non-sense needs better wide-based science understanding before there will be unity on that score. Bring the scientists who adhere to scientific proof before the mainstream newspapers.
The CO2 debate starts here.
https://clintel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/WCD-250104.pdf
This dog and pony show in Vermont will never end until the state is bankrupt.
We are not that far away from insolvency. A $5.5 Billion bill being called by one of the paper holders in the State Retirement Fund would probably seal that real quick.
The strange thing is, no one does or says anything about it. That old can being whipped and kicked all these years must be made of VT Hardwood, for a liner.
We certainly have a day of reckoning ahead of us.
It truly is a mystery why Vermonters continue their support to go broke in the support of this climate shakedown madness. Meanwhile China, India and other developing countries, who contribute a significant amount of emissions, spend no money on this climate change. In fact, they continue to build coal plants and other energy sources that that help their economies and steam roll the citizens of developed countries.
Not quite a mystery and a sobering reality when you consider how few people are really paying attention to any of this, including voters. After 3 generations of indoctrination via education, entertainment, then consider the advances in technology and social media. How to run a business, raise a family, and have time for endless meetings, listening and reading all there is to know, and monitor our civil servants? And those employed by or otherwise dependent on town/state/federal government/taxpayers, including criminals and politicians, but I digress. This is a large percentage of the population that needs to wake up, one way or another. In this state, it’s looking like the hard way.
Once the original bills are made clear , i’m finding very few that can “do the math’ in support of it ~S~
The climate mandates definitely need to be repealed. Having a law which allow people to sue if these unrealistic mandates are not reached is like deciding you will lose a certain amount of weight and if you do not make your goal you will have to cut off your arm or leg or both to meet that goal.