By Guy Page
A bill introduced this week into the Vermont House would reduce transportation carbon emissions by expanding public transportation, incentivize electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and require some employers to take steps to reduce internal-combustion commuting.
H94 is sponsored by Rep. Curt McCormack (D-Burlington) and co-sponsored by 73 other lawmakers (but no Republicans). The bill would:
– fund free public transportation
– offer incentives for Plug-In Electric Vehicles and motor-assisted bicycles;
– require that new buses be plug-in electric vehicles;
– require certain employers to provide level 2 electric car chargers;
– require certain employers to establish a transportation demand management plan, aimed at reducing commuter traffic;
– update Residential Building Standards regarding electric vehicle supply equipment, and Act 250 criteria for transportation;
– require more integration of bicycles into Vermont highways.
The bill was presented at the Climate Solutions Caucus Thursday as one of several climate-friendly bills. Other legislation coming this year:
– more spending on weatherization, possibly with federal pandemic recovery funds, or by allowing utility customers to pay for weatherization on their monthly bills;
– reducing forest fragmentation, via Act 250 reform;
– registering home builders. “We need a way to contact people” in the building trades industry to tell them about Vermont’s mandatory energy codes, Rep. Scott Campbell (D-St. Johnsbury) said.
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At a loss for words!
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Agree 100%. It is brutal to see. And I see no end. Another 10-12% property tax increase – ho hum.…
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We always have the capacity to reverse this garbage by our votes in a single election cycle, but a majority…
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This is why the Champion lands in Bloomfield Vermont should never have became another government operation.
Thanks Neil Ryan for this important commentary. It is important to note that it was enacted over Governor Scott’s veto…