By Guy Page
With several Democrats who voted No on S.5 on April 20 voting Yes today, the Vermont House this morning voted 107-42 to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of S.5. The bill now becomes law.
Minutes after this morning’s session began, House Speaker Jill Krowinski, told the assembled House they would shortly be voting on “Act 5.” It was an apparent mis-speak – bills don’t become Acts until they are formally passed into law. However, her misspeech may have belied her confidence that the override would succeed easily.
If so, she was right. The final tally of Yes votes had seven more than the 100 necessary to override a veto. The Senate overrode the veto on Tuesday.
Several Republicans spoke against this session’s carbon taxation bill and several Democrats spoke in favor.
“The bill favors those in Chittendent County who are on natural gas lines” and penalizes rural Vermonters, Rep. Gina Galfetti (R-Barre Town) said. “We will push the state of Vermont to burn wood to heat their homes and buildings – increasing carbon emissions, not reducing it.”
“A conservative is someone who stands in front of history yelling, ‘stop!’,” Rep. Scott Campbell (D-St. Johnsbury) said. But there’s no stopping history or science, he said, and it’s time for Vermont to embrace S.5’s carbon emissions reduction measures, the one-time weatherization consultant said. “The longer we delay, the higher the cost and the greater the destruction,” he said.
Democrats who voted No on the second reading of S.5 in April 20 but voted yes to override Gov. Scott’s veto includes Rep. Kristi Morris (Springfield) and Taylor Small (Winooski). One of the few Democrats who voted no was John O’Brien (Tunbridge).
S.5 will levy fees on wholesale fuel dealers and redirect revenue to provide weatherization and electric-powered heating technology, including heat pumps.
A roll call will be published in tomorrow’s Vermont Daily Chronicle.