by Mike Bielawski
These bills will be reviewed in legislative committees this week. For more information, including times and agenda, see weekly schedule.
Tuesday
House Committee on Environment and Energy
The committee will look at H. 715, dealing with climate change resilience under Act 250, the state’s zoning law. Sponsor Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Windham 2, will talk about how it should be modified to adapt to the state’s climate agenda. This bill will make “multiple changes to the State land use and development law.”
It states that no company or person “shall in any way begin site preparation for or commence construction of new or the replacement of existing electric distribution lines unless the Public Utility Commission first finds that the same will promote the general good of the State and issues a certificate to that effect pursuant to this section.”
Wednesday
House Committee on Transportation
The committee will look at “Programs and Approaches to address Climate Resiliency.” Speakers will include Andrea Wright who is manager of the Environmental Policy and Sustainability, Agency of Transportation. Also State Hazard Mitigation Officer Stephanie Smith will speak on behalf of Vermont Emergency Management, and Resilience and Adaptation Coordinator for the Agency of Natural Resources Marian Wolz will speak.
House Committee on Environment and Energy
The committee will talk about H. 289 which seeks to modify the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. Dozens will testify about the state’s targeted benchmarks for carbon-emission reductions.
The idea is to meet certain percentage of reductions at future dates, for example electric distribution utilities are expected to have 55% of their retail electric sales (electricity production) be from renewable sources by 2017.
The more ambitious the targets, the more lawmakers will be pressed to pass legislation nudging utilities to shift to energy production to sources like wind and solar, both which are highly subsidized and have performance issues such as low electricity output per ratepayer dollar.
Also, wind and solar also have various environmental impacts, which have been documented especially by the group Vermonters for a Clean Environment.
House Committee on General and Housing
The committee will discuss H. 432 which is to create a task force to “study and develop reparation proposals for the institution of Chattel Slavery,” the bill states.
Legislative Counsel Tucker Anderson and Executive Director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance Rev. Mark Hughes will speak. The bill would be among the first to potentially hold people today liable for historical events.
House Committee on Corrections and Institutions
The committee will discuss H. 690 that aims to establish community restitution as a sentencing alternative.
Judge Thomas Zonay, the Chief Superior Judge of the Vermont Judiciary, Tim Leuders-Dumont from the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, and Defender General Matthew Valerio will speak.
Currently some of the public are wary of judges being too lenient on offenders, so to explore new ways to keep offenders out of jails may exasperate that sentiment.
In the intent section of this bill it states, “It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department of Corrections reinstitute the Community Restitution Program and ensure that it is appropriately staffed and resourced so that it may be offered in all 14 counties as a sentencing alternative.”
This is a work program that expired this past summer and the bill would have it be reinstated.
House Committee on Judiciary
This committee will discuss H. 534 which seeks to curb repeat retail theft offenders.
Erik FitzPatrick of the Office of Legislative Counsel is invited to speak. This bill would allow prosecutors of repeat retail offenders to aggregate the amount of goods stolen across multiple thefts.
Currently the matter of repeat offenders has been a high priority for those seeking to curb rises in crime especially in Burlington. Erin Sigrist, the executive director of the Vermont Retail & Grocers Association and others have been sounding the alarm on this matter.
Thursday
House Committee on Education
The committee will look at H. 807 which seeks to modify “school library material selection policy.”
Legislative Counsel Beth St. James, and Rep. Bobby Farlice-Rubio, the bill’s sponsor, will speak. School library books with controversial social justice themes and in some cases illustrations of apparent pornography have become a hot button issue nationwide.
The bill’s description reads “This bill proposes to require school districts and approved independent schools to adopt a library material selection policy and procedures for the reconsideration of materials, which shall be guided by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement.”
House Committee on General and Housing
They will look at H. 132 which establishes “a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against persons without homes.”
Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Ted Brady and Executive Director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont Frank Knaack will talk about what can and cannot be done for the homeless according to this bill.
Some of what is being sought in this legislation includes allowing the homeless to “use and move freely in public places, including public sidewalks, parks, transportation, and buildings, in the same manner as any other individual and without discrimination on the basis of the individual’s housing status.”
It also states they should have “equal treatment by all State and municipal agencies without discrimination on the basis of the individual’s housing status.”
House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs
The committee will spend time on H. 806 which also deals with alleged “book bans” by public and school libraries.
Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, P-Middletown Springs, who is the sponsor will introduce the bill. Its purpose is to, “prohibit the banning or removal of library materials by public or school libraries and restrict any form of State funding for a library that violates the materials retention rules adopted by the State Librarian.”
Friday
Senate Committee on Transportation
The committee will discuss a report on electric rates for electric vehicles.
Micah Howe who is staff attorney for the Public Utility Commission and Philip Picotte who is the Utilities Economic Analyst for the Department of Public Service will speak on this matter.
The true cost of EVs has been a contentious matter nationwide. Earlier this year a study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that when all the state and federal subsidies are factored in, the true cost of an average EV is nearly $50,000 or roughly double their gas-powered counterparts.
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