by Guy Page
Mark Higley, the longtime House representative from Lowell, is lead sponsor on two new environmental bills swimming hard against the swift, powerful currents in the Vermont Legislature.
H.74, repealing the Global Warming Solutions Act, and H.73, revoking Vermont’s use of California’s emissions standards banning the eventual sale of new internal combustion cars, were introduced Friday morning into the Vermont House.
H.73 would prohibit Vermont from using California’s Clean Air Act waiver to set motor vehicle emission standards. The 2006 law commits Vermont to following any State of California emissions regulations, including its recent decision to ban the registration and sale of new, internal combustion vehicles by 2035. A legislative panel with oversight over state regulations agreed to adopt the new car sale ban last November.
Cosponsors with Higley are Carolyn Branagan of Georgia, Paul Clifford of Rutland City, Penny Demar of Enosburgh, Anne Donahue of Northfield, Gina Galfetti of Barre Town, Topper McFaun of Barre Town, Mike Morgan of Milton, Tom Oliver of Sheldon, Woody Page of Newport City, Joe Parsons of Newbury, Art Peterson of Clarendon, Terri Lynn Williams of Granby, and Charles Wilson of Lyndon.
H.74 would change the State’s greenhouse gas reduction requirements to goals and repeal the Vermont Climate Council. The GWSA committed the State to stringent carbon reductions, on pain of an all-expenses paid lawsuit brought against the State by a private party – likely to be one or more climate change organizations. It also created the Vermont Climate Council, which is creating and overseeing the state’s carbon reduction strategy.
All of the H73 co-sponsors signed on to H74 as well, as did Rep. Lisa Hango (Franklin). Both bills were assigned to the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Both bills are considered longshots in the Democrat-controlled Vermont House.
Another bill introduced Friday would ban outdoor smoking near multi-unit housing doorways.
H69, sponsored by Essex Democratic Reps. Karen Dolan and Lori Houghton, would “prohibit smoking cigarettes or using electronic cigarettes within 25 feet of any place of public access or of a multiunit dwelling.” The bill would expand smoking the law banning smoking in indoor public places.
The bill has been referred to the Human Services Committee.
Citizen advocates wishing to contact their legislators and/or committee members about these or other bills may access bill information and legislators contact information via the Vermont Daily Chronicle Toolbox to Follow and Influence the Legislature.
Categories: Legislation
It’s not a terrible idea to prohibit smoking in or close to public places for the simple reason that it is a filthy, disgusting habit and also a fire hazard. Smokers have long been treated as second class citizens by our lawmakers and told to indulge in their habit out in the rain, behind the dumpster, and are offered a toll-free phone number to help them quit their addiction. However, some like-minded legislators want to create special facilities for addicts of ILLEGAL and dangerous substances to use them in comfort, and to use more taxpayers funds to pay for antidotes to keep them alive if they overindulge…a little inconsistent.
Nice to see some common sense coming out of our state legislature. We have only to look at the growing budget deficit in California, a state we emulate, to help us see our future if we continue on the same path.
Thank you Rep. Mark Higley.
One of these bills will pass and become effective July 1 2023….
The other will be pinned to the committee room wall.
Bet you can’t guess which one gets pinned.
The bills to repeal Global Warming Solutions Act offer citizens a great opportunity to contact their legislators and tell them you don’t want to be forced to buy an electric car, or heat pump, see your fuel supplier forced out of business, or pay for subsidies so that millionaire developers can install huge sprawling solar arrays and line the ridges with wind turbines.
so true
It’s about time the adults took control.
Will Vermont Digger or any other Vermont media cover this historical attempt by a group of courageous legislators to save Vermont from Climate Ideology servitude? I truly hope so. The atmosphere of slow strangulation that has permeated the people of our beautiful state since the GWSA was enacted and the unelected cabal called the Climate Council mused on their zoom meetings with punitive, ill-conceived mandates must stop. I am so sad to have read how so many people became discouraged with the insanity of rules and regulations, fear of suits and punishment enshrined in the GWSA so that their only choice is to leave. Enough! Repeal that law. We must bring back hope, happiness, reason, dialogue, debate. Thank you to Representative Mark Higley and all cosponsors of the bill and thank you Guy Page for the deep coverage of that issue since its inception and thank you for allowing an impartial forum and debate on that subject. You are a beacon of light and democracy in an otherwise very controlled and undemocratic media landscape.
There may still be hope for our state
H73&74 are great bills, we must do everything to ensure their success!
We must repeal the 2020 GWSA. The GWSA’s goals are unattainable . The GWSA leaves the Vermont taxpayers responsible for expensive lawsuits . I strongly support H74 and thank all the legislators who signed on to this bill.
Where are the rest of the people who should be halting this monstrosity in it’s tracks. These committees are unconstitutional and the legislature can’t shove it’s responsibility off to a group of unelected well connected so-called elites. The Governor, the ACLU, the Supreme court all know this is unconstitutional. They ignore the Vermont constitution and what about the legislative council charged with examining these rules for constitutionality, where are they? Where is the VT republican party that should be suing to have these injustices removed? The legislature is to represent the people who elected them, not a board, committee or social justice NGO like VIPRG? The republican party is as worthless as teats on a bull, as the old saying goes. We are no longer represented by honest people. If we were, they would honor their oaths of office and study the VT constitution which is the law of Vermont.
The Constitutionality of a policy no longer matters to marxist democrats/progressives.
They got their mandate from the voters and they now assume that we dont care about the Constitution either. What use do dictatorial marxist have for a Constitution anyhow? We voted for this and elections have serious consequences.
The Global Warming Solutions Act and the desire for electric vehicles by 2035, was feel-good legislation anyway. There is absolutely no way we could meet the standards for switching everything to electricity – our state electrical grid is antiquated and in its current configuration and simply cannot meet the demand. Pass H73 and H74.
The green lunacy in Montpelier must stop! They are choking Vermonters (financially) with all this green lunacy while China is continuing to put poison into the atmosphere to cancel anything Vermont laws would help!