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By Guy Page
A “We The People Veto Session” rally will be held Saturday, June 15 at 1-3 pm at the State Capitol steps in Montpelier, organizer Greg Thayer of Rutland said.
Announced speakers include Lynn Baldwin, Windsor County; Chris Bradley, VT Federation Sportsmen Clubs of Vermont; JT Dodge, No Carbon Tax VT.; Martha Hefner – Pray for Vermont; Rep. Mark Higley, VT. House; Lynn LaFleur, Lamoille County; Stuart Lindberg, Windsor County; Jay Shepard, RNC Committeeman and G.E.T R.E.A.L Plan; Moderator, Gregory Thayer, Vermonters for Vermont Initiative; Ed Wheeler-Climate Activist.
The rally will be held two days before the veto session of the Vermont Legislature 10 AM Monday, June 17, called to consider Gov. Scott’s vetos of the following bills:
S.18, banning flavored tobacco products and e-liquids
H.706, banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides
H.289, Renewable Energy Standard
H.72, harm-reduction criminal justice response to drug use (AKA ‘safe injection sites’)
H.645, approaches to restorative justice
H.887, An act relating to homestead property tax yields, nonhomestead rates, and policy changes to education finance and taxation
Gov. Scott has yet to sign, veto or pass into law several other bills passed by the Vermont Legislature, including the controversial H.687, ‘community resilience and biodiversity protection through land use,’ which reforms Act 250 to allow highly regulated housing development in downtown cores and further restricts housing development in rural areas.
Supporters, such as House Speaker Jill Krowinski, say it will stimulate housing growth, which at the beginning of the session was promised as the highest priority of the 2024 Legislature. Critics say its lengthy, as-yet-unwritten, high-bar regulations will actually hinder housing growth. Vermont has the oldest housing stock in the nation and housing sale prices rose 12.8% last year, the highest in the nation.
Of the bills already vetoed, H.887 is perhaps the most controversial. It was a late-session attempted fix to reduce the looming 20% statewide property tax. More than 30 school districts voted down their Town Meeting budgets, with unsustainably high property taxes cited as the main complaint. H.887 reduces the estimated SW property tax to 13.8% by ‘cost-shifting’ some of the likely $200 million increase in school spending to two new taxes on short-term rentals and software.
Also, H.289, the Renewable Energy Standard, will require utilities to greatly increase use of instate renewable power (wind and solar), at an estimated added cost to ratepayers of $400 million – $1 billion over 10 years. Gov. Scott said his administration’s alternative plan of accessing existing carbon-free power in New England (notably nuclear) would get Vermont to 100% carbon-free power in less time and spending less money.
H.687 “may loosen some regulations in downtown centers because that is part of their plan for their Planned Urban Development living,” Thayer said in a press statement. “It creates huge restrictions and added cost to live, build, or renovate a house in the outlying areas of the countryside, where people want to live. Are you ready for all Vermonters to live in tight quarters in downtown settings?”
Thayer also took aim at H.887. “Then there is the education funding, and more of the kicking the can down the road and another study committee. There have been nearly 70 studies since 2020. This is expensive and is nonsense.”
“This is what faces Vermonters. Is this what you want? If you don’t like this picture, come out to the veto rally,” Thayer concluded.
It is unclear whether the announced bankruptcy of ISun, parent firm to SunCommon, Vermont’s largest solar power company, will influence the Legislature’s decision. H.289 passed without the requisite number to override a veto, but many lawmakers in both chambers were absent that day.
It’s also unclear how the deaths of centrist Democratic senators Richard Mazza and Richard Sears will affect the override effort.
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Categories: Legislation
Vermont Republican Senators all voted to sustain Governor Scott’s veto of the Clean Heat Act last year. Three Democrats joined them but the total was 10 votes, not the needed 11. That is how close we are to finally defeating it. We need more Republican Senators and Senate Democrats who refuse to raise the fuel costs of families that are already heavily energy burdened.
The PUC’s ‘study of that law is already living up to Senator McCormack’s called it a “Rube Goldberg device”.
Vermont Republicans can right this Vermont ship by standing with seniors, low income families, single mother households, LIHEAP clients and reasonable environmentalists to reject the renewable energy standard and the clean heat S.5. Tell your voters you will save them from higher costs for both electricity and heating fuels; both more precious than bread.
Do you recall the uproar that the Utah developer created when he wanted to come in with a major transformation of Vermont? New Vistas wanted to remake Tunbridge, Royalton, Sharon and Strafford. David Hall actually was so bold as to say he wanted to remake all of Vermont. New Vistas was just the toehold.
I wonder if the PUD – Planned Urban Development in H687 isn’t really resurfacing David Hall’s drawing plans. Taxing Vermonters to the death and off their homesteads and making us like cattle to be prodded into urban hubs where they can have community bank districts…
This is Father’s Day weekend – Dad’s will you rise up and protect your sons and daughters and your lovely wives. Come out to the Veto Rally. Saturday 1-3 at the State House.
Also time to write your legislators https://legislature.vermont.gov/ or flood the Sargeant of Arms phone line with calls to deliver them messages next Mon. and Tues. 802-828-2228.
As stated above, Vermont Republicans can right this Vermont ship by standing with seniors, low-income families, single-mother households, and any level-headed ” Blue
collar “Dems that are left in VT, should stand for the good of the citizens, but as we all know too well, Vermont has the Super ” Stupid ” Majority, and this boondoggle will get passed at your cost, for their agenda politics !!
Wake up people
Sustain the veto’s and Phil veto some more!
I am of the opinion that the Socialist/Progressive/Democrats are far more intoxicated than am I at 4 glasses of Merlot. They are intoxicated with greed, power, and money: far more evil than mere alcohol poisoning.
I once met a guy who wagered a month’s income on the Chicago Bears winning the Super Bowl. Now granted, they did win one Super Bowl, an upset against the Patriots in 1985. But the odds of it happening again are not good any time soon.
These Progressives are the same as addicted sports team gamblers. They have been indoctrinated to believe in the socialist team, despite the odds, and despite all history lessons. They will not let go. But this is not a sports team. This is our Country. Our Freedoms. Our Ability to make real progress for humanities sake.
The fact that they are so entrenched in false ideology is a failing of our education system, both at the college level, from where our teachers come from, and at the Elementary/High School level, where those same “socialist indoctrinated” teachers now indoctrinate our youth into oblivion. Some have said our educational institutions have been infiltrated by communists. Or by federal government agents bent on keeping the federal government’s irrational power. I don’t know.
I do know we can do better. Let’s shine the light on these lies!
Our government has many regulations already in place for clean air, water and soil. As money allows we have consistently improved upon reducing, reusing, recycling in all aspects of our society and continue to improve quality consistently. As well as, improving curriculum content is not expensive!!