By Todd Smith | The Caledonian Record
Last Thursday the House passed H.688, the Global Warming Solutions Act. The bill would make carbon dioxide emissions goals mandatory requirements, set up a legislatively controlled council to create a plan to achieve the requirements, and direct the Agency of Natural Resources and other agencies to issue whatever binding rules they think are needed to carry out the council’s plan.
No legislator would ever vote on these far-reaching rules that will reach into every Vermont home.
The bill was finally approved 105-37. Before that, Rep. Anne Donahue (R-Northfield) offered an amendment to require legislators to actually vote to impose those rules and thus be accountable to their constituents. The key language was “the Plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly for review. The General Assembly shall approve the Plan in order for any action pursuant to section 593 of this chapter to occur.”
The amendment failed 44-99. Here’s how our Northeast Kingdom legislators voted:
YES (all Republicans)
Batchelor, Derby
Beck, St. Johnsbury
Feltus, Lyndon
Higley, Lowell
Lefebvre, Newark
Marcotte, Coventry
Page, Newport City
Quimby, Concord
Seymour, Sutton
Smith, Derby
NO (All Democrats)
Campbell, St. Johnsbury
Conquest, Newbury
Copeland-Hanzas , Bradford
Toll, Danville
Troiano, Stannard
Young, Greensboro
ABSENT
Martel, Waterford (R)
All the house Democrats voted YES… hard to comprehend!!
I ask you to read H.688 and then ask yourself how you would have voted! This is another attempt to ignore the citizens of the State and very seriously negatively impact Vermont’s future! It is time for
EVERYONE to standup , get knowledgeable and be heard……standing on the sidelines is not acceptable!
This proposed bill should never have gotten this
far… the negative affect on every tax payer going forward must be understood by all and it appears to be part of a much larger agenda…think about that and let it sink in!!!
Now it’s in the hands of the Senate… pray for their good judgement .
I was born here and I am a conservative. I watch wat out Vermont government is doing. Democrats and Liberals are really bringing down this state.
We are taxed too high and even with the high taxes nothing gets done. Seems everyone is leaving here and so are we.
Welfare states are a failure.
VERMONT IS GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET REGARDING FOOLISH ENERGY SYSTEMS
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/vermont-is-going-to-hell-in-a-handbasket-regarding-foolish-energy
The “Global Warming Solutions Act” bill was passed by the House Energy and Technology Committee on a 7-2 vote and moved to the House Appropriations Committee, which rubber-stamped the bill. A House vote passed the bill, 105 – 37, a few days later. The Senate is next to vote.
GWSA converts the CO2 aspirational goals of the Comprehensive Energy Plan, CEP, to legal mandates.
GSWA requires state government to come up with rules, regulations and programs to implement the CEP.
GSWA sets up a legislatively controlled council to:
– Create a plan to achieve the legal mandates of the CEP
– Direct the Agency of Natural Resources, ANR, Department of Public Service, DPS, etc., to issue whatever binding rules and regulations they think are needed to carry out the council’s plan.
The Legislature controls a council by appointing a bunch of yes-men?
The yes-men will rubber-stamp whatever the government entities come up with?
The Legislature will vote for the funds to implement each binding rule and regulation?
The Council will vote for the funds to implement each binding rule and regulation?
No legislator would ever vote on any far-reaching rules and regulations that will reach into every Vermont home?
What if the Council becomes out of control?
This is an unAmerican/unConstitutional nightmare that may not survive a test in Court.
“impose those rules and thus be accountable to their constituents.”
As they should be. The fascist left flatlanders have been running roughshod over VT’ers for 50
years now without limitation…Time has come to pay the piper for their ignoramus expensive
solutions to non problems.. We shouldn’t be stuck with their bad decisions..They should also be
permanently banned from any gov position when their lawless laws are deemed doomed by
the ignorant majority that elects them…
The reality of this stupid naive legislation is that there is no measuring devise sensitive enough to measure the itty bitty reduction in emissions these do gooders hope to achieve. Much ado about nothing. It’s time to move on to addressing the real problems in Vermont. NEVER HAPPEN!!!
Unbelievable. They didn’t want to have to enact the recommendations of the board themselves. They just wanted the people put in place at ANR, DEC etc to do the job with no debate getting in the way.
Well, I don’t work in Vermont but I was born here, live here and spend every dime here. I’m seriously starting to think my family may need to find someplace else to call home.
That must be what they want.
The Global Warming Solutions Act goal can only be to motivate people to leave the state because it sure as hell isn’t going to affect Vermont’s climate.
Very telling that the Repubs were willing to “stand up” and have their votes counted, and the Dems wanted none of it. Let that sink in.
This could very well be the final coffin nail driven that seals Vermont’s economic destiny as a America’s first failed State. As young families rush out the door, wage earners and retirees are left behind to fund the State will begin to absorb the crushing blows of ever increasing revenue requests (demands) from this draconian marxist nightmare we call Vermont State Government. I was looking to buy land for recreational use. I was hoping to retire peacefully here and enjoy my golden years. That is all in question now. I am beginning to think my state government wants me outta’ here. Just wait until you see the new Act 250! Vermont is in trouble. I don’t how these folks sleep at night.
A vote to abdicate responsibility on the Global Warming Solutions Act implies that there could also be ‘a vote to accept responsibility on the Global Warming Solutions Act’. Even if the legislature, or its appointed council, accepted responsibility, I’d sooner buy swampland in Florida than trust them.