Video: EAI President Myers Mermel testifies on Affordable Heating Act
On Wednesday, Ethan Allen Institute President Myers Mermel testified before the Senate Natural Resources and Energy committee regarding S.5, the Affordable Heat Act.
Bill gives state another tool to ban police officers from working in Vermont
A House bill introduced Tuesday would give the Vermont Criminal Justice Council another powerful tool to find police officers guilty of law enforcement misconduct.
Roll Call: How your state representative voted on gender-affirming care bill H.89
On Friday, Feb. 10, the Vermont House of Representatives approved H.89, a bill that aims to shield patients and providers from prosecution in states where abortion or gender-related procedures are illegal. Just 13 state representatives voted no to the bill.
Senators don’t understand their own clean heat standard bill
This week the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee may vote on its clean heat standard bill, but discussion of the bill at the end of last week’s hearings demonstrated that committee members still don’t understand how key elements of the bill they been crafting work.
Senator calls clean heat standard a ‘Rube Goldberg’ contraption
“I get it that what we’re essentially doing is directing the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) to put together a kind of a ‘Rube Goldberg,'” Sen. Dick McCormack said. “I don’t see how this works.”
The latest solution to Vermont’s housing crisis? Paying landlords to rent to people
Landlords who apply can receive funding — up to $10,000 per unit — to hold units for up to two months while they work with providers that offer housing vouchers.
Tom Evslin: Building market rate housing is the path to more affordable housing
Pouring subsidies into building low-income “affordable” housing has not made an appreciable dent in the shortage of either middle-income or low-income residences. The most effective steps government can take to provide housing is to remove zoning restrictions, update land use plans, and speed permitting.
Committee continues review of affordable housing bill
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs began looking at a marked-up copy of an omnibus housing bill, with further deliberations slated for later this week. State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden, introduced the bill.
Vermont’s ski areas pivot with warmer winters
With winter weather becoming harder to predict, Vermont’s skiing and outdoor recreation industry is looking at new ways to keep the season’s business going.
Keelan: H.68 is a Trojan horse to take over local zoning
We don’t need the State to step in under the guise of a housing shortage and control local zoning. The State already did this with education when there was a funding crisis; welcome ACT 60/48. Also, the Climate Crisis has justified the State to take over our fossil fuel usage.
What goes into your tax rate in Vermont?
Before voters on Town Meeting Day say “yes” or “no” to proposed local and education taxes for the coming year, the numbers they see on the agenda go through a labyrinth.
Paul Dame: Friday’s unaffordable carbon tax
The fact is that the Unaffordable Heat Act will be twice as expensive for Vermonters as the failed Clean Heat Standard. First of all, it will pressure Vermonters to buy a brand new heating system, which could cost Vermonters an out-of-pocket expense of upwards of $20,000.