While the GWSA appears to reflect the sense of urgency so many of us feel, the actual process established is unwieldy and does not provide my agency – the Agency of Natural Resources – with the tools needed to accomplish the work.
Today, September 17, marks the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States.
Governor Phil Scott on Tuesday vetoed H.688, An act relating to addressing climate change, but provided a path forward to pass a bill that achieves the stated goals without the harmful impacts of the current bill.
“Vermont House Republicans have stood united against the GWSA, which includes several untenable and unacceptable provisions,” House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy said. “The grant of immense authority to implement a Climate Action Plan to an unelected council represents an unprecedented violation of both Legislative and Executive authority.”
At his press conference Friday, Gov. Phil Scott indicated he will veto H.688, the Global Warming Solutions Act. “I don’t see any solutions. All I see is mandates,” he said.
The analogy they trotted out on the floor and in the media in support of moving forward anyway is giving blood. Giving a pint of blood, they argue, doesn’t solve a problem by itself, but if everybody gives a pint of blood it makes a difference. The GWSA is Vermont’s pint of blood.
Vermont Republicans stand opposed to the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), not because we are opposed to a clean and resilient environment, but because this is a bad bill being proposed at the worst possible time.
House lawmakers on Wednesday passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, advancing legislation that would turn state carbon emission reduction goals into mandates and allow individuals to sue Vermont if targets are missed.
This week the House will accept the minor Senate amendments and vote to send the bill to the governor. He can sign it, let it become law without his signature, or veto it. Gov. Scott has powerful grounds for a veto.
A newly appointed panel of unelected “stakeholders” will design a plan to meet the GHG reduction mandates and give it to the unelected bureaucrats at Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), who will then create, implement, and enforce rules impacting the lives and livelihoods of Vermonters based on that plan.
This week House lawmakers will be reviewing the Global Warming Solutions Act, a piece of legislation that would change renewable energy goals into mandates and allow individuals to sue to the state if the quotas are missed.
The Vermont Legislature reconvened Tuesday with a stated priority to pass a budget for the final nine months of the 2020-21 fiscal year. But legislative leaders also want to deliver on their promises for action on several high-profile issues, including commercial cannabis, the Global Warming Solutions Act, and Act 250 reform.