Gov. Phil cott needs 11 senators to vote to sustain his veto of S.5. He can count on all seven Republicans and three Democrats: Bobby Starr (D-Orleans), Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle), and Irene Wrenner (D-Chittenden North). That makes 10. He needs one more.
A member of the Office of Legislative Counsel on Thursday told the Vermont Senate Resources and Energy Committee that S.5 doesn’t “bind a future legislature” and allows “flexibility” in how future lawmakers choose to act on the policy.
Governor Phil Scott is spot on in his analysis. His explanation and clarity shed light on the inherent problems with S.5.
The full Senate voted 20-10 to concur with the House version of S.5, the clean heat standard bill, sending it to the governor’s desk. Gov. Phil Scott is expected to veto the bill.
“The key point of my question is, do you believe it is equitable for elderly Vermonters who can’t afford a solar panel (or whose home is not located in a place where they can effectively install one) to subsidize yours? It is a simple tax policy question.”
“For these reasons and more, I will veto S.5, and I’m asking Vermonters, even the many who have already contacted their legislators, to make their voices heard and ask their representatives and senators to sustain this veto.”
All indications are Scott will veto S.5. The bill passed the Senate on a 19-10 vote with one supporter of the bill not voting. Scott would need 11 senators to sustain. All eyes are on Sens. Kitchel and Sears. Were they misled about what the check back was?
The Vermont Climate Council voted on the controversial recommendations of the Biomass Task Group it set up to resolve the question of how burning wood to generate electricity should be handled within the Climate Action Plan.
On April 7, I was able to do an interview with Annette Smith of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, who received a response from the Public Utility Commission regarding their public records request on the Clean Heat Standard Working Group documents.
What happens then is a toss-up, and will decide whether S.5 becomes law or just the latest in a string of failed forced carbon emissions reduction bills.
Two large Quebec-owned utility corporations, regulated by a Public Utility Commission chaired by an outspoken climate activist, have quietly engineered a complex scheme that will make them and their owners more profitable — and you poorer.
Rep. Wayne Laroche summed up the situation perfectly: “There’s an agreement that Vermont is too small to impact global climate. So, we’re not going to have a benefit. But we’re going to spend money — forcing people to do things they may or may not want to do.