When Gov. Phil Scott vetoed S.5, the clean heat standard bill, he needed to convince at least one senator to change his or her position or four or five more representatives. In the end, no senators switched, and four representatives did — only to oppose Scott, not support him.
Scott released a video Saturday morning on social media urging Vermonters to contact their legislators to ask them to vote to sustain his veto of the bill. This push comes as Democrat Party leadership appears to be rushing the override vote.
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 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.
The Vermont House of Representatives on Thursday passed S.5, the clean heat standard bill, by a vote of 98-46. Every Republican present voted no. Only seven members listened to their constituents and broke with their parties to vote “no,” six Democrats and one Progressive.
Advocates for S.5, dubbed “The Unaffordable Heat Act” by critics, continue to lament and challenge Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore’s estimate that the program will add $0.70 to each gallon of heating oil, propane, natural gas and kerosene.
S.5, with its multi-billion-dollar price tag that will add at least $500 a year to the average household’s annual heating bill, is just the tip of the iceberg for what legislators have in store. Once S.5 passes, the plan is to bring forward a similar carbon tax on gasoline and diesel motor fuels.
Joyce Manchester testified that one aspect of the bill would be “challenging” to live up to in reality: the social equity promises to protect low-income Vermonters from the spike in home heating fuel prices brought about by the requirement to purchase clean heat carbon credits.
As the House Environment and Energy Committee moves toward wrapping up its deliberation of the clean heat standard bill, there is still a serious misconception out there that the amendment added to the bill requiring a “check back” in 2025 effectively makes this a study bill.
The committee heard from several different perspectives, among them a fuel dealer specializing in clean heat options, a home renovation and construction contractor, and a finance expert. They all shared a common thread — this bill will hurt low-income Vermonters.
When the clean heat standard bill, S.5, was in the Senate, Vermont fuel dealers who testified in committee were given a mere six minutes each to make their case. Now that the bill has moved over to the House Committee on Environment and Energy, they got a chance to try again with a new audience — and a little more time.
The Vermont Climate Council is currently mired in controversy over accusations it is really just another embodiment of “white privilege” that only pays lip service to social justice.