Many
observers were disappointed when Governor Shumlin's inaugural speech
barely mentioned the three issues that were foremost in Vermonters'
minds in 2014: property taxes, education spending and health care.
Instead, his inaugural speech focused primarily on the environment.
He began by laying out his "agenda for progress"
emphasizing the positive accomplishments in the growth of the
renewable energy industry in Vermont with an accompanying 15,000 new
jobs, "pioneering the development and deployment of locally
generated, low carbon energy, creating jobs and putting money in
Vermonter’s pockets while we do it.” He noted that while
neighboring New England states are seeing double-digit increases in
electric rates, Green Mountain Power, Vermont's largest utility has
reduced rates by more than 2%. He is proposing a new Energy
Innovation Program (EIP) to replace the SPEED (Sustainably Priced
Energy Enterprise Development) program which was responsible for the
strong growth of Vermont's renewable energy industry and which
expires in 2017. If implemented, the EIP is projected to: Create
over 1,000 new jobs; Save Vermonters hundreds of millions of dollars
on their energy bills; and Cut greenhouse gas emissions by
approximately 15 million metric tons, nearly a quarter of the
reduction needed for Vermont to be on track to meet its 2050 climate
goal. To this end the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee
on which I serve will be taking up a bill this week to create the new
renewable energy standard for the future.
The
second part of his agenda focused on the cleanup of Vermont's
waterways, especially Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain is a critical
part of our economy and its protection is vital to keeping Vermont
the place we know, enjoy and love. We all know of the problems with
blue-green algae blooms in the northern part of the lake and in Lake
Memphremagog. This is due to excess phosphorus loading that
originates primarily as a result of runoff from farms and impervious
surfaces like roads and parking lots. Together these sources are
responsible for 70% of the phosphorus that flows into Lake Champlain
from its streams and tributaries. The EPA has put Vermont on notice
that it is in violation of clean water standards and we have to move
now to clean it up. As Governor Shumlin said in his speech, "If
we don't do it, it will be done to
us." The Administration will work to implement the Lake
Champlain restoration plan submitted to the EPA last spring, the most
comprehensive and strategic effort yet undertaken by Vermont to
protect and restore the state’s waters. It will include assistance
to farmers and municipalities as well as provide strong regulatory
enforcement. The Natural Resources and Energy Committee will be
working in tandem with the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources
Committee and the Agriculture and Forestry Committee to address this
issue.
A
week after his inaugural address, Governor Shumlin delivered his
budget address and did put a spotlight on property taxes, education
spending and health care. In addition to a balanced budget that
closes a $94 million budget gap, the Governor laid out the rest of
his aggressive agenda that includes proposals to cut in half the
Medicaid cost shift, reduce private health insurance premiums, help
get school spending under control, eliminate the cost of an
associate’s degree for some Vermont students to provide Vermont
employers a pipeline of skilled workers, and increase economic
development incentives. I plan to address this part of his agenda in
a future article.
