This past week in the Vermont House saw several major bills
passed with significant floor debate. They included Broadband Deployment
(H.513), Childcare (H.531), Workforce Development (H.533), and the major money
bills including Transportation (H.529), Revenue (H.541), and the Budget (H.542)
plus a controversial Weatherization bill (H.439) that increases the Fuel Tax by
2 cents per gallon. After many weeks of
long hours and input from all the policy committees, the administration, and
individual legislators, the House Appropriations Committee presented a balanced
budget, which passed 139 to 1,
that is 2.6% higher than last year’s but less than the 3.1% increase proposed
by the Governor. These bills, now headed
to the Senate, are significant and deserve describing in more detail than this
article will allow. Instead I will focus
on elements of the budget that address climate change.
Three reports that were issued last year highlighted the
importance of addressing climate change during this session: the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on global
Warming, the Fourth National Climate Assessment released by the Trump
administration, and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update.
The IPCC report noted that we are already seeing the effects of a 1
degree Celsius rise in global temperature and gave a dire warning that we have
to reduce global CO2 emissions 45% by 2030 to avoid a 1.5 degree increase which
would have catastrophic geologic and demographic results worldwide. The Vermont
DEC reported that Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased 16% over
1990 levels, mainly from transportation (43%) and heating (24%). We have a
global problem which will require global action, including Vermont’s, to solve.
The House
has taken a number of steps in this direction with the passage of the budget
and revenue bills. The budget includes $1.5M for an electric vehicle (EV)
incentive program, $300,000 for public charging stations, $500,000 for EVs and
charging stations for state government, $250,000 to Efficiency Vermont for
weatherization assistance for moderate income families, and $350,000 for weatherization
workforce training. While the budget
passed almost unanimously, The Weatherization bill with the fuel tax increase
was the most controversial.
We currently
pay 2 cents per gallon on heating oil, propane, and dyed diesel fuel and
0.75% on natural gas. The revenues fund the Weatherization Assistance Program for
families below 80% of median
family income to reduce the
amount of fuel needed to heat their homes. Combined with federal funds, the program
benefited 860 families in 2018. The need is much greater, however. Because of the understandable prioritization
to serve the lowest income families first, many eligible, low income Vermonters
are waiting years to be served while thermal energy continues to be wasted,
unnecessary amounts of fossil fuels are burned, and Vermonters continue to live
in cold, unhealthy and dangerous conditions. By increasing the tax from 2 cents
to 4 cents on liquid fuels and from 0.75% to 1% on natural gas, an additional
400 families can be assisted.
This tax increase was debated over two days with several
amendments offered. Opposition centered
on the additional cost to the low-income families it’s supposed to help as well
as the additional cost to farmers and loggers who use large amounts of dyed
diesel. One amendment was passed to exempt farmers and loggers not only from
the increase but also from the existing 2 cents per gallon. (The House earlier
also approved an exemption from the sales tax for logging equipment.) This
bill, which passed by voice vote, is beneficial for the following reasons:
1) The weatherization program, in existence from the
1970s, has been very successful in helping low income families reduce their
heating bills, live healthier, and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
2) The additional cost is minimal. A typical household using 750 gals of heating oil a year
will have an additional cost of $15 over the entire heating season.
3) The price of fuel oil varies ten times as much
during the heating season. This year my
deliveries ranged from $2.75/gallon to $3.00/gallon. A 2 cent increase adds only $2 more on a 100
gallon delivery which today costs $290.
4) The savings are huge. Weatherization typically
saves 29% of fuel use resulting in $500 to $600 savings per season and results in cumulative savings over time instead of cumulative wasted
fuel and money heating a leaky house. This
is money that stays in Vermont compared to 80% of fuel dollars which leave
Vermont.
5) It reduces dependence on LIHEAP and other fuel
assistance which lasts only for the season.
6) It creates more construction jobs in the
weatherization field.
I see this as a win for low-income families, a win for
the economy, and a win for the environment!
Addendum: While I normally don't link to other publications within articles I write, I want to link to this VTDigger column which speaks to the same topic for reasons you will find obvious.
Margolis: In the legislative arena, worthy goals can sometimes conflict
