Names have power! Remembering someone’s name can give you an
edge; forgetting a name I should know always makes me feel at a
disadvantage. In my first week back at
the Statehouse I experienced both sides of that coin. By the end of the week,
with a little help from a notepad and the legislative website, the names of
most of my colleagues bubbled up from the six-month recess of my memory. We were
all back to work picking up where we left off last May.
The first week was marked by Governor Scott’s State of the
State
address in which he laid out in general terms his agenda for the year. Lieutenant
governor David Zuckerman presided over the combined House and Senate assembly. As
Governor Scott began to speak with members of his cabinet, statewide elected
officials, the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and special guests
in attendance, a group of climate activists began chanting from the gallery
demanding that government act to fight climate change. They were peaceful but
loud and succeeded in disrupting the occasion. To his credit, the Governor
listened with the rest of us for about 5 minutes. Then, with the chanting still continuing, he
tried to continue but could not be heard. Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman then
called for a recess and asked security to escort the protesters out of the
gallery. No one was arrested, however, and the assembly reconvened after about
15 minutes.
“The state of the state is strong!” Scott began. He spoke of
working together with the legislature respectfully while acknowledging our
differences. He noted that Vermont had population declines in eleven of its
fourteen counties, and also that the remote-worker brought 371 people into
Vermont. He talked about spending more
money on after-school programs and after-school childcare without increasing
property taxes. And he acknowledged that we need to work on climate change by continuing
our transition to electric vehicles and buses and utilizing more battery storage
in our electric grid. Achieving these objectives will depend a lot on the
details in his budget address he will give later this month.
In the House Energy & Technology Committee we heard
reports on work done by the Department of Public Service (DPS) and the Department
of Forests, Parks & Recreation (FPR) regarding telecommunications, energy,
and carbon sequestration. We learned that several installations of battery
storage, including one in Hinesburg, are helping to reduce demand during the
evening peak. DPS is also proposing
changes in legislation to provide utilities more control over storage to
improve reliability. We also learned that several communities have started to
take advantage of legislation we passed last year that allows municipalities to
form Communication Union Districts to bring high-speed broadband to unserved
and underserved parts of Vermont. FPR Commissioner Michael Snyder outlined the
role our forests can play in sequestering carbon with proper forest management
practices. Then at the end of the week we began our consideration of the Global
Warming Solutions Act, which, if passed, will require Vermont to meet specific greenhouse
gas reduction goals between now and 2050.
Vermont will be required to actively plan and take steps to reduce
emissions to at least 26% of 2005 levels by 2025, 40% by 2030, and 80% by 2050
in keeping with Vermont’s 2016 Comprehensive Energy Plan and the 2016 Paris
Agreement.
