Legislative Report 3/4/2021 - Town Meeting recess marks half-way point for legislative session

 

As the legislature prepared to recess for Town Meeting week, the focus continued to be on our #1 priority: Vermonters and the coronavirus. The Vermont House passed and sent to the Senate an additional $79M COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Aid bill.  H.315 provides critical assistance to working families and businesses struggling due to the pandemic by addressing health disparities, increasing social equity, and stimulating economic recovery.

The work my committee has been doing has been focused on getting high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved areas of Vermont. We ended the week by voting the bill (H.360) out of committee on a 9 -0 vote.  The bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee which will consider whether to recommend the appropriation we asked for.

Besides telecommunications, my committee also has jurisdiction over energy policy and the IT systems of the state.  Leading up to the recess, Governor Scott recommended a $200M package of spending based on one-time money from unspent Coronavirus Relief Funds and better than expected state revenues. In the energy area, we concurred with the Governor’s plan to use $10M to assist low- and moderate-income consumers to share in community solar projects, including battery storage of energy.  Folks who rent and homeowners who can’t install solar panels on their property will be able to purchase or lease shares of large solar arrays and receive credit on their electric bills for the energy generated.

 We have also been working with the Agency of Digital Services to fund the upgrade of several of our 40-year-old computer systems, including the Labor Department’s Unemployment Insurance system which has had a lot of problems over the past year.  We are concurring with the Governor’s recommendation of spending $50M to upgrade a dozen different systems.

The Vermont legislature continues to operate remotely as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and will continue to do so at least until May 15, 2021.  Conducting business remotely is very different from meeting at the Statehouse because of the lack of personal interaction which often helps facilitate communication on important issues.  Zooming is just not the same.  

However, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud.  As a result of live streaming of floor sessions and committee proceedings, it is now possible for anyone anywhere to "sit in" on a proceeding. If you have an interest in a particular issue or would just like to see how legislative business is conducted, I invite you to drop in at your convenience.  Here's how.

Floor sessions take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9:30 a.m. on Fridays.  To view a livestream of a session go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  Scroll down to the bottom of the House or Senate sections where you will find a link to "Watch House/Senate Live Video".  If you want to watch a session after the fact at your leisure, click on the same link and you will find recordings of previous sessions.

Committee meetings are where most of the work takes place.  This is where bills that have been assigned to the committee are discussed and testimony from witnesses is heard.  To view a committee proceeding, again go to https://legislature.vermont.gov/.  In the sidebar at the right is a link to "Scheduled Committee Meetings". Clicking on the link will take you to a page that contains links to the committee pages and the published agenda for the week.  On the committee page there will be a link to "Livestream" where either a livestream of a hearing, or recorded hearings can be viewed.

The Vermont Statehouse is truly "The People's House". As citizens of Vermont the work that goes on there is for the benefit of all and is transparent to all.  At these times when democracy is under assault by lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories, we in Vermont have an opportunity to see the legislature in action with our own eyes. Being engaged is a way we can all protect our democratic form of government.

 

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).  

Legislative Report 5/20/2015 - End of Session

Remember the Rubik's Cube? I always had a hard time solving that 3D, 3-axis puzzle. The last week of the legislative session seemed like trying to solve a giant Rubik's cube of legislation. Fourteen bills were assigned to Committees of Conference because the House and Senate could not agree on details in the versions each chamber passed. In addition to those bills, the Immunization bill (H.98), the Water Quality bill (H.35) and the Energy bill (H.40) still had not been settled.

Early in the week the House Health Care Committee took a couple more days of impassioned testimony on whether to retain the philosophical exemption or to remove it before finally bringing it to the full House for a vote. The hours-long debate on the floor reflected the range of opinions heard in testimony. Several amendments were offered before the House voted to remove that exemption while retaining the religious and medical exemptions. The 85 to 57 vote crossed party lines as individual legislators made up their own minds on the legislation. Following the decision on vaccine exemptions, the House voted quickly to concur with the Senate on proposed amendments to the Water Quality bill, which will put Vermont on the path to reducing phosphorous runoff into its lakes and streams.

 

By Friday afternoon most of the conference committees reported agreement on all but the Budget, Revenue, Health Care, and Education bills, and the Senate was still debating amendments to the Energy bill. Earlier in the afternoon we passed the very important Child Protection bill (S.9) which requires any mandated reporter who reasonably suspects abuse or neglect of a child to report it to Department of Children and Families instead of to a superior, and it improves cross-agency communication for child welfare cases. Typical of the "hurry up and wait" character of the session's final days, the House was repeatedly recessed to await updates on the status of conference committee negotiations.

 

Friday evening we received from the Senate its amendments to the Energy bill, and the House quickly concurred in its passage. The Senate left the provisions adopted by the House and added provisions regarding siting of solar energy projects. They include giving municipalities automatic party status in Public Service Board hearings, defining minimum setback requirements, and allowing municipalities to define screening requirements. Passage of this bill satisfies the objections Connecticut and Massachusetts had regarding Vermont's double-counting of renewable energy credits (RECs) and avoids the loss of $50M in annual revenue for our utilities, thereby avoiding a potential 6% increase in electric rates.

 

Saturday brought the passage of the Education bill and the Health Care bill. The Health Care bill had been trimmed back considerably because of an inability to agree on funding. What remained was a 33 cent/pack cigarette tax increase and subjecting soda to the 6% sales tax. The package contains $3.2 million in new state health care spending, which is eligible for roughly another $3 million from federal matching funds. The money will be used to level-fund Vermont Health Connect subsidies for out-of-pocket costs, target increases to Medicaid rates, and invest in initiatives to strengthen the primary care system.

 

As late as Saturday afternoon negotiations were still going on among the House and Senate leadership and the Governor regarding how the agreed upon budget would be funded. $53M in program cuts had been agreed upon with the expectation that $30M in additional revenues would have to be found. This represents $3M more in cuts and $5M less in revenues than originally passed by the House. Finally, around 10 PM the final agreements were made and the House gave final approval to the Budget. After the traditional speeches from the leaders of the Progressive, Republican and Democratic parties, the Speaker of the House, and the Governor, the session was gavelled to a close just before 11 PM.

 

I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).

House Natural Resource & Energy Committee Members Interviewed

Members of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee were recently interviewed on CCTV Channel 17's program "Under the Dome".  Representatives Tim Jerman (Essex Jct), Mike Yantachka (Charlotte), and Curt McCormack (Burlington) spoke with host, Rob Reiber, about the legislation that their committee worked on during this session.  Two bills, one regarding net metering (H.702) and another regarding revisions to land use regulations (H.809), were already voted on and passed by the House and are now under consideration by the Senate.  Another bill, H.823, is related to H.809 and revises the permitting regulations in downtown development areas to encourage growth where it is desired and discourage sprawl.  This bill and another one, H.695, a battery recycling bill, are expected to be voted on by the House when legislators return to Montpelier after their town Meeting break.  You can watch the program here.

The Word in the House 1/19/2014 - An Energetic Start

After a general election the legislative session usually starts pretty slowly as new legislators are oriented and start to learn the subject matter of the committees they have been assigned.  Every bill is born into existence from scratch and the numbering starts from “1”.   However, the beginning of the second session of a two year term is very different.  Bills that were passed by one chamber are already waiting for action in the other.  Some bills that were passed by both chambers with differences that could not be resolved before the final gavel fell last May have been negotiated over the summer by conference committees, and the resulting compromise language is ready to be voted on by both chambers.  Bills that were not acted on last year may find new life.  And many new bills will be introduced.  Committee work starts at a full run, and by the end of the first week, despite the ceremonial joint sessions with the Governor, it seems like we’ve been here a month. 

As I’m writing this at the end of the second week of the session, my committee – the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee – has crafted a bill that will ensure that Vermont’s solar energy industry will continue to grow and create clean energy and jobs.  Net-metering was instituted in 1999 as a way to allow small generators of renewable energy to run their meter backwards.  By 2001 there were 33 net metered systems in Vermont, including 6 small wind and 27 solar systems.  By the end of 2010 this number grew to 153 small wind and 1112 solar systems plus 6 farm methane systems providing a combined total of 12 megawatts (MW) of electric generation capacity. 

In 2009 Green Mountain Power started paying their net-metered customers an additional 6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for electricity they generated because GMP calculated that it had a net savings attributable to net-metering.  This savings was the result of not having to buy expensive electricity from other generators in New England during periods of peak electric demand.  These peak periods occur during the summer air conditioning season.  As a result the legislature passed a law in 2011 requiring all Vermont electric utilities to pay a “solar adder” which is the difference between 20 cents/kwh and what the utility would normally charge their customers. So for each kwh generated by a net-metered solar system, the customer will be credited 20 cents on their bill. Since then, with the cost of solar panels dropping, solar net-metering has become extremely successful, growing to 39 MW of capacity with more than 2100 systems.  Thousands of jobs have been created in Vermont as part of this industry.

Until now no utility was allowed to accept more than 4% of its total peak demand in net-metering installations.  In 2013 several small utilities ran up against this cap and had to turn away customers who wanted to install solar systems.  The bill our committee developed over the last two weeks addresses this problem and will carry this growth momentum forward allowing consumers to take full advantage of the federal solar incentive tax credits that are anticipated to expire at the end of 2016. It amends the existing solar net-metering program through December 31, 2016, and sets the framework for a future program that would take effect on January 1, 2017.  It increases the cap on participation from 4% to 15% of a utility’s peak load, allows streamlined permitting for solar systems up to 15 kilowatts, and keeps the solar credit at $.20/kwh for smaller projects of 15kW or less while achieving cost savings for utilities by reducing it to $.19/kwh for projects over 15kw. 

The bill also sets the framework for a future net-metering program. It requires the Department of Public Service to undertake a study of net-metering in 2014, and requires the Public Service Board to develop proposed rules for a new net-metering program by January 1, 2016.  These new rules would not be effective until January 1, 2017, giving the Legislature an opportunity to review the rules during the 2016 session.  The bill is scheduled to be voted on this week in the House.

Solar Farm Siting: Why Can't the Town Decide?

 “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

The range of responses by Charlotte residents to two solar projects that were proposed over the last several months reminds me of those aphorisms.  Some folks can’t stand the sight of solar panels while others get excited by them.  Some folks like the idea of renewable energy generation but are concerned that a large scale solar farm near their residences would detract from their property values.

While the decision for the relatively small Thompson’s Point solar project involved a high degree of public participation that got results for those opposed to it, the solar farm project proposed adjacent to Hinesburg Road is subject to an entirely different review process.  This review, which applies to large scale renewable energy projects, is called the Certificate of Public Good (CPG) process and is conducted by the Public Service Board (PSB) to determine if a permit will be granted.

A lot of people are asking, “Why does the Public Service Board have the final say?  What about our planning and zoning bylaws? Why should the state be butting in on a local decision?”  In this article, I will try to explain briefly the how and why of the process.

For small scale solar or wind generation like a homeowner might install, the permit process is pretty simple.  For commercial scale electric generation, however, the amount of electricity being pumped into the electric grid, the connections required, the effect on the environment, the utility buying the electricity, the cost of the electricity, and the effect on rates must be considered.  The PSB is charged in Vermont law to oversee and regulate everything that involves public utilities so that the public is protected and energy availability is guaranteed.  The rules by which it does this for any new project are contained in Section 248 of Title 30 of the Vermont Statutes. 

These rules set up a quasi-judicial process, which means that the PSB effectively acts as a judge to determine if the project is in the public interest and whether any adverse effects are outweighed by benefits to Vermont and the general public.  The PSB takes into consideration many criteria, including the need for the power, alternatives to meeting the demand, the economic benefits like jobs and taxes, Act 250 criteria for environmental effects, aesthetics, how it affects the stability and reliability of the grid, whether it conflicts with Vermont’s energy plan, and whether it contributes to the general good of Vermont.  It is the responsibility of the developer to demonstrate that all these criteria are satisfied.  Moreover, the PSB is very open to participation in the review process by affected individuals, local officials, and other parties as interveners, either on their own or through legal representation.  After hearing all the evidence, and with input from an able staff of technical experts and lawyers, the board may approve the project, reject it, or require modifications that have to be satisfied for approval.

Just as a judge has the authority to make a decision in a court case, the PSB has the ultimate say in a Section 248 case.  However, if any of the parties disagrees with the PSB’s decision, they can appeal the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.

The bottom line is that the CPG process attempts to ensure that the decision is in the best interests of everyone based on the facts presented. 

Geothermal Energy for Vermont

I took the opportunity to attend the Geothermal Energy Roundtable sponsored by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders yesterday, April 17th, at Contois Auditorium in Burlington. The place was packed upstairs as well as downstairs with folks from across Vermont. Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the United States Department of Energy, was a guest of Senator Sanders along with a panel of homeowners, academics and business representatives, who were involved in using, researching or installing geothermal energy systems.

The message that came out of this conference is that geothermal energy source systems for both heating and cooling are not just feasible in the north country, but they have been proven to work as well . I spoke with a man from Highgate who had a chart of his electric and heating fuel consumption that showed a reduction in cost of around 60%. This type of energy resource is most efficient if integrated into the design of new construction, but it is also adaptable to existing construction. Key to the latter is an energy efficient envelope, i.e. a well insulated building.

State Representative Tim Jerman of Essex Junction was also at the roundtable. Tim is a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. We chatted about the incentives provided by the state for alternative energy generation. Although there is a tax incentive for wind and solar systems, it is restricted to businesses that adopt them. Homeowners are entitled only to federal tax credits. (Those credits, by the way, are substantial, amounting to 30% of the cost of materials and installation.) However, there is no state incentive for business or residential installation of geothermal systems.

A priority in the next legislative session should be to include geothermal systems in the incentives provided for wind and solar energy production. We should also find a way to extend those incentives to homeowners as well as business. While the current budget crisis makes this a non-starter, block grants may be available as part of the federal Jobs Bill. Providing these credits would have the added benefits of creating jobs throughout Vermont, distributing energy production to reduce the peak demand on our electric grid, and helping to replace the production that we will inevitably lose with the closure of Vermont Yankee.

The Economy

Growing Vermont's Economic Base

The economic downturn of 2009 has not left Vermont unscathed, although our situation is certainly not as dire those of other parts of our country. Vermont has been losing high-paying jobs even before the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

Job creation in Vermont is a difficult nut to crack, but it is a key element in keeping Vermont's economic and social fabric healthy. We have seen numerous and innovative entrepreneurial enterprises spring up during the last decade in Vermont; but we have also seen huge reductions of personnel by major employers as well as the closure of smaller manufacturing enterprises. Reductions in both residential and commercial building activity have also had an impact on our workforce. The same is true for employees of the state due to decreased tax revenues and for teachers due to declining student populations. Efforts to disincline Vermont youth from leaving the state are hampered by the limited job opportunites that exist here.

That's the problem. But what's the solution? The best thing that Vermont has going for it is that it is a great place to live. Many residents of Vermont telecommute to jobs in Boston, New York and elsewhere simply because they want to live in Vermont. We can improve the opportunities for working remotely in Vermont by improving our broadband infrastructure. High-speed internet access is a requirement for this type of potential. It will also improve the ability of Vermont-based companies to do business online.

Another prerequisite for a healthy economy is the availability of sustainable and affordable energy. With Vemont Yankee's future in question and our contract with Hydro Quebec coming up for renewal soon, we have to have a plan for our energy future. See my position on energy here. There is a great potential for job creation in Vermont with the growth of green energy. State policy should continue to support innovative companies like NRG Systems, All Earth Renewables, Gro-Solar, and the wind and solar system installation sector.

Vermont should also support smaller startup businesses via grants and tax incentives to encourage business growth while working with large employers like IBM to bring more jobs into Vermont instead of exporting them out of state and out of country.

Finally, we must continue to guarantee the continued excellence of our educational system to ensure that Vermont will have a well-qualified workforce that will attract employers to our state.