Vermont has long had a reputation as a national leader on environmental issues. Unfortunately, Governor Douglas continues to lead us on a race to the bottom when he should be working to restore our position on top of the podium.

As is often the case, the end of a legislative session leaves us all with a fair amount of uncertainty. We never really know if the governor will veto legislation we worked hard on for the past five months or if we are simply worried for no reason. The 2009 legislative session is no different.

The next two weeks will dictate if Vermonters end up with the good, the bad, or the ugly and will tell us all if we are working are way back to the top or continuing to race downward.

The Good

H.446 is an excellent piece of legislation so please thank your representatives and senators for the work they have done. This bill establishes the first statewide standard offer program in the country to promote the construction of small scale, local renewable energy projects.

H.446 also:

• Enables towns to create clean energy assessment districts to help property owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

• Directs $30 million dollars of federal economic recovery money to the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund.

• Strengthens Vermont's building efficiency standards

• Encourages the Agency of Natural Resources to evaluate larger wind farms on state lands.

The Bad

Governor Douglas has hinted that he will veto H.446 because he argues it is a financial burden on rate payers. He continues to tell us that he supports renewable energy. Unfortunately, that statement is routinely followed by a “but...” .

Apparently in this case, the “but” is that next year, Vermonters might see a $0.20 increase on a $100 monthly bill. This is not a logical reason for the governor to go through the extreme act of vetoing legislation that will promote clean energy in our state.

As James Moore, the Clean Energy Advocate from the Vermont Public Interest Research Group said “We believe this is a small down payment on a clean energy future that will serve Vermonters for decades to come”. At VLCV, we couldn’t agree more.

Please call the governor and encourage him to sign H.446 as soon it reaches his desk, which will likely occur very soon.

Please do not hesitate! Call him today at 802-828-3333 and ask governor Douglas to sign H.446, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

The Ugly

Governor Jim Douglas recently presented a counter proposal to the legislature's fiscally responsible budget that will end Vermont’s meaningful and critical public investment into construction of permanently affordable housing and land conservation.

The governor’s changes to the budget will alter Vermont’s priorities and seriously impair our ability to protect our agricultural economy, forests, public access to outdoor recreation, and important natural resources.

Governor Douglas continues to tell us that we must tighten our belts but as Brian Shupe from the Vermont Natural Resources Council said so eloquently in his March 30, 2009 Burlington Free Press My Turn, “Yes, state government needs to tighten its belt, but not around our necks.”

Governor Douglas is attempting to tighten his belt around the neck of conservation. If he is successful in strangling this critical program, we are not likely to ever get it back.

Please call your Representatives and Senators and ask them to override the governor’s expected veto of the state budget.

If you are not certain who your representatives or senators are, please click this link to find out.

As always, thank you for your time and commitment towards protecting Vermont’s environment.

Sincerely,

 
Todd Bailey
Executive Director
Vermont League of Conservation Voters

Working to turn your environmental values into state priorities

PS - Please keep an eye out for our complete legislative wrap-up once the session is truly over.  We will evaluate all of VLCV's priorities which are reflected in the Vermont Environmental Collaborative's Conservation and Environmental Platform

Without your support, VLCV could not perform our critical work.  Please consider donating to VLCV so we can continue to advocate in the State House for issues like Renewable Energy and Land Conservation and to work directly with pro-environment candidates to help ensure they are elected.

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