Public Policy Blog

A slew of bills hit the House and Senate floor last week as lawmakers also grappled with (and leadership rejected) a new proposal for a windfall ratepayer payback as part of the Green Mountain Power/CVPS merger deal.

House lawmakers powered through 20 bills in a single day last week - approving a new Transportation Budget bill, a ban on minors using tanning beds and H.468, the new renewable energy proposal. Later in the week, the House approved the new budget as lawmakers pushed for an early possible adjournment in late April.

Of interest to employers: One of the bills passed by the House this week was H.78, which would allow laid-off employees to place liens against bankrupt businesses for up to 30 days of unpaid wages. This would apply only to companies that go out of business and owe back wages to workers. The bill was fairly uncontroversial and passed in an easy voice vote.

Vermont Yankee
It's future mired in the courts, Vermont's only nuclear power plant did not shut down last Wednesday when its original 40-year license from state regulators ran out. The latest development in the Vermont Yankee saga saw more than 1,000 people protesting in Brattleboro and new calls at the Statehouse for real answers to the state's energy future.

VtDigger.org reported that we are in uncharted territory when it comes to the future of Vermont Yankee in this state:

     Dave Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the the Union of Concerned Scientists, said this is the first time a plant has expired and it has continued to operate "on grace."

The Vermont Public Service Board is considering Entergy's request for a new license to operate the plant. VBSR believes that Vermont Yankee's owners have not been good partners for Vermont - and accidents and missteps at the facility in recent years have called into question its reliability. But this issue, for now, is out of the hands of the Vermont Legislature.

GMO Labeling
The House Agriculture Committee took a walk-through of H.722, the bill requiring the labeling of GMO/GE foods sold in Vermont, with Legislative Council last week. Committee members seem interested in the bill, but are grappling with some legal and logistical questions arising from the proposal. Meanwhile, lobbying on the bill has intensified on all sides. The committee is expected to determine on Tuesday what witnesses they want to hear from as they consider moving forward.

Citizens United
Senate lawmakers seemed to move closer to a proposed compromise on resolution language addressed the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The resolution has been stuck in the Senate Government Operations Committee since last year. VBSR is encouraging lawmakers to pass the resolution and retain language that calls for Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to make it clarify that corporations do not have the same rights as natural people.

They're back!

The Vermont Legislature returned to the Statehouse last week after the Town Meeting break and hit the ground running. Friday was what is known as Crossover - the last day that bills have to be passed out of committee - or be left to die on the vine.

Here's an update on some of the bills that VBSR worked on.

Health Care Reform
There was very little action last week on H.559, the health care reform bill setting up Health Insurance Exchanges. Work is expected to pick up next week when the Senate formally begins looking at the legislation with responsibilities being split up among the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

GMO Labeling
First it looked dead. Then it came back to life.

H.722, legislation requiring the labeling of most food sold in Vermont that contains genetically-modified materials, did not meet Friday's Crossover deadline, but legislative leaders gave the bill an additional two weeks to move out of the House Agriculture Committee.

Renewable Energy
The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 10-1 Friday in support of H.468, which requires Vermont's utilities to purchase 35 percent of their energy from new renewable energy sources by 2032. The bill also requires utilities to sell some of their renewable energy credits. Additionally, the legislation also expands the state's Standard Offer program.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also considering placing a new tax on the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon to replace the funds the plant paid into the state's Clean Energy Development Fund (that deal ends this month, when the plant was originally scheduled to close).

Citizens United
The resolution calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision is still in the Senate Government Operations Committee. The committee held two hearings last week and members are attempting to balance the desire to address the ramifications of the Citizens United decision and concerns that there might be unintended consequences from a Constitutional amendment. Debate is expected to continue this week. Because this is a resolution, and not a bill, it did not need to meet Crossover Friday.

 

The Vermont Legislature is off this week for the Town Meeting break and VBSR is also looking forward to a few days of rest at this half-way point in the session.

We know Town Meeting Day is a busy one for many Vermonters, but if you are interested in the natural food economy and have 30 minutes to spare, please join us on a conference call on the new GMO labeling bill.

VBSR Member Conference Call
Vermont Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act (H.722)
Tuesday, March 6th Noon-12:30pm
RSVP (danielb@vbsr.org) by 5pm today for conference call-in information

I'll be joined on the call by Andrea Stander, the executive director of Rural Vermont, and Paul Burns, the executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. Together we'll walk you through this groundbreaking proposal, answer your questions and suggest ways you can help us turn this bill into law.