Dear Subscriber First Name,

Resolution to Hasten Afghan Immigration Processing

Senate Bill 5- The Affordable Clean Heat Bill

S. 5 –the Affordable Clean Heat bill, passed the Senate on an 19-10 vote earlier this month. I voted in favor of the bill. This purpose of the bill is to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used for heating homes and it had strong opposition and strong support. I received a tremendous number of calls and emails on both sides.

The original bill authorized creation of a structure of credits and payments in the next two years. The credits would be used to reduce the cost of weatherization and alternate fuel sources for moderate and low-income Vermonters. It would take effect in 2026, after a report to the legislature in 2025. To respond to the criticisms and concerns, the sponsors of the bill added a requirement that the General Assembly (Senate and House) must give final approval in 2025 to the actual structure of credits and payments in order for that system to go into effect in 2026. I support this extra step because it will provide much more certainty than we have now about how the program will work and what the impact will be to the cost of fuel oil.

Those opposed to the bill are concerned the plan could cause the price of fuel oil to increase up by $0.70 per gallon. I hear that concern, especially this year when the actual fuel price increased by about $2.00 a gallon over last winter. Those who are in favor believe that this bill is the best way to move forward to reduce the use of fossil fuels to heat buildings and help low and moderate income Vermonters save money at the same time.

It’s important to know that the bill does not require anyone to stop using oil to heat their home or to install heat pumps. The credits will be used to help moderate and low income households use less fossil fuel: this would include subsidies for weatherization and other sources of heat like heat pumps and clean wood heat. Higher income households are already making changes in response to the cost of fossil fuels, and this option should be available to all households. A common strategy is to weatherize, add other sources of heat and keep the oil furnace, so that the use of oil is minimized to the coldest days of winter. The operating costs of the other heat sources are much less than oil—the barrier is the cost to install.

Sen. Anne Watson’s op/ed piece in the Brattleboro Reformer is a good explanation of the bill before the additional vote in 2025 was added.

Sen. Andy Perchlik described a comprehensive history of 20+ years of state effort to get to this point during the floor discussion. You can review the recording to hear the big picture from his perspective at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ20JpVL0ek.

Senate Bill 9-Authority of the State Auditor

S. 9- An Act relating to the authority of the State Auditor to examine the books and records of State Contractors. This act passed the Senate and I voted for it. It didn’t get a lot of public scrutiny but was controversial in the Senate. The bill was in response to a State Supreme Court ruling regarding companies who contract with the State. Standard agreement language used for years says that these companies must keep their records for a potential audit. The State Supreme Court found that the law wasn’t clear that the State Auditor would be the entity authorized to review the records. Some Senators were concerned that it was an expansion of the Auditor’s authority and that an elected Auditor could misuse that authority. Some heard from companies who contract with the State that they would be less likely to bid for jobs with the state if the Auditor could examine their records.

The sponsors added language to make it clear that the Auditor could only review records relating to the performance under state contracts, not all of the records of the company. The current Auditor explained that passing the bill would be a resumption of authority, not an expansion, and that made sense to me. My opinion on taxpayer money is that it deserves the highest level of protection. I strongly support this bill and the independent authority of the State Auditor.

The Housing Bill should be voted out of the Senate this week and I’ll report back to you on what ends up in that Bill when it is passed to the House.

Please reach out to me with any questions or suggestions. I am truly grateful for your support and appreciate this opportunity to serve.

Thank you,