Why did Douglas veto energy bill?
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Published: June 20, 2007
Those of you who remember the TV Show, The A-Team, might also remember a one-liner from the program, "I love it when a good plan comes together, " spoken by actor George Peppard in his role as Hannibal Smith.
The Legislature is our A-Team. The Vermont Energy Efficiency and Affordability Act (H.520) is a good plan that will make it less expensive and easier for all of us, homeowners and businesses alike, to invest in renewable energy, help us lower our use of fossil fuels, and tighten existing building codes so that we may move toward greater fuel efficiency. It's a good plan with a fair funding source.
The funding for these new initiatives is straightforward: the legislature will level the taxation playing field. It's not a new tax. It's not a windfall profits tax. It has nothing to do with the memorandums of understanding the state signed when Vermont Yankee wanted to move forward with its uprate and storing radioactive waste in dry casks on the banks of the Connecticut River. H.520 doesn't touch those agreements. All it does is readjust the rate of taxation Vermont Yankee pays, which was frozen in place by the Republican-controlled Legislature and the governor in 2003, making that rate the same as what new wind developments will pay.
And then Jim Douglas vetoed the bill. Why? Because he worries about the "message" this sends to the business community. Actually, the message that the governor is sending to his friends in big business is, "Whisper in my ear, and we'll make a deal."
It was only after his inaction started hurting him politically that Jim Douglas cobbled together a "plan" to address energy efficiency. What does the governor's plan do? It requires average Vermonters and Vermont businesses to take out loans to pay for efficiency measures. The message Gov. Douglas has sent Vermont citizens and small business owners with this so-called plan is, "Want to save energy? Why don't you go further into debt. You can afford it, right?"
The problem is many Vermonters, already struggling with high costs and debt from a variety of sources, including home mortgages, student loans and credit cards, can't afford it. Rather than close a loophole that allows a business to pay less than its fair share to both the General Fund and the Education Fund, Jim Douglas is putting the burden on the backs of ordinary Vermonters.
Like Hannibal Smith, I love it when a good plan comes together. So please, get on the phone and urge your representative to go to the Statehouse on July 11, override the governor's veto, and let a good plan for you, your children, and their children, come together.
Judy Bevans, Albany
Vice Chair, Vermont
Democratic Party
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