Vermont Governor Phil Scott on May 9 vetoed the "Clean Heat" bill (H. 715), a bill drafted with the purpose of reducing heating emissions from buildings.
Gov. Scott said he vetoed the bill because it did not contain language related to the bill's costs, impacts, and financing.
“I understand the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is why I proposed a $216 million dollar climate package and why my administration has engaged in this policy conversation since January," Scott said. “What the Legislature has passed is a bill that includes some policy, with absolutely no details on costs and impacts, and a lot of authority and policy making delegated to the Public Utility Commission (PUC), an unelected board,” he said.
At the core of the bill is a credit system. Companies that import fossil fuels to be used for heating would purchase or earn annual credits according to the amount of emissions generated by those fuels. The credit system would have been designed by the Public Utility Commission. Scott said he would have approved the bill if it required legislators to approve it before it were to be enacted. Opponents claimed that approval language was in the bill.
An override vote taken on May 10 failed by one vote.
"If we do not move forward with a clean heat standard, we will be setting aside the policy with the greatest emissions reduction potential of any policy brought forth in Vermont's Climate Action Plan last December," stated Tim Briglin, chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee. "That sets up a likely scenario, whereby these 'unelected officials' the governor is so concerned about, in fact, will be making these decisions he so fears."
Legislators will return to this drawing board with an eye to putting forth reworked legislation in 2023.