Gov. Peter Shumlin at a press conference April 11, 2012. VTD/Erin Hale

Gov. Peter Shumlin took the opportunity to celebrate what seem like signs of an economic recovery at the Vermont Business and Industry EXPO Wednesday.

According to statistics released last week by the Vermont Department of Labor, the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for April 2012 was 4.6 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of a percent from the revised March rate.

That 4.6 percent rate puts Vermont at the fourth lowest in the country.

That decrease in unemployment has received some criticism as well. According to one think tank, the Public Assets Institute, notes that the total number of jobs in the state is shrinking.

According to Vermont labor force statistics, there was a decrease of 1,500 jobs in April from the revised March data. A large decrease in leisure and hospitality jobs, according the the Vermont Department of Labor came from the abrupt end of winter that happened when the state experienced an early spring heat wave in March. State labor statistics also reported a decrease in the labor force of 1,100 people from March to April.

Despite the naysaying, Shumlin said the unemployment numbers are still good news.

“There are no statistics that wise people can’t criticize,” he said. “In fairness, these unemployment numbers, they’re 4.6 percent, are measured exactly same way they’ve been measuring them for years. That rate was 8.2 percent at the peak of the recession. What I’m hearing from employers across Vermont more and more, they’re not saying to me things are tough we’ve got to lay people off. Instead, they’re expressing optimism.”

Shumlin credited the Legislature for helping the economy by balancing two consecutive budgets without raising broad-based taxes. He also praised lawmakers for passing a law that would put a moratorium on a state sales tax on cloud computing software.

“We’re making the right decisions in Montpelier to help people grow jobs,” he said.

Shumlin said one place where the state needs to improve is income growth.

“There are signs in last few numbers we’ve seen that incomes starting to rise in Vermont,” Shumlin said. “For me that’s really going to be the measure of our success.”

According to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2008 to 2010, median household income in Vermont was $53,490 in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars — making Vermont 15th in the nation.

Shumlin said he is not campaigning until after Labor Day, but he did say he was humbled by a recent poll by two news outlets showing he would likely win 60 percent of the gubernatorial vote if the election were held today.

While Shumlin patted his administration on the back for working to promote jobs, Randy Brock, who is running for governor, chatted with local business owners at the Expo.

Brock, a Republican senator, is not so convinced lawmakers are doing what is best for business.

The top issue on his campaign website says: “As your governor, I will: Change Vermont’s heavy-handed regulatory environment so businesses can create and keep jobs.”

Shumlin said he has focused on job growth.

“I do not believe that anyone with a straight face can say that my team has not been focused on jobs and raising incomes of those who have jobs in Vermont with the exception of rebuilding Vermont better than Irene found us, and I’m like a broken record that’s what we do every day,” he said.

VTDigger

Contact:
Audra Burns
American Heart Association
Communications Director
603.494.2179 (cell)
audra.burns@heart.org

CPR in Schools Bill will Create a New Generation of Lifesavers

Williston,VT – Tommy Watson can soon add a very prestigious name to his log of CPR trainees. Today the eighth-grade student will train Gov. Peter Shumlin in Hands-Only CPR, just before the governor signs S.245. The new law provides every Vermont student with an opportunity to learn CPR before graduating. Enactment of the new law, and a growing list of almost 300 trainees, has far surpassed the 14-year-old Williston student’s goal of training 100 people in Hands-Only CPR for his 8th Grade Challenge.

WHEN: Wednesday May 23, 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Williston Central School, 195 Central School Drive, Williston

“I am really excited to have CPR in schools legislation passed,” said Watson. “It was a huge achievement accomplished. It means a lot to me knowing future generations of Vermont youth are going to be able to potentially make a difference by using this life-saving technique. It is also an honor to be training the Governor of Vermont.”

“Thanks to Tommy’s hard work and commitment to this issue, students across the state for years to come will be trained in CPR and able to step forward with help in emergency situations,” said Gov. Shumlin. “Tommy is an example to other students of how one Vermonter can make a real difference at the State House.”

“We are very proud of Tommy’s leadership in supporting the CPR bill,” said Jackie Parks, principal of Williston Central School. “Our 8th grade challenge gives students an opportunity to pursue an area of interest that has a strong community connection. Tommy’s project is a great example of what we hope students will accomplish with their projects.”

AHA volunteer, emergency physician from Northwester Medical Center, Marc Kutler, said the new CPR law is a much-needed step as hundreds of thousands of cardiac arrest victims die every year because CPR is not started on time. “Teaching CPR to all Vermont students will create a generation in which every brother, sister, son, daughter, friend, and complete stranger is trained in CPR and is prepared to save lives,” said Kutler.

Kutler noted that one barrier, the lack of experience, will be remedied by the hands-on practice included in the law because people are more inclined to take action if they’ve had practice. He added, “New Hands-Only CPR courses also mean the time commitment for training is less than 30 minutes — a very doable task and great skill for our schools to be teaching.”

“I’m alive because my husband knew CPR,” said Michelle Johnston of Shelburne, who suffered sudden cardiac arrest in October 2009. “I get chills thinking about how many more lives might be saved because so many students will know CPR.”

According to the American Heart Association, only 11 percent of the 383,000 people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year survive. In children, less than 9 percent survive from sudden cardiac arrest.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for a new generation of lifesavers to be the beat for someone who needs it,” said Tina Zuk, Government Relations Director of the American Heart Association in Vermont. “Thanks to the new law and Tommy’s efforts, the odds of survival for cardiac arrest victims just increased in Vermont as thousands of students will soon flood our communities with the ability to save lives.”

Bennington Rescue Squad Training Director Erin Ingrebretsen said it’s critical for lay rescuers to know and perform timely CPR especially in many rural parts of Vermont. Ingebretsen said the rescue squad will train students at their local high school in the fall as part of the Bennington Rescue’s efforts to create a Heart Safe Community.

There were many other noted supporters of the bill including:

Senator Kevin Mullins, R-Rutland County, who was the lead sponsor of S.245 and chairs the Senate Education Committee where the first hearing on it was held

Senator Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden County is from Tommy Watson’s hometown of Williston. She also sits on the senate Education Committee. We introduced Tommy to Ginny prior to the session and he showed her how to perform hands-only CPR and told her how his project began. She was a co-sponsor of the CPR legislation.

Senator Phil Baruth, D-Chittenden County who was one of the bill’s biggest champions reporting it out on the Senate floor, testifying in favor of it before the House Committee when they took it up and pushing for the report on what schools were doing with CPR training when the bill went to conference committee

Representative Ann Donovan, D-Burlington, who is the chair of the House Education Committee.

Representative Kevin Christie, D-White River Junction, sits on the House Education Committee, reported the bill out on the House floor and sat on the bill’s conference committee.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

VTDigger

Governor Peter Shumlin spoke about H. 413 to residents of The Lodge and The Shores at Shelburne Bay. VTD Photo/Taylor Dobbs

Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin would win 60 percent of the vote if the gubernatorial election were held today, according to a poll paid for by WCAX and WDEV.

About 27 percent of the more than 600 survey respondents gave their support to Republican Sen. Randy Brock.

The poll, conducted by Castleton Polling Institute, also showed President Barack Obama would win over Republican contender Mitt Romney by a similar margin (59.3 percent to 27.5 percent); Lt. Gov. Phil Scott has a 56.5 percent approval rating; and the Legislature’s approval rating was 57.5 percent. Lawmakers also had high negatives: 31.5 percent disapproved of legislators’ performance in the 2012 session.

At 65 percent, Shumlin’s overall approval rating has outstripped former Republican Gov. Jim Douglas’ favorability ratings, according to Eric Davis, a frequent pundit and retired Middlebury College professor.

Vermont governors tend to have high approval ratings, especially at the beginning of their tenures in office. “It didn’t surprise me Shumlin had over 60 percent,” Davis said. “That’s consistent with first-term governors in the past, such as Douglas and Dean.”

Brock’s media consultant, Robert Wickers, issued a statement downplaying the significance of the poll and attributed Shumlin’s good showing to high name recognition.

“What the poll does not show is the concern voters have about his failed record on jobs, the economy, health care, and energy,” Wickers wrote. “These poll numbers are similar to the poll numbers at the start of Randy Brock’s 2004 campaign for State Auditor, which he went on to win by 10 points.  The campaign for governor has just begun.  As Vermonters learn more about Randy, and hear his positive message of economic growth and prosperity, this race will tighten.”

Davis agrees that name recognition is the name of the game this early in the race.

“I wasn’t surprised Shumlin had a big lead,” Davis said. “Early polls are about name recognition more than anything else. Randy Brock had low name recognition last year and my guess is that he is as low as he was in the (WCAX/WDEV) poll because his name recognition was low. He’s started to run bio ads on TV and that may help him.”

Those ads, however, may no longer be as effective as they once were, Davis said. More voters, in his view, are gravitating to the Web for information instead of relying on broadcast and print news sources. He speculates that candidates may invest more money in Web advertising this campaign season.

VTDigger

Gov. Peter Shumlin holds up the new "I am Vermont Strong" license plate during his State of the State Address. VTD file photo/Josh Larkin

Sometimes a story comes down to a single word.

“Inhale” is one that comes to mind, a la Bill Clinton.

In this case, the word in question is “sold” vs. “distributed,” “produced” or “manufactured.”

Last week Peter Hirschfeld of the Vermont Press Bureau reported that Gov. Peter Shumlin erroneously claimed the state had sold 25,000 Vermont Strong license plates at a press conference last month. (Governor’s office press release.)

What’s in 25,000 plates? For the Shumlin administration a potential credibility gap with the public — and for his political enemies a stick to beat him with in the upcoming campaign season.

Not to mention the potential sullying of a good cause.

The WCAX account made it appear that Shumlin was overstating the case and grabbing headlines.

Previous gaffes helped to make the story stick. Shumlin once mistakenly claimed that 30 percent of Germany’s energy came from solar power (it’s actually 1 percent), and he said in his 2012 state budget address that the job growth rate in Vermont grew by 62 percent over the prior year. The figure Shumlin used actually referred to the percentage increase in job openings.

But was Shumlin engaging in hyperbolic politispeak in this instance? Sources say there could be a political undercurrent at work here — since the story was shopped around to at least three reporters.

Let’s recap.

The April 5 announcement was part of a dog and pony show, in which Rob Ide, the commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, handed Shumlin the 25,000th plate. The governor duly purchased and donated the Vermont Strong plate to a Barre firefighter.

Trouble was, 25,000 plates hadn’t actually been sold. And since this is a story about parsing the parsing, let’s just say that money had not yet changed hands.

Thousands of plates had been distributed to area grocery stores, Vermont Life and Department of Motor Vehicle outlets around the state, and in some cases bills had been issued, but the fact was money wasn’t exactly pouring in to benefit the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund and the Vermont Foodbank.

The bottom line? Money had been collected for 7,832 plates as of May 15, according to Glen Button, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund had received $140,976 and the food bank $15,664. The objective is to sell 50,000 plates in all for a total of $1.25 million — $1 million of which would go to Irene victims. So far, about 28,000 have been manufactured.

On May 7, a week before the Vermont Press Bureau story broke, Ide told VTDigger that as far as he was concerned the plates were as good as sold. The department had distributed 9,990 plates to large vendors like Shaw’s, Price Chopper and Hannafords. At that point, he said, the department had billed out $327,500 to vendors.

“If we give them an invoice,” Ide said. “In my book I’ve sold them.”

A week later, Ide, who helped to plan the celebratory presser with Shumlin’s press secretary Sue Allen, said “we miscommunicated.” Ide meant to say that 25,000 had been manufactured and put into the distribution stream — not sold.

Email, he said, is not his best form of communication. Ide apparently didn’t interpret the email from Allen with the subject line “Any chance we could sell the 25,000 license plate on Thursday?” the same way she did. But in a previous email he named a date and exact time for when the 25,000th plate would be sold: 11:18 a.m. on April 4.

“It is what it is,” Ide said. “It was clearly a miscommunication, and I’m very apologetic about that.”

Who is at fault here? No one, according to Allen. In an interview, she called it “an honest mistake.”

“The governor’s been very candid,” Allen said. “When things go right, he gets all credit. When things go wrong he gets blame. It was a mistake and we’re sorry.”

Ditto, Alex MacLean, Shumlin’s campaign manager and secretary of Civil and Military Affairs: “I’m not going to point fingers.”

Chris Graff, an executive with National Life Insurance Group and a member of the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund board, says the story was a tempest in a teapot. What really matters is ensuring that the state continues to sell as many plates as possible for Irene victims.

“We were disappointed to see we hadn’t sold 25,000 plates, but I know that the event itself was done in good faith that the governor and everyone in the office truly thought the 25,000th plate was being sold because they contacted us,” Graff said.

Graff said it was an embarrassment for the administration and “it’s on something you don’t want to really affect.”

“We need to do everything possible to raise money for Irene survivors and the administration feels that sharply,” Graff said. “They have been incredibly aologetic for this mistake.”

Allen couldn’t agree more. “We just want people to go out and buy the plates,” she said. “They don’t just mean financial assistance for Irene victims, they are a reminder to people who are still trying to recover.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Motor Vehicles is waiting for sales to catch up with inventory. Ide says the manufacture of new Vermont Strong plates has been put on hold until the state moves more of the roughly 20,000 plates it has on hand.

VTDigger

VTDigger

CONTACT:
Susan Allen
Governor’s office
802-279-8493

Saturday, May 19

10:00 a.m. Celebrate the Grand Reopening Celebration for the new Lake Champlain Bridge between Addison, VT and Crown Point, NY

12:15 p.m. Ribbon cutting at Smoke and Cure

10516 Rte. 116, Hinesburg

Sunday, May 20

9:00 a.m. Speak at University of Vermont Graduation Ceremony

University Green, UVM campus, Burlington

Monday, May 21

No public appearances scheduled

Tuesday, May 22

6:00 p.m. Speak at Hero’s & Leaders Dinner

Quechee Club, 3268 Quechee Main Street

Wednesday, May 23

9:30 a.m. The Mark Johnson Show, WDEV radio

10:00 a.m. Present Deane C. Davis Award at The Vermont Expo

Sheraton Conference Center, Burlington

12:00 p.m. Press Conference, Details TBA

Sheraton Conference Center

1:30 p.m. Celebration of S.245, the CPR bill

With Tommy Watson

Williston Central School, 195 Central School Drive

4:00 p.m. Celebration of H.627, dealing with opioid addiction treatment

Turning Point Center, 182 Lake Street, St. Albans

6:20 p.m. Speak at the Lake Champlain Islands Chamber Dinner

The Grand Isle Lake House, East Shore North in Grand Isle

Thursday, May 24

9:15 a.m. Signing Cooperation Agreement between the Gouvernement Du Quebec and the Government of the State of Vermont

With Quebec Premier Jean Charest

The Inn at Shelburne Farms, South Porch

Premier Charest and Gov. Shumlin will be visiting the Vermont Business Expo and attending a reception at the University of Vermont during the day

12:20 p.m. Gov. Shumlin and Premier Charest speak at EXPO luncheon

Diamond Ballroom, Sheraton Conference Center

5:45 p.m. The Premier and Governor will attend meeting with Friends of Northern Lake Champlain

The Tyler Place Family Resort, Highgate Springs

Friday, May 25

10:00 a.m. Speak at Police Academy Graduation

317 Academy Road, Pittsford

Saturday, May 26

9:00 a.m. Memorial Day Service, 5 Corners, Essex Junction

10:00 a.m. Essex Junction Memorial Day Parade

TBA Speak at 2012 Vermont Democratic Convention

Barre Auditorium, 18 Seminary Street, Barre

VTDigger

Sen. Dick Sears, right, and Gov. Peter Shumlin. Photo by Taylor Dobbs

It’s an epidemic.

Or perhaps it isn’t.

It’s killing Vermonters.

Probably, but nobody knows how many.

And it has several Vermont office-holders – starting with Gov. Peter Shumlin – in such a tizzy that they’re attacking one another.

Not that there’s anything new about politicians attacking one another. Republicans and Democrats do it all the time. But this spat does not pit Democrat Shumlin against his Republican opponent, Sen. Randy Brock of St. Albans. They’re on the same side. This is Democrats versus Democrats, basically Shumlin and the Senate against the House leadership.

Though the details are complex, the basics are simple: Some Vermonters are addicted to prescription drugs, and are getting them by illegal acquisition, theft, or various forms of chicanery.

By common consent, this is a serious problem, and the state has been dealing with it, both by expanding treatment through the Health Department and beefing up law enforcement.

In the recently concluded legislative session, lawmakers agreed on several provisions of a comprehensive bill that would make it more difficult for people to circumvent the security restrictions of the prescription drug system.

But on one item, they could not agree: whether the police should be allowed entry into the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System (VPMS), which records information on all prescriptions of Class 2, 3, and 4 drugs, without first getting a warrant.

The Senate wanted to give law enforcement that power. The House did not. The two sides could not reach agreement. The result? No bill at all, and one very angry governor.

“Those who didn’t pass the bill will regret it, and will be back next January perhaps more ready do the right thing.” Shumlin said in his last day remarks to the Senate. He added that prescription drug abuse was so “pervasive” in Vermont that probably no one in the state did not have a “family member, friend, neighbor” whose home, car, or business had not been “robbed by those who are addicted.”

A few days later, Shumlin was even harsher. Directly targeting “the House leadership,” (though not naming Speaker Shap Smith), Shumlin said, “The fact that the House didn’t agree with the Senate version of that bill, I think, is inexcusable. I think Vermonters will die because of it.”

The governor, said his spokesperson, Susan Allen, “feels strongly” about the matter.

When politicians feel strongly, they tend to speak hyperbolically. Actual data would indicate that in a state where burglary and most other crimes are on the decline, relatively few Vermonters have been impacted by prescription drug abuse, even with their friends, relatives and neighbors included.

Among the kinds of crime that are becoming less frequent is – as it happens – prescription drug abuse. According to the state Health Department, “the prevalence of prescription drug misuse in Vermont is declining or remaining steady for all drug categories.”

The Health Department’s latest figures, based on 2009 research by the federal government, indicates that 4.6 percent of adult Vermonters used prescription drugs improperly. That’s a small percentage, but it’s more than 23,000 people.

Vermont Department of Health Commissioner Harry Chen. VTD/Alan Panebaker

Or is it? When it comes to prescription drug abuse, opinions are firm but data are murky. That 4.6 percent figure, for instance, includes “people who have (improperly) used a prescription drug once as well as people who have a more serious problem,” said Barbara Cimaglio, the deputy commissioner for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs.

So the total includes the guy who hurt his back one day and used the prescription painkiller his wife got when she had her tooth pulled as well as the young tough breaking into a pharmacy to steal prescription drugs or into a home to steal money so he can buy the drugs on the black market.

And while the young tough is a danger to the people whose home he burgles, his situation is not really relevant to the controversy over whether the database should be searchable without a warrant. He’s not gaming the state’s prescription drug system. According to Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, those street-corner purchases are probably (though here, too, the data don’t really prove the point) the way most Vermont prescription drug abusers get their goods. If that’s the case, the VPMS – and the squabble over warrants – applies to only a minor portion of the state’s drug abuse problem.

Cimaglio said many abusers in Vermont are otherwise law-abiding, respectable, usually middle-aged, people who grew dependant on pain-killers legally prescribed for them after injury or surgery. Some of them then do try to circumvent a system by getting friends or relatives to feign injury or illness so they can get painkillers prescribed, or by “doctor shopping,” trying to get duplicate prescriptions from several doctors.

These cases might show up on the VPMS database. On the other hand, these middle-aged people are probably not among those breaking into stores or houses. They may be among those buying drugs on the street corners, often from gang members who come to Vermont from southern New England or New York.

The data don’t really support – though they don’t conclusively refute – Shumlin’s prediction that “Vermonters will die” because the Legislature didn’t pass the bill. Vermonters do die from drug abuse. More than 100 died last year, but Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn said it was impossible to determine precisely how many died solely or even primarily from misuse of prescription drugs.

Of the 108 Vermonters who died of drug-related causes last year, 60 were accidents, said Flynn (citing figures from the Health Department’s Medical Examiner’s office), 18 involved “illicit substances,” though not necessarily prescription drugs.

The suggestion that there will be more such deaths without allowing police to get into the data base without a warrant would seem to lie on the spectrum somewhere between conjecture and demagoguery.

By squabbling over the warrant issue, officials convey the impression that they believe the drug problem to be solvable by law enforcement. They do not.

“We can’t fix this problem through arresting people,” said Rep. Ann Pugh, the South Burlington Democrat who chairs the House Human Services Committee. “This is a public health issue. People need treatment.”

Rep. Ann Pugh, center, discusses a bill dealing with access by law enforcement to prescription drug data. VTD/Alan Panebaker

Sen. Dick Sears, the North Bennington Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and favors the warrantless searches as firmly as Pugh opposes them, agrees. A bill he sponsored this year, which did pass, provides for both stricter enforcement of gang-related prescription drug offenses and more treatment of addicts.

But both sides also agree that tighter law enforcement is needed, and even that police should be able to check the VPMS. They only disagree about whether law enforcement officers should first have to get a warrant.

“A lot of time the information we get from medical providers will not be in and of itself evidence of a crime,” Flynn said, and therefore would not justify getting a warrant. “Many times if we get a report (saying) this person … seems to be using abnormal amount of this drug.” If police could get into the system at that point, he said, they might be able to help the addict before he or she gets into worse legal trouble.

Sears, upset that some critics claimed that the Senate bill would allow “unfettered access” to the VPMS, said the Senate bill would provide “more protection for privacy” than a warrant requirement. Under the Senate bill, he said, “just four specially trained drug investigators” could get access to the database, and only after getting a tip from a druggist or health care provider. They would be liable for criminal prosecution if they broke those rules, he said.

But this was not enough protection for House leaders such as Pugh and Judiciary Committee Chair William Lippert of Hinesburg.

“Warrants are regularly applied for by law enforcement when they want to pierce the search and seizure protections” of the Constitution, he said. “We believe private, personal medical records are an extension of the privacy expectations of Vermonters.”

Furthermore, Lippert said, his committee had been warned that a warrantless search would immediately be challenged in court on constitutional grounds.

If precedent is any guide, that challenge would likely fail. Since 1904, Flynn said, Vermont law has allowed any law enforcement officer to walk into any drug store and see anyone’s prescription file, without a warrant, without even having to give the druggist a reason. When that law was challenged, in 1992, the challenge failed, if only by a 3-2 vote.

In State versus Welch, the Vermont Supreme Court agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court that the prescription drug industry was so “pervasively regulated” that neither druggists nor customers had any “expectation of privacy.”

As Lippert pointed out, that decision predates development of the drug database as well as congressional passage in 1996 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) designed to enhance patient privacy. It is hard to predict whether the court would issue the same ruling today, or whether the Legislature would vote today to give law enforcement that power to see everyone’s drug records. Though no one has taken a poll, it is reasonable to suspect that most Vermonters think they have – or at least that they should have – an “expectation of privacy” about records that the court acknowledged “contain extremely private and potentially embarrassing information.”

This battle is likely to be resumed next year, if not earlier, with all contestants remaking all points.

With one point continuing not to be made. Both Sears and Flynn said outside gang members who peddle prescription drugs are attracted to Vermont for two reasons: because there are potential customers here, and because it’s very easy to get guns in Vermont.

Raising an interesting question: Would moderate gun control laws similar to those in neighboring states be as effective in combating prescription drug abuse as allowing police to get into the VMPS without a warrant?

Don’t expect any elected official to bring that up.

VTDigger

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2012

CONTACT:  Randy Brock
(802) 230-4450

Montpelier, VT – Vermont gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock (R) launched an online petition.randybrock.com/refund petition drive today urging Governor Shumlin and Gaz Metro to directly repay CVPS ratepayers $21 million owed as part of an agreement made over a decade ago that helped the Vermont utility remain solvent.

“Ratepayers loaned the money in good faith and deserve to be paid back, it is as simple as that,” said Brock.  “I will continue to lead the effort to get cash or credit against electric bills for the $21 million ratepayers are owed.  I encourage all Vermonters to go to our website, sign the petition, and tell Governor Shumlin to make the utility pay the money back.”

Headlined “Tell Governor Shumlin: Repay the $21 Million,” the online petition asks Vermonters to join Randy Brock’s effort in securing a direct cash refund by providing their name and email address.

Randy Brock is a two term State Senator from Franklin County and served as Vermont’s 28th State Auditor.  Prior to public service, Brock was a successful small business owner and spent three decades in the private sector.

VTDigger

Gov. Peter Shumlin gives a speech with lawmakers and renewable energy advocates at a bill signing in East Montpelier.

Gov. Peter Shumlin touted Vermont’s progress in the renewable energy field with the signing of three bills at a small hydroelectric and solar project Friday.

The 2012 energy bill, the most prominent of the three, will more than double the amount of favorable contracts available for small in-state renewable energy projects. That bill also holds a provision that will allow utility customers to opt out of “smart meters” free of charge.

That “standard offer” program guarantees above-market power contracts for 127.5 megawatts of local projects such as solar and hydro projects. Currently the program allows for 50 megawatts, and fewer than 10 are built.

Various heads of renewable energy companies showed up to support the bill.

Shumlin said it will be good for business.

“I think the proof that Vermont is getting this right is in the simple fact that Department of Labor statistics show that Vermont has more green high-tech jobs per capita than any state in the nation,” he said. “We are getting this right.”

This year’s energy bill ensures a guaranteed price for renewable projects that produce less than 2.2 megawatts of electricity — lending stability to the often struggling renewable power industry.

It falls short of requiring utilities to purchase and account for a set amount of renewable energy through what is called a renewable portfolio standard.

A renewable portfolio standard would have required utilities in Vermont to purchase renewable energy and retire the renewable energy credits. Under current law, utilities have to meet a percentage of their electric load from renewable energy projects. Power companies in Vermont can then sell the renewable energy credits. Other states require utilities to retire the credits.

That part of the bill came out during the final few days of the legislative session when it appeared the energy bill might not survive at all. The shift came amid persistent pressure from large industry groups arguing it would increase electric rates an unreasonable amount.

Shumlin said he has reservations about the renewable requirement from the beginning.

“I have concerns about walking the tightrope between building our renewables and keeping our current electric rates low,” he said. “Because we know there’s no greater job motivator than affordable electricity, I thought it made more sense to go with a predictable standard offer and leave the renewable portfolio standard for another day.”

The fundamental difference between the two approaches is that one requires utilities to buy a set amount of renewable energy (it would have been 35 percent by 2032), and the other allows developers to apply for the favorable contracts in the standard offer while letting utilities sell credits from that energy to other states that have renewable portfolio standards.

Tony Klein, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, said when it comes to getting projects built in Vermont, the standard offer is more efficient.

“The standard offer really builds real things,” Klein said. “An RPS [renewable portfolio standard] doesn’t build anything. It’s just an academic accounting system.”

Some environmental groups disagree.

Ben Walsh, an energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said the standard offer will help incentivize more in-state projects, but Vermont should have an accounting mechanism also.

“The renewable portfolio standard not being included was a blow for clean energy,” Walsh said. “A complete energy policy would include an RPS.”

Others think the law goes too far and will cause spikes in energy costs for ratepayers.

Guy Page, communications director for the Vermont Energy Partnership, a coalition of businesses that supports the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, said the stability provided for renewables in the 20-year contract is a good thing for the renewable industry, it seems like an artificial cost hike that ratepayers will have to swallow.

In its tumultuous journey through the Statehouse, the energy bill became part of another bill dealing with smart meters — which offer more accurate and timely data on energy usage than traditional analog meters.

The state’s two largest utilities plan to roll out the meters as part of efforts to reduce peak electric demand, when power is most expensive and comes from the dirtiest sources.

Utilities had planned to charge customers $10 a month who opted out of the technology. Some customers have expressed concerns over the radio frequencies emitted by the meters and potential privacy issues. Under the bill signed Friday, customers will be able to opt out without having to pay the charge.

Gov. Shumlin said he was “pro-choice” on the issue but thought Vermonters would opt in once they realized the smart meters could save them money on their energy bills.

“I’m firmly pro-choice when it comes to lots of issues,” Shumlin said. “I do believe inevitably Vermonters should decided what kind of meters they want on their home. Having said that, I think when Vermonters figure out the extraordinary energy efficiency and money saved they can get from utilizing smart meters, they’ll adopt smart meters.”

Klein was more adamant about his opposition to the fee.

“I think that if smart meters are so wonderful, and they’re going to save so many people and the industry so much money why are they whining and complaining about a few people keeping what they have,” Klein said. “The point is they should be able to keep what they have.”

The governor also re-signed bills dealing with expedited permitting for small hydroelectric projects and creating a uniform tax for solar plants.

VTDigger

FEMA WILL GIVE VERMONT 90 PERCENT FUNDING FOR IRENE REPAIR WORK

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. – The State of Vermont, municipalities, and some non-profit groups will be getting more federal money to reimburse them for costs incurred during Tropical Storm Irene and the subsequent clean up and repairs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that President Obama has approved Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin’s request for the federal government to reimburse applicants for 90 percent of the eligible costs to repair or restore infrastructure damaged by Irene instead of the standard 75 percent.

“This announcement marks a major milestone in our recovery from Tropical Storm Irene,” Governor Shumlin said. “It will mean significant savings for municipal budgets across the state, and for the state budget as well. We are incredibly grateful to President Obama and the Congressional Delegation, and also to FEMA for this welcome news.”

“We hope that this will help the state and its communities in their ongoing recovery,” said Federal Coordinating Officer James N. (Nick) Russo, the head of FEMA’s mission in Vermont. “We know that Vermont and its towns and cities are working as hard as they can to repair damage, and we’re working hard to get them their money.”

The FEMA Public Assistance (PA) program provides funding to repair roads and bridges, put water systems and electric utilities back in order, rebuild libraries and replace damaged books, repair hospitals and emergency services, rebuild schools and universities, and pay for other infrastructure restoration statewide.

It also reimburses communities and certain private non-profits for expenses associated with debris removal, emergency protective measures like search and rescue operations, and the cost of eliminating public safety or health hazards, like removing animal carcasses or demolishing unsafe buildings.

FEMA’s PA program typically reimburses 75 percent of the eligible cost of these projects, with the state and municipality sharing the remainder.

However, according to FEMA’s regulations up to 90 percent reimbursement is permitted if actual federal aid to a state for a disaster, minus FEMA’s administrative costs, meets or exceeds $127 per person.

With a population of 625,741 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, that means if the actual cost of FEMA aid to the state exceeds $79,469,107 the state becomes eligible for 90 percent reimbursement, at the discretion of the president.

So far FEMA has obligated, or paid to the state, approximately $64.7 million in reimbursement for Public Assistance projects related to Tropical Storm Irene, as well as $22 million in Individual Assistance to individuals and families for losses.

The increased reimbursement will be provided to both completed projects and those in process. It will not apply to projects related to the spring 2011 flooding.

To learn more visit: http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/index.shtm

VTDigger