Lawmakers approved to more than 20 bills on Tuesday in a marathon session that began mid-morning and ended well into the evening.
There was little or no discussion on legislation ranging from the $639 million transportation bill to new fees on environmental permits to a ban on minors using tanning beds. A number of the bills passed on a voice vote.
Many of the bills must be passed on second and third reading before they go on to the Senate.
Here is a rundown on a few of the new proposed laws:
Renewable energy bill passes on party line vote
In a 96-45 vote, the House gave an initial nod to House Bill 468.
The bill would require utilities to purchase 35 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2032. It also sets a goal of 75 percent renewable energy. Unlike the state’s existing renewable energy program, which is voluntary, the bill would make the utilities retain renewable energy credits for 35 percent of their energy.
Critics say the legislation will have an impact on electricity bills in Vermont.
Rep. Margaret Cheney, vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, said the bill would have an average rate impact of 4.3 percent for utility customers in 2025.
Cheney said the measure lays the groundwork for the state to move toward more renewable energy.
“It sets the pace for next 20 years,” Cheney said. “It does so in tandem with other New England states. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s very sensitive to any impact on electric rates. It’s deliberate, balanced and some would say slow.”
Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, who voted against the bill said, “I believe the return in the bill is not worth the costs.”
The estimated 2 percent decrease in carbon emissions as a result of more renewable energy is not worth the rate hike, she said.
The bill would also expand the standard offer program, which allows small in-state projects to lock in a set rate.
Environmental groups have generally supported the idea of a renewable portfolio standard.
One outspoken critic of the state’s existing renewable energy program says it keeps up bad habits.
Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, said the bill would keep a program in place that encourages utilities to buy energy from renewable projects but allows them to sell the renewable attributes or credits that come with the power to other states.
While utilities say selling these renewable energy credits helps keep rates down, Jones said it forces Vermonters to buy expensive power that subsidizes states like Massachusetts and Connecticut to meet their goals. Once the credits are sold, power from a renewable source is no longer considered “green” under a regional accounting program.
Under the current renewable energy program in Vermont, utilities sell the majority of the renewable energy credits to Connecticut and Massachusetts.
~Alan Panebaker
H.78, recourse for unpaid employees
This bill gives new protections to employees who are laid off as a result of a business closing its doors.
Under the proposed statute, employees would have the option of placing a lien against an employers’ property for 30 days worth of unpaid wages. The notice of the lien must be placed with the Secretary of State’s office.
Companies in dissolution proceedings would be required to issue a statement to the Department of Labor regarding any unpaid wages owed to employees.
The directors and shareholders of a corporation would be liable for any unpaid wages.
Rep. Michel Consejo, D-Swanton, proposed the bill four years ago after a company in his district closed suddenly without paying its employees back pay. “I saw that as such an injustice,” Consejo said.
“I believe when someone works and makes money for employers they should have the result of what they have done,” Consejo said.
Passed on voice vote.
~Anne Galloway
H.157, House bans tanning beds for minors
The House supported a ban on juvenile tanning bed use. The bill creates penalties for tanning bed operators who allow persons under 18 to use the devices. The fines are $100 for the first offense, and $500 for subsequent offenses.
Rep. Patti Komline, R-Dorset, who reported the bill for the House Health Care Committee, said lawmakers heard testimony from medical professionals who said minors who use tanning beds are more likely to contract melanoma.
According to the American Cancer Society, individuals who used indoor tanning devices before the age of 30 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. The incidence of melanoma in Vermont increased to above the national average from 1999 to 2008.
The commissioner of the Department of Health has said the statute will be difficult to enforce. The bill makes it possible for any individual to report any suspected violations to local law enforcement.
Passed on voice vote.
Read the VTDigger.org synopsis of the bill.
H.474, Prohibition of sale of cigars to minors
Under this provision, the state would prohibit the sale of tobacco substitutes to minors and require stores to sell “cheaparillos” or small cigars behind a counter and in packages of 20.
Small cigars are targeted to minors, according to Rep. Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, with candy flavors and flamboyant names. In New Hampshire, Krowinski said, the cigarettes are totally banned.
“They’re a cheap alternative to cigarettes, and Vermont child are as likely to smoke cigars as cigarettes,” Krowinski said.
The legislation also bans cigarette rolling machines.
Passed on voice vote.
~Anne Galloway
H.751, Juveniles to go through family court
Under H.751, young people who are charged with misdemeanor crimes will go to family court instead of criminal court where they are now processed as adults.
“Prosecuting youths in adult court doesn’t reduce recividism,” said Rep. Susan Wizowaty, D-Burlington.
Studies show that young people have impaired judgment, Wizowaty told her colleagues in the Chamber. “They don’t understand the consequences of what they’re doing so they require a different judicial response.”
Vermont and North Carolina are the only two states that charge juveniles with misdemeanor offenses in adult court.
Passed on a voice vote.
~Anne Galloway
H.770, Transportation budget
The House passed the largest transportation budget in history on Tuesday — $639 million — about $100 million more than last year’s budget.
The additional expenditures include $93.4 million for Tropical Storm Irene related public assistance spending for the replacement of the state hospital and office complex among other infrastructure costs ($66 million) and road repairs ($26 million) for fiscal year 2013. The Agency of Transportation is hiring 21 more employees (17 of which are limited service positions) and embarking on what the secretary of the agency Brian Searles calls the “biggest bridge program we’ve ever had.”
Rep. Patrick Brennan, chair of the House Transportation, thanked Vermonters for their patience with road repairs post-Irene. “A lot of repairs are temporary at this point but eventually will become permanent,” Brennan said.
The Shumlin administration is going ahead with projects that had been in the construction queue for this year in addition to new repairs that must be done after Irene.
“There’s a sense of urgency with Irene,” Searles said. “It not only is the largest transportation program in the history of Vermont, it also allows the lessons of Irene to be carried forward in 2013.”
The state will spend $123 million alone on bridges this year. About one-third of those bridges will be replaced through an accelerated bridge program in which the state will close the road for repairs instead of allowing one-way traffic on a temporary bridge. Searles says bridges in the accelerated program cost one-quarter to one-third less.
The administration increased town highway aid by $1.5 million this year. The total is $26.4 million.
Paving alone will cost the state $104 million this year.
Spending on “alternate modes” of travel — that is aviation, rail, public transit, pedestrian and biking facilities and park and rides — total $73.4 million. Public transit gets about a third of that chunk in funding.
The bill passed in a roll call vote, 139-0.
