Vermont Conservation Voters, a group that seeks to make environmental policy a priority for state officials, publicly launched the 2015 Vermont Environmental Scorecard earlier this month.
The scorecard rates lawmakers on a scale of 0 to 100 percent, indicating how often they voted in line with the group’s priorities.
The bills cited by the group include new rules for protecting water quality, a ban on plastic “microbeads” in liquid soaps and cosmetics and an expansion of the state’s renewable energy programs.
The scorecard can be found here.
Lawmakers said the VCV ranking doesn’t capture the nuances of their voting records and stances on environmental issues.
Rep. Mark Huntley, D-Cavendish, for example, was surprised by his strong environmental record. VCV gave Huntley a 100 percent ranking, both for the 2015 session and for his entire legislative tenure.
“It’s not like I go around throwing garbage out the window or anything, but I hate to say it, but it’s not me,” Huntley. “It’s really not who I am — I’m not Mr. Joe Conservationist.”
Huntley said he doesn’t tend to vote down the party line.
But the environmental scorecard shows Democrats do frequently vote in line with Vermont Conservation Voters’ priorities.
Of the 79 legislators who for their 2015 voting records earned a score of 100 percent from the group, only five of those identified as Republican, another five as Progressive, and two more as Independent. Democrats made up the remaining 67.
There were no Republicans included among the 33 lawmakers for whose entire legislative record VCV awarded a 100 percent rating. Only one independent and three Progressives received top ratings. The remainder were Democrats.
Rep. Job Tate, R-Mendon, said he’s actually somewhat more environmentally-minded than the scorecard indicates.
“I suspected I wouldn’t have a glowing report [from VCV], but I know my constituents know I care about the environment,” Tate said.
Tate missed one vote all year, he said, and had he been present his vote would have earned him a 20 percent rating from VCV’s scorecard.
That was the bill banning microbeads in beauty products, which Tate said he missed to attend a funeral.
Currently Tate holds the sole 0 percent rating.
Tate’s district has some of Vermont’s most wild lands, he said, and his both he and his constituents hold it dear. At the same time, he said, his constituents want no new taxes. When the two priorities conflict, he votes against taxes, Tate said.
Lauren Hierl, VCV’s political director, says the scorecard may not be as nuanced as lawmakers would like, but it offers residents a useful guide to legislators’ priorities.
The purpose of the scorecard is to give constituents an opportunity to reach out to their senators and representatives and ask them to continue voting as they have or to consider another position, Hierl said.
“I think our legislators across the board really do listen to their constituents,” Hierl said. “If they’re hearing from people … it might or might not change how they vote at the end of the day, but it gets them thinking, and overall our legislators really do care about their constituents.”
