Remember TDI New England? The 2010s-era, 1,000-megawatt, $1.2 billion (that’s in 2016 dollars) underground and underwater power line proposed to connect southern New England to hydro- and wind-powered electricity from Quebec?
Well, according to Gov. Phil Scott, the project “has legs again.”
Scott trekked down to Washington, D.C. last week for the National Governors Association’s winter meeting, where, according to his retelling to reporters on Tuesday, he sat down with fellow New England governors to discuss energy sources and prices in the Northeast.
“Now, this may be a bit of a blast from the past for some of you, but we had a lengthy discussion about TDI,” Scott said, full of hope and optimism. “As you might remember, we heavily promoted this in my first term, and would have used the revenue for Lake Champlain cleanup. But unfortunately, Massachusetts decided to go in a different direction, so the line was never built.”
Things have changed, though, Scott said, and the project is back on the table, “which would be good news for Vermont and the entire region.”
Former Gov. Peter Shumlin was also a proponent of the project, and Scott carried the torch when he took over the Fifth Floor. Planned at the time to run under nearly 100 miles of Lake Champlain, environmental regulators gave the proposal the all-clear back in 2015. In 2017, it was estimated that the power line’s Vermont footprint could provide the state roughly $7.5 million annually for the next 40 years, which officials proposed at the time to dedicate to Lake Champlain cleanup efforts.
— Sarah Mearhoff
UNABASHED SELF-PROMOTION
VTDigger has launched its 2023 Legislative Guide. Final Readers — the freaks and geeks that you are — are likely intimately familiar with the workings of the Statehouse. But if you need a refresher, our Legislative Guide is here to provide.
Memory-holed how to watch livestreams of floor sessions and committee hearings? We’ve got it covered.
Want to send a note to your local legislator? Check it out.
Forgot Schoolhouse Rock’s famous ballad? We can tell you how a bill becomes a law.
The Legislative Guide is also home to our bill tracker, where we keep tabs on the status of a number of key bills we’re following this legislative session. (Think we missed any biggies? You know where to find me.)
And you can also find all of our latest coverage from inside the Statehouse. How convenient!
— Sarah Mearhoff
IN THE KNOW
The Vermont Department for Children and Families is seeking to build an eight-bed secure facility in St. Albans for teens involved in the criminal justice system. The department has pitched the plan as a temporary solution while the state works to build a permanent site for youthful offenders.
At a Feb. 2 hearing in the House Corrections and Institutions Committee, state officials told lawmakers that the department plans to use the St. Albans facility for at least five to eight years.
“Let’s hope it’s not longer than a few years,” committee chair Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, said with a sigh. “Let’s hope.”
— Riley Robinson
As Vermont lawmakers debate a bill that would legalize sports betting in the state, they are focusing on what it would take to regulate the large companies that operate betting platforms and provide users here with the resources needed to address problem gambling.
The bill, H.127, would allow two to six companies to operate mobile sports betting platforms in Vermont under the supervision of the state’s Department of Liquor and Lottery, according to the latest draft of the legislation. Sports betting — as well as participation in fantasy sports — would be restricted to people ages 21 and older.
Proponents of the bill say that illegal sports betting is already commonplace online, and a state-controlled, legal market could enact guardrails and offer Vermont a new, though modest, revenue source.
— Shaun Robinson
The Senate Appropriations Committee appears inclined to whittle down the House’s $21 million proposal to extend emergency housing in motels as is until June 30.
The budget-writing panel hasn’t yet made a final decision about its draft H.145, although that could come as soon as tomorrow. But senators have spent significant time discussing a Scott administration proposal — which closely mirrors the House Human Services Committee’s initial recommendation — to begin restricting eligibility to seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities.
The administration’s chief argument? With participating motels already at capacity, many are on the streets anyway, and the first-come, first-served model currently in place doesn’t allow the state to prioritize the most vulnerable.
“It’s a really hard thing to end a program like this. It’s a really, really hard thing. But just so you know, we are turning families away — today. They are calling DCF, with kids, and we say ‘So sorry. We don’t have a hotel room for you,’” Shayla Livingston, policy director for the Agency of Human Services, told the committee. “So I just want it to be very clear that we’re not housing all Vermonters right now. And if we just keep extending it, we’re going to continue to not be able to do that.”
— Lola Duffort
Editor’s note: Shayla Livingston is married to VTDigger editor-in-chief Paul Heintz. Heintz was not involved in the assigning, editing or publication of this newsletter.
ON THE MOVE
A bill that aims to ban the operation of paramilitary training camps such as Slate Ridge in West Pawlet is one step closer to becoming law.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 Tuesday to advance the bill, S.3, to the full Senate for consideration. The bill still would need to pass the House before heading to the governor.
Whether Gov. Phil Scott would ultimately sign off on the legislation, however, remains an open question. Asked about the bill at a Tuesday press conference, Scott said he had not yet reviewed the bill but said he isn’t inherently opposed to it.
“I’m not closed-minded to it,” Scott said. “I just don’t know the particulars and what far-reaching effects it would have. I don’t know if there are any other facilities in Vermont, to be honest with you, and whether it would encompass any other training-type facilities or not, if it’s specific to a certain segment — I just don’t know.”
— Alan Keays
CORRECTION SECTION
The Feb. 2 edition of Final Reading included the incorrect bill number for legislation to address violence against health care providers. It’s S.36.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
If you couldn’t tell by all of the pink and red garb in the building today, it’s Valentine’s Day! Devastatingly, not everyone was aware: I overheard someone in the cafeteria say they thought the big day was tomorrow. RIP.
On your commute to the Statehouse this morning, you probably saw red paper hearts fluttering all over downtown Montpelier’s storefront windows. They’re thanks to the mysterious Valentine’s Day Bandit who, every year, under the cloak of night, paints the town with the festive display.
I asked Montpelierite, former-city council member, state representative and man-about-town Conor Casey who the culprit is — but he’s not one to kiss and tell.
“The Bandit has run the Montpelier political machine ever since the city was incorporated in 1895,” Casey said in an impassioned text message. “Elections in this town are a farce — it’s a corrupt system where folks are bought and paid for with heart-shaped boxes. We’re all puppets… and the Bandit pulls the strings.”
“Who is the Bandit?” he asked, building suspense. “I like my kneecaps too much to ever tell.”
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT WE’RE READING
The Deeper Dig: What’s happened at Vermont sheriffs’ departments (VTDigger)
The ice cream conspiracy (NPR)
After 50 years, Brattleboro violin maker still finds wonder and mystery in the process (Vermont Public)
