State lawmakers in the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee unanimously voted Friday morning to advance legislation that’s been dubbed the “Affordable Heat Act,” which would establish a clean heat standard in Vermont.
Using a credit system, the clean heat standard would incentivize Vermonters to transition to heating and cooling systems that reduce carbon emissions. Weatherization projects, heat pumps, pellet stoves and some biofuels would be eligible for credits.
Meanwhile, entities that sell fossil fuel heat into the state would need to obtain credits over time, and those credits would be funneled into the clean heat marketplace.
The bill, S.5, is headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. If it continues to win support, it would move to the Senate floor, the House and finally the governor’s desk.
Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a similar bill last session, and lawmakers failed to override that veto by one vote. This session, an unprecedented supermajority of Democrats and Progressives in the Legislature gives the bill better odds.
The bill was one of the top recommendations of the Climate Action Plan, which outlines strategies to meet Vermont’s legally binding emissions reduction requirements. It’s projected to drastically reduce emissions that come from heating and cooling Vermont’s buildings.
Committee members have heard from more than 50 witnesses on the bill, according to Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, the chair.
As the lawmakers tallied votes, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden-Central, paid a visit to the committee room.
“I just wanted to personally thank the committee,” he said. “This is a huge lift, I understand. I have been amazed at your intensity and your focus, and I am just eternally grateful that you have stuck to the task.”
So far this session, much of the debate has centered around whether the bill would be expensive for Vermonters. Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, has argued that Vermonters may face a choice between expensive upfront costs to install clean heat measures and an expected bump in fossil fuel heating prices — though it’s nearly impossible to determine how big that bump might be. Lawmakers have considered Moore’s self-described “back-of-the-envelope” math to be inaccurate.
Cost was among the topics of conversation during a discussion Friday morning with Xusana Davis, executive director of the state’s Office of Racial Equity, who was testifying before the committee. Sen. Becca White, D-Windsor, said the bill is designed to address the high upfront costs of clean heat.
“I kind of see this bill as the response to that. … Vermonters in that situation, myself included, can’t outlay $5,000 for a cold climate heat pump tomorrow,” White said. “But this program creates the marketplace to have incentives so that those upfront costs become far less, and we also have a workforce that develops to lower the costs.”
Environment and climate groups are generally split on their assessment of the bill. Some have expressed concerns that the bill would incentivize Vermonters to adopt biofuels as a form of clean energy, which could increase “(greenhouse gas) emissions, threaten the health of marginalized communities, and harm crucial ecosystems,” several environmental groups wrote in a press release about the bill. They include Stop VT Biomass, Slingshot and Standing Trees.
Other environmental organizations, such as the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, the Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Sierra Club, along with groups such as Rights and Democracy and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility strongly support the bill.
Davis, whose testimony Friday morning focused on equity components of the legislation, said her office was pleased with many of its components. But she encouraged the committee to strengthen and reconsider other parts.
“Are you prepared to sign off on the bill, in terms of its equity, or do you have some recommendations for us?” Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor, asked Davis.
“I don’t think that the bill in its current version quite meets the mark on equity,” Davis responded. “Simple things can be done to bring it closer, but at the end of the day, I think that the implementation is really going to be where we’re seeing what the commitment really is.”
Her concerns, among others, included whether the bill includes enough funding, ensures Vermonters who don’t speak English can understand and access the program, properly defines low and moderate incomes and allows policymakers to understand demographic data associated with energy burdens in the state.
Lawmakers engaged in conversation about whether to address Davis’s concerns in the bill before their vote, or whether to address them down the line in the legislative process. Davis warned committee members not to let equity provisions slide.
The committee may propose amendments with new equity recommendations when the bill hits the Senate floor, likely in a week or more.
