Governor Scott took the gloves off at his Thursday press conference, calling out the Democrat Supermajority not just over the sticker-shock cost estimates for their cherished Clean Heat Standard (Act 18), but also their lack of transparency and honesty over the past year and a half of the program’s development.
Scott said, “The cost estimates for the legislature’s Clean Heat Standard [$10 billion in total, meaning a likely carbon credit fee of $1.78 to $4.03 per gallon of heating oil and kerosene and $0.95 to $2.12 for propane] are alarming. [Uh, yeah.] All along the way, we asked the legislature to fully consider the impact of the Clean Heat Standard and be honest about the costs and complications.” They have not.
Of course, questions and concerns about the cost and logistics of implementing a mandatory Carbon Credit system for the thermal sector have been swirling since the idea of a Clean Heat Standard was first floated three years ago. Many people with a variety of relevant expertise testified before House and Senate Committees that completely transforming how we heat our homes and businesses, make hot water, and cook our food was going to be wildly expensive, incredibly disruptive, and logistically difficult if not impossible because, duh.
The Democrats and Progressives in the legislature smugly ignored these warnings and actively suppressed any public discussion or debate about the price, who will pay the regressive nature of the carbon tax aspects of the law, and the actual feasibility of how such a program could work. They were – and still are – aided and abetted in this public information blackout by a (mostly) compliantly biased Montpelier press corps. (Initially, I accidentally typed “corpse,” and maybe should have left that as a more accurate descriptor.)
Scott blasted this disinformation-by-non-information tactic, pointing out, “We’ve now spent more than a year working on a legislative mandated policy before we knew what it would cost if it would work, or if we could even do it. And it turns out we probably can’t.” And here he made the comparison to the dirt dart that was Single Payer Healthcare. (Just as I did earlier this week! Is Governor Scott a closet BTL fan? If so, he should become a paid subscriber!) “We should learn from the mistakes of the past,” he said, implying that the advocates not only screwed up their signature climate legislation but did so because they’re kind of dim to begin with. “Vermonters deserve better.” And there’s the smack!
If you’re a regular reader of Behind the Lines (like the Gov?), you know by now the details surrounding the Clean Heat Standard policy. But the new and interesting development here is that Governor Scott – arguably the most popular governor in the country — looks like he’s ready and willing to play some political hardball. And not just regarding the Clean Heat Carbon Tax. Scott also went on offense with, “We can’t forget about the Renewable Energy Standard, another bill the legislature passed over my veto which will raise electrical rates, costing Vermonters millions of dollars,” and rifled off a list of other legislation the Supermajority passed to make life less affordable including “historic property tax increases, higher DMV fees, a new payroll tax, and so much more….”
But the key line he delivered was this: “Now that there’s an election around the corner, it seems some legislators have second thoughts [about the Clean Heat Standard]. But I’m concerned about what they’ll do in January when the election is over.” Now, this was in an official press conference, not a campaign rally, so a certain level of non-partisan restraint was required, but you don’t need a translator to get the message: Don’t trust ‘em! Vote ‘em out in the November election so they can’t come back in January and jack up your home heating bill.
This was great to see, and let’s hope we see more of it on the campaign trail. Phil Scott can be an effective campaigner when he wants to be or has to be, though he hasn’t wanted or had to it seems since 2016. Maybe the sting of having a dozen or so of his vetoes overridden this biennium has awakened the sleeping giant. And can the giant provide some coattails?
