News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Rob Roper 
On November 7, the voters of the Bennington 1 House district (Woodford, Searsburg, Readsboro, Stamford, and most of Pownal) appeared to have elected Democrat Jonathan Cooper over Republican Bruce Busa by a squeaker of twenty-five votes. A recount narrowed the margin to thirteen, all of Busa’s recount gains occurring in the town of Pownal. However, … Read more
Okay, we have established that the Clean Heat Standard is an unnecessarily costly, unnecessarily complicated, ruthlessly regressive, unworkable word salad of legal confusion. But, hey, at least, so bleated its supporters incessantly for three plus years, it wasn’t/isn’t a tax, fee, surcharge on home heating fuel, right? So, what’s are the options for moving forward … Read more
A Case Study In How Not to Govern After eighteen months of attempting to build a governing structure for the Clean Heat Standard, the Public Utilities Commission concluded, “…that this program is not well suited to Vermont.” It’s expensive, complicated, and, as they illustrate over a dozen pages in section X of their report, Problems with … Read more
Governor Scott is set to unveil his proposals for education reform this week, fulfilling campaign promises to lower property taxes which are a direct result of public school spending. But there are powerful special interests that want to keep that money flowing from your pocket to theirs. Chief among them, the Vermont Teacher’s Union, the … Read more
The first attempt at spinning the Clean Heat Standard (Act 18) was that it was a “solution” to “global warming” in the thermal sector, hence the name of its mother law, the Global Warming “Solutions” Act. But after bouts of major flooding throughout Vermont made it obvious to everybody that this and programs like it … Read more
So much to unpack from Thursday’s big reveal of the Clean Heat Standard rules package from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)! The big news is we got an “official” cost impact estimate – sort of. Just shy of a billion dollars over ten years with the impact per gallon of fuel oil bouncing from 8 … Read more
Governor Scott gave a good inaugural speech this week echoing the voters’ call for “affordability” in the last election. “Vermonters told us – loudly and clearly,” explained Scott, “they expect us to get back on course; to spend within THEIR means; and above all else, make Vermont more affordable for them.” I think this sums it … Read more
Next to perhaps property taxes, the biggest issue to motivate voters’ rejection of the Democrats’ supermajorities in the last election was that party’s tone-deaf attitude regarding the Clean Heat Standard carbon tax/fee/surcharge on home heating fuels. In a state where people are struggling mightily to make ends meet the idea of adding a $1-$4 tax … Read more
Following the seismic gains Vermont Republicans made in the state senate last November, shifting the partisan balance in the body from 7-23 to 13-17, Republican Randy Brock (R-Franklin) is making a bid to be Senate President Pro Tem which, if successful, would oust the current holder of that position, Philip Baruth (D/P-Chittenden). This is good … Read more
Vermont voters screamed that affordability is the number one issue we want the legislature to address in 2025. While lawmakers have little control over what we pay for eggs and hamburger, what they do have control over – total control over at the state level — is what we pay in taxes, fees, and regulatory … Read more
As we reach the quarter-century mark in the new millennium, it’s worth looking back on what the politics of this era have done for (or, spoiler alert, “to”) Vermont. First, some important historical context: The last time Vermont Republicans had a majority in the Senate was 1996. The last time Vermont Republicans had a majority … Read more
Act 183 establishing The Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont (a name almost as convoluted as the system it’s supposed to reform) is charged by law to, among other tasks, submit “a written report containing its preliminary findings and recommendations, including short-term cost containment considerations for the 2025 legislative session, [emphasis added] on or … Read more
While the question remains to be seen if a majority of elected legislators got the message on November 5th that Vermonters want nothing to do with home heating taxes or any other fees and charges that make life in our state more unaffordable than it already is, one entity assuredly did not get the message: the … Read more
Vermont’s unaffordability crisis is most visibly driven by high taxes that come directly out of our pockets: sky-high property taxes, above-average sales taxes, fees on our electric bills, the new payroll tax, etc. A “clean heat” surcharge on fuel bills would be easy to spot. But the mandates our legislators saddle local businesses with – … Read more
Act 18, the Clean Heat Standard law, required the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to design the detailed rules for how the program’s carbon credit market would work in practice. That plan is due, and the PUC’s draft report indicates it doesn’t. Work that it. One main component of the PUC’s task is to determine who … Read more
In an interview on WVMT’s Morning Drive, the newly elected Democrat Majority Leader in the Vermont House, Lori Houghton (D-Essex), blamed their historic election losses on (drumroll) poor communications. Asked by host Kurt Wright what lessons she took from November 5th, Houghton replied, “Vermonters didn’t understand that what we passed will help them. And we … Read more
Sane people are puzzled over the question of how our Vermont public school system can lose roughly twenty-five percent of its student population since Act 60 “reform” in 1997, yet now cost three times as much – and return worse results for students. But conversations in the Commission on the Future of Education in Vermont … Read more
As I have noted in past observations of the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont, this collection of special interest group lobbyists has no real desire to solve the property tax/education finance crisis facing Vermonters today. Their objective, quite to the contrary, is to keep the money flowing unhindered and unquestioned into … Read more
Vermont Republicans picked up six seats in the Vermont Senate on November 5th, changing the partisan makeup of the chamber from 23-7 to 17-13, the highest percentage the VTGOP has had in over a quarter century. The Republicans succeeded in winning three open seat races and knocking off three Democrat incumbents, two of whom were … Read more
I’m picking on Kevin here because he’s written two mostly ridiculous articles following the November 5 election lamenting how Donald Trump won a stunning victory nationally, and Vermont Republicans shattered the Democrats’ supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature, but he’s not alone. I would have let it go and allowed him and John Walters, … Read more