Tomorrow, January 8th, will be the first day of the 2025/2026 Vermont Legislative Biennium. ABC NH/VT is prepared to work with elected officials to craft state policy to help build our workforce, build our opportunities and create an economy that is prosperous. This start date will be the latest beginning of the session due to the new year beginning halfway through the prior week. Usually the session begins as early as the 2^nd or 3^rd of January and being a new legislature the week lost is significant. Nonetheless, legislators are ready to dig in to their priorities. ABC NH/VT will report to our government affairs committee, board of directors and membership the progress we make as the session moves forward.

One of the most pressing issues we will face during the session will be how to deal with the failure to achieve the goals set out by Vermonts Global Warming Solutions Act. Act 153 written and passed by overriding a veto in 2020 intended to change Vermonts “goals” of reducing carbon emissions to slow global climate change to statutory mandates that must be followed. The policy has requirements that we reduce carbon emissions over the next 25 years reducing to 80% below our emissions from 1990. 2025 is the first check in which required we reduced emissions by 26% below 2005 levels. When the clock struck midnight on New Years Day, depending on who you speak to we have either achieved that goal, or not. Vermonts Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) calculations suggest indeed we did meet the goal, but the advocacy group Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) disagrees and have threatened a lawsuit against the state to force compliance.

CLF has publicly declared that based on their calculations we have failed to meet the 2025 requirements of the act which is their first step towards a lawsuit. This is based largely on Vermonts failure to adopt the Transportation Climate Initiative, an unlikely passage of the Affordable Heat Act, and changes to Californias clean car rule handed down by the Federal government. The next step for CLF is to take Vermont to environmental court and ask that the judge impose injunctive relief forcing ANR to institute rules that could be anything to reduce carbon. It could be anything from a carbon tax to all out bans on fossil fuel usage. We don’t know yet, as a judge would need to decide first if we indeed missed the emission requirement and second what to prescribe for a remedy.

Part of Act 153 was the creation of the Vermont Climate Council which is an unelected board who will advise ANR and legislative leaders on tactics to reduce carbon. The council has been meeting regularly and since 2021 has created an annual report to the legislature with their recommendations. Those recommendations have included things like the Affordable Heat Act, adoption of Californias clean car rule and some other very draconian ways to reduce carbon on the backs of working Vermonters. The council of appointees is made up of extreme believers that Vermont should lead the way in eliminating carbon despite its cost to Vermonters.

The train that left the station in 2020 with massive unrealistic requirements to reduce carbon in Vermont is arriving this year. How will our legislative leaders deal with impending lawsuits from CLF and potentially others? We will see. The worst case will be nothing happens leaving a lawsuit and judge to create policy without the consent of voters. The best case would be that the legislators would agree to amend or eliminate the Global Warming Solutions Act all together. Elimination of the act is highly unlikely but it is likely that dates, requirements and possibly the private right to action that CLF is using to sue the state will be eliminated. Its clear that most legislators are concerned about the impacts this well intentioned policy will have on their voters. Whats scary is that some legislators believe that short term pain caused by climate fees, eliminating vehicle options and random bans will be a “good” thing even though some lower and middle income Vermonters who are struggling to deal with the other financial debacles caused by “well intentioned policy” may lose their homes.

To participate in ABC NH/VTs government affairs committee please contact matt@abcnhvt.org