Current News

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org If Vermonters continue bouncing checks at the rate they’re expected to in fiscal year 2015, the state government will have about $32,000 more in its coffers.
The revenue boost will come from a hike in the fee agencies can charge for overdrafts, from $13 to $20. The penalty would be applied to online ACH payments, not just paper checks.
The increase is just one of many that passed the Vermont House today as part of a an annual Miscellaneous Fee Bill.
The maximum entrance fee at state historic sites also might go up, from $8 to $12, though it’s only expected to increase at the Plymouth Notch State Historic
Site (Calvin Coolidge) for now.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Vermont House gave final approval of the net metering bill on a voice vote Thursday.
H.702 lifts the cap on how much renewable power utilities can accept from customers. The current limit is 4 percent of peak power demand; the new proposed cap will be 15 percent.
The legislation allows more homeowners to install solar systems and feed excess power to the grid.
Customers can avoid having to buy expensive solar batteries with a net metering system. Utilities get a boost from the locally distributed power and credit customers’ bills for the electricity.
On Wednesday, Democrats, Republicans, Progressives and independents overwhelmingly supported the proposal, 136-8, on second reading.
Rep. Tony Klein, D-E. Montpelier, said ‘net metering is one of Vermont’s most successful renewable energy programs’ because it has helped to avoid ‘hundreds of millions of dollars in costly transmission projects.’

Fletcher Allen Health Care has named MorrisSwitzer~Environments for Health as project architect for design work on the new inpatient bed replacement building, which is currently in the Certificate of Need (CON)-approved conceptual development phase. Fletcher Allen also selected The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Baltimore, MD, as the construction management firm to undertake the pre-construction planning work.
Initially, the total cost was expected to be at least $85 million. FAHC said in a statement that the actual cost will not be known until near the end of this conceptual development phase. At that point it will have all the pertinent information ready when it files the CON application to seek approval to construct the building.

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org
The Vermont House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a proposal to lift the cap on how much power utilities can accept from net-metering projects. The current cap is 4 percent; H.702 would raise the limit to 15 percent of its peak demand from the previous year.
The provision sunsets in 2016, when the Legislature would reevaluate the efficacy of the program.
The bill passed 136-8 in a roll call vote on second reading, and elicited brief debate.
Net metering is a service that allows electricity customers to feed excess power, from residential solar panels or other renewable energy projects, back into the grid.

by Laura Krantz vtdigger.org Lawmakers on Wednesday struggled to decide how much detail to write into a law designed to offer a second option to alleged criminals who might benefit from substance abuse or mental health treatment instead of jail time.
S.295, known as the ‘risk assessment’ bill has become a key focus of the Senate Judiciary Committee this session. It establishes a way that people who are arrested can be assessed before, or after, they are charged, and also attempts to crack down on burglary committed with the use of threat or a weapon.
After three hours of testimony, the committee asked its attorney to tweak the bill yet again, with the goal of voting it out of committee by the end of next week.
Discussion Wednesday centered around the testimony of an advocate who works with victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Green Mountain Power today announced that a new sound monitoring report just released finds Kingdom Community Wind continues to meet strict standards set by state regulators. Green Mountain Power filed the results with the Vermont Public Service Board Thursday. The report is part of an ongoing comprehensive monitoring program.
‘We are glad to share this important information with our customers,’ said Dorothy Schnure, GMP’s corporate spokesperson. ‘Kingdom Community Wind continues to operate efficiently and as a result we are able to generate cost-effective and local energy.’
The testing was conducted at four different locations near the wind project. The report analyzed 1,343 hours of continuous monitoring between November 13, 2013 and December 19, 2013. The sound levels set at Kingdom Community Wind are among the strictest in the country, set at 45 decibels, which experts say is comparable to the inside of a library.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont), who have advocated for additional home heating aid as near-record winter cold grips Vermont, Thursday announced the federal release of an additional $2.5 million in heating assistance to the state.
Leahy, Sanders and Welch have long championed the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Thursday released $2,536,734 to Vermont, bringing the total federal funding for the state to $19,139,734 for fiscal year 2014.
In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: ‘With families across Vermont struggling to heat their homes during the brutally cold winter months, any relief is welcome, and we have pushed for this, and more. But more must be done, and we will continue to press for additional support for LIHEAP to ensure Vermonters are able to heat their homes.’

Campaign for Vermont, the state’s fastest-growing statewide advocacy organization, today announced its expanded board of directors. Bruce Lisman, a founder of the non-partisan organization, said that the founding officers have expanded Campaign for Vermont’s board to include nine more seats, adding a number of respected leaders from all regions of Vermont. Joining the Campaign for Vermont Board of Directors are:
· George Clain of Barre
· Mary Evslin of Stowe
· Louise McCarren of Charlotte
· Ed Morrow of Manchester
· Patty O’Donnell of Vernon
· Stefanie Pigeon of Essex
· John Powell of Colchester
· Edward Zuccaro of St. Johnsbury
· Steve Wilk of Rutland
‘The new board members are committed to putting progress ahead of partisanship and believe that government should be transparent, accountable and accessible,’ Lisman said.

The Vermont Transportation Board has released its annual report, which documents the comments collected during the Board’s 2013 series of public hearings.
The report contains several findings, including the growing number of alternate-fuel vehicles on Vermont roads is spawning public support for a possible switch from a gas tax to some form of a miles-traveled tax, many Vermonters support an increased registration fee for large motor vehicles, may people want policy makers to get tough on repeat DUI offenders and impound their vehicles, and municipal officials would like the State to offer a grant program aimed at constructing sidewalks that has less red tape so that walkways can be constructed both faster and cheaper.

The EPA has completed its review of site cleanups at 22 Superfund Sites across New England, including a Vermont one at the Old Springfield Landfill, by doing routine Five-Year Reviews of each site.
EPA conducts evaluations every five years on previously-completed clean up and remediation work performed at Superfund sites and Federal Facilities listed on the ‘National Priorities List’ (aka Superfund sites) to determine whether the implemented remedies at the sites continue to be protective of human health and the environment. Further, five year review evaluations identify any deficiencies to the previous work and, if called for, recommend action(s) necessary to address them.

The president Wednesday declared a major disaster exists in the State of Vermont and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe winter storms during the period of December 20-26, 2013.
Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm in the counties of Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, and Orleans.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named James N. Russo as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

Students and faculty from the Center for Legal Innovation at Vermont Law School will attend LegalTech 2014 in New York City, bringing with them ideas and expertise that are sought after by industry leaders like Google, LexisNexis, and Capital Novus. This is the fourth year Vermont Law has attended the conference, which has resulted in jobs for students and research support for faculty.
Considered the largest and most important legal technology event of the year, LegalTech annually draws tens of thousands of attorneys and legal staff seeking the latest information in an estimated $20-30 billion industry to improve the way they practice law in an ever-changing technological world.
Among the Vermont Law faculty attending LegalTech is Professor Oliver Goodenough, director of the Center for Legal Innovation (CLI) and recipient of a Google grant on how technology is changing the study and practice of law.