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Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen


4.04.2007

 

Chasing turbines

The showdown over how to tax wind projects was going on quietly and sort of behind the scenes Wednesday in the Statehouse. It was another sign that legislative Democrats are not quite thinking in unison.

The House Natural Resources & Energy Committee had set a rate of a third of a penny per kilowatt hour produced. The House Ways & Means Committee, feeling less fond of wind power, chose a rate twice as high.

The last thing House leaders wanted was a floor fight among their own on this, so they spent the day shuttling to and fro, trying to avoid that.

Democrats reached a compromise that would put the tax at just over a half-penny, but it didn't seem like a very fair compromise to those who went into the session believing global warming legislation was a priority. The idea they left with Wednesday was that they'd work on lowering the tax rate in the Senate.

Last week, the Senate set aside the funding for its global warming legislation - a heating oil tax - with the idea that they'd work on a new funding source in the House. So it appears they're about to trade each other their problems with no sure sign of a solution.

- Terri Hallenbeck

Comments:
Lets just get going with wind and solar!
 
What about the Ed bill?

H526 was voted out of the House today. As a Democrat, I have to say that this is a huge mistake. When my town gets hit by the spending penalties, my rep is going to be in a tough spot.

We need to get creative about solving the education funding / property tax dilema.

One amendment to H526 seemed to curry favor with even a few folks from outside the Republican caucus. Check out the House Journal at http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2008/journal/hj070404.htm

Rep. Hube of Londonderry offered a very interesting alternative to the current system of the much maligned spending "penalties", with an approach that rewards towns who keep their spending under control with the fruits of their efforts.

Yes - its a Republican idea, but putting that aside, it seem to make a lot of sense:

ยง 4032. EDUCATION COST CONTAINMENT GRANTS

In any year in which a district's education spending per equalized pupil is less than 103 percent of its prior-year education spending per equalized pupil, any municipality which is a member of that school district shall receive a cost containment grant to be used to provide homestead education property tax credits on the municipality's education property tax bills for the current year. An education cost containment grant shall be equal to 60 percent of the difference between 103 percent of the district's prior-year education spending and its current-year education spending, and the grant shall be distributed by the commissioner of education to the member municipality or pro-rata to the member municipalities, based on each member's portion of the education tax assessment for the current-year school budget. A homestead tax credit under this section shall be shown on the taxpayer's homestead education property tax bill, and shall be calculated as a percentage of the unadjusted education property tax liability, using the same percentage for all taxpayers.
 
Vermont is determined to kill everything by taxing it to death.
 
Vermont is determined to kill everything by taxing it to death.
 
Oh, ya!
 
It was interesting to see which Democrats voted against third reading of the Ed bill on Tuesday -
among them all three Dems from Essex (Evans, Hunt, Jerman), Cheney from Norwich, and Masland from Thetford. These members all represent very high-spending districts that would be affected by the new penalty.

But would education in Essex and Norwich really be hurt if they had to spend $200-$500 less per pupil? How many classrooms in those districts have fewer than 15 students? How much do the teachers in those districts pay for their health insurance? 10 percent, when most Vermonters with employer-provided insurance probably pay 25-35 percent?

And what about special ed? There was a meeting in Bennington earlier this week where it was noted that almost 20% of kids in one district were defined as eligible for special ed. Wasn't special ed designed for students with serious physical and learning disabilities, not for upper-middle class kids whose parents can afford to pay for a doctor or psychologist to diagnose a learning disability so the kid is eligible for special services?
 
Why is it that while other states are giving tax incentives to good businesses to provide jobs in their states and build up the economy, improve education, and keep the young from moving, Vermont's first thought when approached by industry is TO TAX THE HELL OUT OF THEM? Karl Marx is alive and well.
 
Bubba is right on this one. A study by the Tax Foundation shows Vermont now has the highest state and local tax burden of any state in the country - see the study at

http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/22320.html

Not all Democrats are as eager to raise taxes as the VT Dems. New Mexico, with a good Democratic governor, Bill Richardson, and a Democratic legislature, has actually lowered state taxes in recent years, and guess what happened? Job creation is booming in New Mexico. Take a look at Richardson's presidential campaign Website for an example of what he's done as governor.

http://richardsonforpresident.com/
 
The "Tax Foundation" is a mouthpiece for ultra right wing Republicans.

Their "study" isn't objective or accuate.
 
The study is based off of emperical data. What data do you have to support your claim that it isn't "objective or accurate".
 
Fox news's info is based off of "empirical" data too -- but it rarely tells the full story.
 
Fox News is just a bunch of hot air. Anyone with a brain knows that. Lets get back to the facts - where are your facts to support the assertion that this study is not accurate???
 
Poor "bong" - just can't stand to be exposed to the conservative side of anything - just keep your peabrain tuned to Dan Rather and Michael Moore and don't forget your Ritilin.
 
I don't mind being exposed to your conservative (and liberal) sides Bubba. Yum Yum.

Bring me that Bubba-kins goodness.
 
As a voter out there I just want to say we are not getting much of a return for all of this education money.
 
You are getting less of a return on all of the money being spent on War.
 
Someday we'll all get to see Bubba meeting Chris Hanson.
 
Only if he is wearing a Hanibal Lector prison "suit".
 
"Yeah, having the lowest crime rate in the nation sucks, huh? And our rating for having the
smartest people. And the healthiest people. And the state's largest city often dubbed the best place to live."

Lowest crime rate but one of the highest incarcerated per capita?

The smartest people, who are moving here because they think its "nice", pushing out all the "dumb" Vermonters who can't pay such ridiculously high taxes?

The healthiest people, never mind the heroin and meth that have been invading our state over the last decade?

Burlington the best place to live, if you've recently moved and still need your fix of modernized american society, is there a Vermont beyond Chittenden County anymore?

Rednalsi
 
Freakin' move already Red. If you loathe what Vermont has become (which you wrote in some tug at the heartstring post last week) then move away, like you said you were going to. We're okay with that. Really, we are.
 
Why aren't we a leader in producing technology for alternative energy? Is Vermont really "green"?
 
Vermont is "green" up until the point that an "environmentalist" actually has to SEE a windmill, or worse, discovers that people actually expect to make a profit from their labor.
 
Both political parties are not really listening to voters.
 
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