Meetings
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[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: What's happening? Me see if he's saying anything.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Energy and digital infrastructure. It is Friday, February 13. Friday the thirteenth. Good luck day. We're gonna about to have a vote on h seven ten. I'm Scott Campbell from Saint John Furrier, the chair, trying to loop in our colleague at India to join us.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Richard Bailey, Lamoille two. Chris Morrow, Windham, Windsor, Bennington. Michael Southworth, Caledonia two. Christopher Howland, Roland Ford.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: University of Victoria, Washington two. Laura Sibilia, Windham two.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: And in the room, we have Dara Torre from your group, Peter Sterling, Connor, you give it to. Great. Okay.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: That's it. Oops. And I'm representative Kathleen James, and I represent the Bennington Ford District. Alrighty. So we are here today to vote on H710, an act relating to defining electricity generating facilities. And just to kind of recap, last year in S50, we took a lot of testimony about how Vermont statute defines plant. And what we're really talking about here are larger solar arrays. So commercial or utility scale solar arrays that are up to maybe five megawatts, and these are these are arrays that are maybe six to 30 acres large. And as Vermont's renewable energy laws have have evolved, there was concern that the old definition, the definition and statute, may limit our ability to build more commercial solar in places where it already exists, or that that statutory definition was driving up the cost of doing that. And we took a lot of testimony. We couldn't come to consensus. So we asked the Public Utility Commission to convene a workshop and get all the stakeholders in the room together during the off session and to try to come up with a consensus definition, new words to better define the plant. So, they did that. So we asked them to look at the land use benefits of putting these new arrays where solar already exists, like brownfields, gravel pits, sites that are already disturbed, while maintaining the ability of the PUC to do a comprehensive review of multiple projects on the same site and how to co locate projects in a way that would benefit ratepayers. So anyway, the work came back. The PUC and solar developers and other invited groups came up with consensus language. They presented that to us in testimony a couple weeks ago. Our ledge council and committee members felt like it still wasn't clear, the language wasn't clear. So we went back to PUC, asked them to take another shot at making language that was clear and easier to understand. They worked with our legislative council to do that. The solar developers who are most impacted by the change to this language agree that the language was better and that is the bill we are looking at today. Basically homework assignment given, homework assignment completed, and we are here today to vote on that successful project. So we are looking at H710 draft number 1.1. It's dated twofivetwenty twenty six at 12:55PM and it is posted on our website. We do have representative Kleppner trying and hoping to vote. He's away at the moment, and he is asking if he can vote by audio to my phone. Do I WhatsApp call if you have I do. Should let's go let's go check with the clerk. So with that, we could either go off live or the committee members have any comments or questions on the work we've done, how the bill got to where it is?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: I think the new language in draft 1.1 is much clearer and a great improvement.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Super. Brett Kleppner is going to be the floor reporter. I don't if I see the point going off live and coming back in two minutes. And it looks as if I saw my message. Well, as long as we're here. So, today's third reading for 05/27, the Telecom facilities citing bill. And it's yeah. Third reading for cell towers and second reading for our copper to fiber transition consumer protection notification bill. So Sibilia is up for a double doubleheader today. And then third reading for cooperative fiber will be Tuesday. And then this bill will be on the floor. Let's see. Vote it out today. Notice Tuesday. On the floor next Wednesday, Thursday. Yeah. So we have I think done a pretty good job of getting some bills off our table and heading over to the senate.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: We need to make sure Sibilia gets some more caffeine before four. She's on a double I know. Today. I
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: is a double decker day for her. And in general, that's, you know, that's sort of my approach. Like, the floor reporters, you know, she was the bill sponsor on both of these bills. So unless there's some compelling reason why the person who introduced the bill doesn't wanna report it on the floor, That's usually what I do. Then on committee bills, you know, it's up for grabs and R. Kleppner raised his hand. And then, as we've talked about next week, we're kind of rounding third base to take foundational testimony on seven sixteen, the net metering bill. Today we're going to hear from a number of our utilities on that bill and we're going to hear from the PUC. And the goal there was to try to get to the committee to a place where we could see how people feel about the bill and whether we're gonna bring it to a vote. The clerk is not in yet. The assistant clerk is researching. He thinks that is acceptable, but wants to us to give him a minute. Okay. We're killing we're killing time here. So continuing to look ahead to the agenda. So after today, I feel like we will have taken enough rounding the basis testimony on 07/16 to have a sense of of next steps on that. We are trying to do the same on the data center bill, get enough kind of foundational testimony to decide what the next step might be for that bill. Important testimony coming up next week on the data center bill is about from the Department of Environmental Conservation about water use and water management. So I I think that's another brick we need to lay for the data center build. And then I think we need to okay. So how does that exactly work,
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: The voting?
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. But how can I I've got I've got Rip Kleppner on?
[Nigel (House Clerk’s Office staff)]: So as far as I understand, as long as any representative wants to use one of their remote voting days that's allowed by the rules, voting by phone, no different from being On Zoom. On Zoom. Yep. Okay. Just different technology. Yeah.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Oh, just different technology. So if I try to call him right now, that's gonna be okay.
[Nigel (House Clerk’s Office staff)]: That that'll be okay.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Thank you, man.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Thank you
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: so much, Nigel. Thanks, Nigel. Hello. Bram, you're live on YouTube and on my phone.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: That is wonderful. Greetings, everyone.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Hi. Greetings.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Hey, Bram. Namaste.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. That's pretty excellent. I can't believe that worked. So we have been, you know, killing time a little bit while we made sure that it was according to house rules to allow you to zoom in. I don't know if you have been listening but we have discussed the bill, have looked at the language and we are ready to vote.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: I am prepared to vote.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. Let's see. I need a motion to approve h seven ten as amended. So moved. Great. And we don't need a second, so the clerk will commence to call the roll. Representative Bailey.
[Rep. Richard Bailey (Member)]: No. Representative Campbell.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Yes.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Representative Howland? No. Representative Kleppner? Yes. Representative Morrow?
[Rep. Christopher Morrow (Member)]: Yes.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Representative Sibilia? Yes.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Representative
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Southworth?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: No. If they don't believe that it's in the best interest to rate payers in the state of Vermont.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: And representative Torre. Yes. I. And then last is representative James.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yes. All right. Bram?
[Rep. Bram Kleppner (Member)]: Yes.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: See you.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Thank you all.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Thanks for
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: We'll see you next week.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yes. Thanks for joining us, and we'll put you down as the floor reporter.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Great. Thank you.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: You bet. Travel safely.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Bye.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Bye. Bye. I can't believe that.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: One So I don't count on him as absent. He's a
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yes. Right. But we do need to keep track of remote votes. And I
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: I have that started.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Great. I think that I don't know if there's a form for that or if the clerk has a form, but anyway so alright. If you could read the vote results. Yep.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: So we voted favorably with amendment six three zero, and the bill reporter is Bram Kleppner.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: And this will go to Great. Alright, thanks so much everybody. We can go up live.