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continued from page 6 its fees since 2016. This has contributed to a $14 million structural deficit in our Transportation Fund, which pays for things like paving roads, building bridges, plowing and public transportation. For most Vermonters, this will mean a $6 increase in the driver’s license fee and a $15 increase in car registration fees.

Raising fees occasionally to keep pace with inflation is good governance, plain and simple.

“Potential” Clean Heat Mandates: In May, the Legislature passed S.5, the Affordable Heat Act. It’s a proposed measure that could help a lot of Vermonters transition away from price-volatile fossil fuels over time — for example, by weatherizing a drafty home or installing heat pumps. But offering incentives to Vermonters could also mean that fuel prices go up.

How much? We need to find out. So instead of putting this program into place, S.5 commits the state to an intensive two-year fact-finding and design process. We’ll get the facts through impartial studies and draft the rules that would govern the proposed program.

All of this information will come back to the Legislature in 2025 to consider next steps. The House and Senate could approve the program, revise it a little or a lot or stop it completely if the evidence shows it won’t benefit Vermonters. It can’t move forward unless it clears these hurdles, and the earliest it would begin its gradual rollout is 2026.

So, as passed in 2023, S.5 does not raise the price of heating fuel or impose any mandates on Vermonters. If the cost of home heating goes up next winter, it’ll be for the same reason as always: a volatile global oil market.

We hate negative politics, and we don’t much like the punch-counterpunch approach. But while we can and should debate the merits of any particular bill or policy, the conversation has to be based on facts instead of sound bites.

These policies are fiscally responsible both in the short and longterm. The investments they make will help us to build stronger families, schools, communities and stable state government, while making life more affordable for many Vermonters.

So here’s the good news: Having checked the math, your $1,200 invoice will not be arriving in the mail.

Reps. Kathleen James and Seth Bongartz represent the Bennington-4 district in the Vermont Legislature. This column originally appeared in the Manchester Journal.

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