 Good morning, everyone. Today, we're here to talk about home heating, weatherization and buttoning up Vermont homes. Peter walk will give an update from efficiency for month. Tim Perrin from Vermont gas and Commissioner Winters from the Department of Children and Families. But first, a couple of other quick updates. You may remember a few weeks ago, we talked about our plans to deconstruct mobile homes that were impacted by the summer's floods. And some of you know, I put together a program when I was Lieutenant Governor after Tropical Storm Irene, where we deconstructed and removed condemned units had no cost to the owners. So after this year's flooding, we saw the need again, unfortunately, because it can cost thousands of dollars and we wanted to make sure those who lost their homes in need the have the extra added burden and worry about deconstruction and removal and how to pay for it. So we wanted to make sure that they could they could focus on their next steps instead. So we use some of the generous donation from Ernie Bach of New England Subaru to offset the costs. And we've had a number of volunteers, equipment dealers and contractors who have stepped up to help as well. We've already deconstructed most of the units at River Run in Berlin, and the mobile home park in Johnson will have a few more left in Johnson soon. And we have another park in Berlin that we need to address. So again, I want to thank all those who have donated this to the cause helping with their time, labor equipment and expertise to help those impacted by the devastated floods. And it's been a real team effort to get us where we are today. Next, a quick update on our effort to help flood impacted homes where repair or replace their heating systems. As I shared a few weeks ago, we've sent 267 names to a team of utilities, efficiency for mont and the Vermont fuel dealers Association, and they've been working to get those systems fixed. As of the end of last week, 47 of those now have working systems with 33 either scheduled or working with a technician now to schedule. By making these direct connections, we've identified 20 people who need other structural work done in order to get their heat on. And we have a team of state employees who have volunteered to serve as temporary flood case managers who are helping these folks and a few dozen more identified through this survey to get the help they need. We expect to hear more progress from our partners in the coming days. So these numbers are all likely higher, but either way, we're making progress. And here's what's interesting about this. We now have helped about 100 people that we've either been able to help or are working to help with problems we probably wouldn't have known about if we hadn't gone out and asked. So I want to use this as an example for those who weren't impacted by flooding. Don't forget you may have neighbors who are still struggling. And if you can take a few minutes to stop by call or text to see if they need some help, I think we'll continue to find there are many out there who do so that would be tremendously helpful. If you don't know how to help, you can call us at 828-3333 so that we can get involved to get the help they need. Lastly, with cold weather upon us and probably here to stay, I thought it was important to continue spreading the word on the many programs available to help her monies with their home heating bills and making sure their homes are more energy efficient. Weatherization is an important tool in our toolbox because it's a win-win. That's why I propose and work with the Legislature to secure tens of millions of dollars for these efforts over the last few years. Not only does it reduce costs, helping make our state more affordable, but it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helping further our climate goals. Peter and Tim will talk about the work efficiency of Vermont and Vermont gas have done in this space. And Commissioner Winters will also go over the programs we have to support weatherization. You'll also talk about LIHEAP funding available to help Vermont with their home heating bills. As we all know, the cost of fuel is only added to the financial burden many families are feeling due to inflation. This program, supported by the federal government, can help those struggling to keep their homes paid their bills. And I want to thank our congressional delegation for all their work to secure the funding that we need here in Vermont. So with that, I'll turn it over to Peter. Good morning. Thank you, Governor, for having us here today. Button up is an important yearly event, a statewide rollout of opportunities to help Vermonters improve the quality of their home, the warmth and comfort of their home, and to help the state reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions picture. This has been an incredibly challenging year between inflation conflicts all over the world that are having an impact on global fuel prices, the flooding here at home. Everything is putting pressure upon the budgets of Vermonters and their ability to pay for and be comfortable in their own homes. We are thinking long and hard and trying to work with all the partners here today to help Vermonters be able to be be able to afford their heat, be able to be more comfortable and to and to have the healthy lifestyle that comes from that work. One of the things that we're also thinking about deeply in this state in the result of the floods is how do we make our homes more resilient? Insulating and air sealing can reduce our home energy use, but also the health and safety and overall comfort of our homes, helping to reduce challenges related to moisture and air flow issues can reduce mold pressures and other pests and other draft issues. We can make sure that when we're without power, as we saw multiple times throughout the year last year in different storms, a weatherized home can keep you warmer or cooler longer in that home. So these are many things that we're thinking about as you're looking as Vermonters are looking to see where to start. There are lots of opportunities for to engage and to take on small projects to take on large projects. Not everything needs to be full scale weatherization. There are many chips and tricks along the way to help. A few new things about about button up this year is efficiency Vermont for low and moderate income Vermonters has increased the incentives to up to 75% of the project costs up to $9,500 for a weatherization project. This makes buttoning up all of our homes more accessible and more affordable to lower those longer costs and make Vermont more affordable to live in the long run. You'll hear this from Commissioner Winters, but through the community action agencies and the opportunity at DCF, there are opportunities for low income Vermonters to have no cost weatherization services provided. We are also working with partners around the state to make upfront capital available through low cost home energy loans from different partners and working on a collaborative project between the distribution utilities for Montgas and the housing finance agency to make it possible to pay back the cost of those those upgrades on your utility bill. We're also trying to make sure, as the governor mentioned, there are flood resources available for monitor. So if you are dealing with weatherization activities or needing to replace heating systems and you are fall into that lower moderate income category, we're able to help with additional resources there. As I mentioned, the button up campaign is a campaign for a reason. It's a way to help Vermonters understand where to start, can reach out to efficiency of Vermont and do a virtual home energy visit. There are opportunities for DIY, small changes along the way. And we've been hosting a series of webinars where we have another one coming up on November 8th, which is Heat Pumps 101. Those tend to be very popular. People are interested in the new technology and how it might work for them. Please reach out to us if you have any questions so we continue to work with that. I will hand it off to Tim and really appreciate the opportunity to speak to you about this important. Thanks Peter and thank you Governor Scott for the opportunity to highlight this year's button up campaign and the many benefits of home weatherization. At VGS, we're focused on ways to help Vermonters reduce their heating bills, make buildings safer and more resilient, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency can help us achieve all of these goals. Many homes have so much heat loss from air leaking through the gaps, cracks, and holes to the outdoors that it's like leaving a window open all winter long. Fortunately, this year's button up campaign can offer energy saving tips and resources to help reduce air leaking out of your home and keep the heat in. Weatherization is about warmth. VGS has been a committed partner in this work for over 30 years. We've helped support over 45,000 improvements to Vermonters homes and businesses. And with our partners like Efficiency Vermont, the Weatherization Assistance Program, FEMA, and many others all working together, we aim to accomplish even more on this front. Weatherization works and we're helping build the workforce needed to weatherize 120,000 homes by 2030, which is Vermont's goal for the decade. For many families, it can be difficult to fit these types of projects into the average household budget. Thanks to generous incentives and on-bill financing that Peter had mentioned, weatherizing has never been easier or more affordable. VGS offers our customers rebates for comprehensive weatherization improvements based on income qualification. For moderate income households that actually represents over half of our customers, we have 75% up to $5,000 and have recently announced a enhanced incentive for income-qualified customers going up to $9,500 for those to be able to cover 75% of the costs of a weatherization project. The Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program, a form of on-bill financing, is now offered across much of the state and allows customers to finance the costs of their weatherization project on their VGS or electric bill. VGS is also a partner for the Weatherization and Health Initiative to help improve health outcomes for childhood asthma patients through weatherization and other improvements. Please check out www.vgsvt.com to learn about the rebates and financing options available today. You can request an energy evaluation or more information right on our website. In closing, too many Vermont families and businesses were affected by the July floods and our heart goes out to you. VGS has been part of a coalition of utilities and contractors to help Vermonters build back better with more efficient heating systems and weatherizing buildings to be more resilient and reduce energy costs. We know there's a lot more work to be done and thank our partners joining me here and so many more for their support. Thank you. And I turn it over to the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, Chris Winters. Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Tim. Thank you, Governor. I'm pleased to let people know about a few important programs that we run out of the Department for Children and Families. It's the home weatherization assistance program and the low income home energy assistance program also known as LIHEAP. These benefits and services help support DCF's mission to foster the healthy development, safety, well-being and self-sufficiency of Vermonters. As a department, we provide assistance to some 200,000 Vermonters each year, including children, youth, families, older Vermonters and people with disabilities. First, Vermont's home weatherization assistance program exists to improve the energy efficiency of income-eligible Vermonters homes to save them money that in turn helps them pay for the other necessities of life. The weatherization program on average saves 30 percent of a household's energy usage each year. The program's non-energy benefits include a safer, more comfortable home with better indoor air quality and safe combustion appliances. The health benefits of living in a weatherized home are documented and significant. Weatherization also reduces significant greenhouse gas emissions. This program directly employs over 175 Vermonters across the state who work at six local weatherization programs and the state office of economic opportunity. The program hires approximately 130 subcontractors each year including electricians, plumbers, heating contractors and abatement contractors. Both state and federal funds are used to weatherize lower income households each year. This year 27 million dollars are granted out to weatherize over 1,500 homes both owner-occupied and rental units including large multifamily apartment buildings. The Vermont home weatherization assistance program is a comprehensive and effective whole house energy efficiency program that's free of charge to income qualified Vermonters. You can apply at your local community action program or weatherization assistance program or find an application on our website at dcf.vermont.gov. The low income home energy assistance program or LIHEAP can help eligible households stay warm and stay safe in the winter weather by providing assistance with your home heating bills. The seasonal fuel program provides a cash benefit which is sent to the household's fuel dealer as a credit for future deliveries. Households that heat with wood or pellets receive a benefit on their EBT card which can be used to pay for those wood or pellets. The LIHEAP program also supports crisis assistance for home heating costs through community action agencies. Households that have used their seasonal fuel benefit through the economic services division can also apply directly through their local community action agency for additional fuel assistance. The community action agencies also support households between 185 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level which is above the limit for the seasonal fuel program. Based on our anticipated federal award the average benefit for a Vermonter who qualifies will be just under 900 dollars. The program typically supports about 18,500 households per year. Applications can be submitted online through our website at one of our district offices or by mail. Again, visit dcf.vermont.gov for more information or call 1-800-479-6151. Thank you and I'll turn it back over to the governor. Thank you Commissioner Winters we'll now open it up to questions. You mentioned the mobile homes and I've never walked do you have a number on how many maybe were deconstructed or moved and with that funding or the check from sewer how many more you may be able to do going forward? We're going to do all of them at some point make sure that we take care of every single one of them that needs to be deconstructed on one way or another. I'd say we're probably about maybe a little better than halfway through. I'd say there's maybe 50 or 60 of them in total but that's just the guess on my part. Do you agree with the state's attorneys that have a Vico's decision to charge a 14-year-old as an adult in that fatal shooting place in Bristol? Well obviously this is her decision to make on the state's attorney has that in their prerogative but I would say under the circumstances depending on the information she has that I may not have she's doing what she thinks is the best and I support that. Also on that topic do you you know is your administration taking any action in response to the unprecedented number of on-sides and suspicious deaths Yeah obviously this is something that's a huge concern to our administration it's been building for a while and then seems to have hit us all in one month. I will say again I mean we've seen some of maybe just a flavor of what was going to happen in previous months. I still believe that there's some sort of connection, a thread maybe not connection entirely to one another one death or another or one murder but the common thread I see is the drug trafficking and I think that we've seen that previously we saw that in Brookfield and a number of other cases and I think that we'll see when they get through the investigation that there may be a connection with some of these not all of them but some of these that we've seen this month so we our BSP is working non-stop our Vermont information or Vic our Vic is working 24-7 trying to to work on these issues and trying to head off any acts of violence but it's a lot to keep up with. It's unfortunate but we're seeing this more and more enter our state. Do you think the Vermont State Police has the resources that it needs to investigate all of these? There is no doubt that we're seeing the impacts of that overwhelmed in some respects we we don't have enough troopers to fill the need on a on a good day so I think this has impacted them but they've they've risen to the occasion they're doing everything they can at this point I believe we've received if there's any good news some good news in the last day or so about coming some conclusion on on the the the desk the investigations and some arrests have been made so we have a long ways to go and we but I think to say that you know we could use more help more resources more boots on the ground I think is obvious but again they've risen to the occasion anything you want to add to that not connected to those cases but what was your reaction to the U-K-V-2 school bus incident last Thursday? yeah um again I don't yeah I don't know if I have all the details I mean I've heard different aspects of it I don't believe they found the projectile at this point but we're assuming that it came from a a stray stray bullet and they believe that it came from the homeless encampment as well and they they did confiscate a number of guns so that is concerning but I don't think it was something that was that was thought out and so again concerning but thankfully no one was hurt is it troubling to you that they they confiscated I think you have the eight guns and not all not everyone in the house's population has guns or had people or anything not trying to group anymore but is that concerning to you that a lot has been made of Vermont's house's population the last year with the puts on motto program being changed up over the summer I guess how concerning was that to you the hearing that they found those admittedly I was surprised to hear that there were so many that had these weapons in the encampment but and surprised at that but but again I guess it's just a sign of the times so kind of staying in track with both is a little bit lighten of all these incidents it was last August you released your public safety enhancement and violent reaction 10 point plan so I guess kind of looking back on that the past year in two months or so now I guess how would you say that's going are there any changes or anything you'd like to add to that well we just need to do more of it I believe the foundation of that plan is still valid and then we need to to double down do all we can working with the communities to make sure that we're all pulling in the same direction here but and we'll be doing so we'll be we'll be actively working with communities to do everything we can to put this into place because again I believe the foundation of the plan is still appropriate for this time Governor you mentioned that the Karen homicide was drug-related a commission worse than said a couple weeks ago the Watson one is likely not and I wondered if you or the state trooper officer here could could comment on white Solomon Estrada Rodriguez Gubia and Fleming the other victims which of those are believed to be drug trafficking really I can't answer that maybe Colonel Birmingham can but but again I would say that there are some that probably are connected in some way Hi good morning Matt Birmingham the director of the state police I can't get into specifics about which cases are connected but the governor's correct the majority of the eight homicides that we've seen this month are have a drug connection to them but it's too early in this process to definitively tell you that drugs were the driver behind it but that those facts will come out in time well can you can you talk about the specific cases I'm not going to get into the specifics of each of these cases I can tell you that we are actively working all of them we have teams out working diligently conducting interviews for analyzing evidence and we're we're doing a lot of technology work around these cases Major Trudeau gives weekly updates on these online and he is the lead investigator on this and he can provide the specifics if if you're looking for those and I can certainly put you in touch with him that'd be great so but the majority of the cases do have a some sort of drug connection to them yes okay yep thank you Senator Dixier is the chair of the Senate Judiciary and said that if you have the main shooting he is open to discussing expanding Vermont's red flag law and he also said he wants to ban the sale of some old ghost guns what do you think of that yeah I think the ghost guns have been talked about on the federal level and I believe that that's where we should have those conversations but I'm happy to have conversations with him about that as well and the legislature I don't know what he wants to do with the red flag laws to enhance those but we did enhance them over the last couple of years I think that we are ahead of many states in terms of what we did back in 2018 with red flag laws and a number of other provisions I think have helped but I think it's time for the this to be a national conversation with other states and on federal level to and adopt some of the the red flag laws that we've we've gone ahead with but I guess are you open to further restrictions than Vermont? Well it depends what he's talking about yeah I don't have any idea he hasn't he hasn't reached out to me to talk about any other changes he wants to make to red flag laws but I don't know I mean has all of the gun violence that Vermont is seeing and the map shooting in Maine make you think that perhaps Vermont should tighten hands on? I think seeing what happened in Maine confirmed that we did the right thing in Vermont so do you think that there are sufficient laws in place to prevent what happened in Maine from happening in Vermont? I don't know all the specifics but it appears that much of what we did may have prevented what happened there but I don't know that to be the case but I'm I'm confident that we did I stand by what we did I thought it was for the right reasons based on the affidavit that I read with a young man in Fairhaven and I think that it was the right decision to make and we followed through on that so it was difficult but that it was the right thing to do on the mental health side of that conversation how confident are you that Vermont has the resources I know I've joined Justice Steering last week they talked about short term solutions for juvenile facilities just wondering obviously a BSEA called for a state of emergency so I'm wondering what your response was to that and also just in general what do you think of the resources that the state has yeah well we're under still under a state of emergency due to the flooding in July we have a housing crisis we're dealing with right now I believe we have a workforce crisis as well all of this dovetails together whether we're talking about Vermont State Police and and adding more boots to the ground we have positions available there mental health counselors as well educators nurses it's across the board every single sector needs more people we need more people in the workforce I've been advocating for this for a number of years I think we need housing as a portion of that but we need Vermont to be more affordable as well to attract more people to the state and keep them here so we're competing with other states that have a far less costly cost of living and so we have to do whatever we can to keep taxes try to reduce the tax burden on Vermonters and entice people more people to come but we're going to need all of those pieces to work together housing and trying to again attract more people into the state and the businesses that need the help that just seems like it's a domino effect with everything happening you're just kind of trying to patch holes everywhere it's it's not the administration it's it's just the state of Vermont right now I guess do you see a light at the end of the tunnel with a lot of these things or how do you view that yeah it's a it's a long term turnaround here there's nothing instantaneous about this and it's not just about money and resources it's about putting the right policies into place that that will attract more people into the state we we suffer from a demographic crisis here in the state we're aging and while that's that's you know we we want to make sure that we we protect and keep the aging population here that's that's a benefit to us but as a result of that we're not backfilling the younger population the workforce with the people we need to continue so so again on all these fronts I think there is hope I think there is a strategy in place but we all again have to work together in order to make all the pieces come together and and part of that is the the strategy making sure that we're working on the affordability of the state I don't think we've done enough on that and it's something that I've been wanting been trying to work with the legislature on but we can't keep taxing people and raising taxes and the cost of living on people here and expect them to stay or be able to survive here so that's a that's a piece that's a reality and we're going to have to focus on that more in the coming session kind of switching gears a little bit I'm curious so we have the Twin States Clean Energy Link on the Vermont New Hampshire Board that also going to come back I'm kind of just wondering what thoughts you have on that in general and a lot of it's also hydroelectricity from water that'll be able to come into Vermont and could this link potentially help the state meet those global warming solution tax deadlines coming up from 25-30 I'm not sure that that will directly help us it's just coming through a small section of Vermont the other the other proposal having it come down the TDI coming down through Lake Champlain I think would would benefit us financially and and I hope that that is considered on the federal level to adopt that would be helpful but anything we can do to bring more renewable energy into New England is going to help all of us so so we're part of we're part of this and and I believe that it could be helpful to to each and every every state in New England I have another question on flood control dam and the very very one can the impoundment be increased for explanation I know from traveling back and forth to over to Lake Monterey 302 Flood Soften in the springtime we used to going to be so touched yeah I don't I don't know if there's any more we're we're doing studies on this I don't know if Secretary Moore is on but but we are doing studies on what we can do to enhance some of the flood control dams but I don't know about the elevations there I don't know whether you could store anything more there or not without impacting some of the highways but Secretary Moore are you on do you not okay we'll get back to you on that um did you have a chance to read the article in seven days it's called Grace I've read portions of it and it's on my in my stack of reading some of that occurred under your watch yeah passed on it didn't appear from the article that you ever spoke about all of that you put out some press releases and stuff what do you think about all that yeah I mean this is something that we were aware of after the fact it's hard to believe it's happening yeah you know I I I all places I concur it's certainly a black eye for us and something that we took to heart will be closed Woodside as a result of that and we've been working to try and change ever since but but not quick enough obviously and you're shipping these young people out of state for treatment we are and we're trying to treat as many as we can how far away are they going that might be a question for our commissioner but but not all of them we do have facilities here in Vermont when we try and treat as many as we can here in the state just to add on to what the the governor said we do try to place these youth in community based programs and we have done that with a number of them there are some local community based local community based there are some children who have needs that we can't actually attend to in Vermont and they do go to some out of state programs we visit those programs once a month to make sure we're checking in and make sure that they're getting the services that that they need far away from their families to visit they could be anywhere in the United States there's a program as far away as as Arizona where we recently had a youth there's some I think 30 to 40 youth in in those situations but as the governor said we learned a lot from Woodside we need to take lessons from what happened there and change our model of care to a more therapeutic approach we're trying to move forward we're building those facilities smaller facilities within Vermont have secure stabilization and secure treatment we don't have that upper end system of care right now we're working hard to restore that but it's very important that we not repeat the mistakes we made in Woodside I wasn't here at the time but looking back in hindsight there could have been better communication better oversight and we're actually doing a formal review internally now to make sure we really elicit all of those lessons learned so that we don't repeat those mistakes one thing that really stuck out to me in the article about Woodside is how no one who was in a position of power you know paid any sort of price they were fired it does not appear that they were disciplined Jay Simmons who was you know who led the facility the teachers were prominently in the story you know who was on tape looking at naked child who was harming herself and saying to another employee I'd like you to get a close-up right this was the evidence that was introduced in the trial he was not fired and in fact when Woodside closed after a federal lawsuit he was awarded another job with the department of children and families why wasn't he fired you could start trying to I'd really like to hear from the governor here because that that was not a decision under I'll just start by saying that every case was reviewed we have a contract that we have to adhere by with union and pursuing discipline and I will state that that particular employee is no longer working for the department for children and families but I can't can't discuss this disciplinary matters as much as we would like to and I do want to say that our hearts go out to the families involved here for the harm that occurred we are going to do a review but but going back and revisiting those employee decisions is not something that we can do I have another question which really isn't relevant oh sorry well again I known personally about that situation at the time we would intervene sooner but I didn't know I mean there was a lawsuit there was a lawsuit and it was public that you know a judge had reviewed this evidence called it horrific like why didn't you take an interest yeah but we did take an interest we closed Woodside down as you recall but there are certain things it's a it's an HR issue it's not something that we can always do anything about considering the considering the the union and so forth and some of the Jay Simmons was not a union member not not a member of the union he wasn't a state employee he was not protected by I I asked the union this they said no he was management the decision to hire fire him would have been up to the administration and so would have been the decision after Woodside was closed to move him to another to head another DCF office well again had I known the extent of that issue at the time well we might have done things differently but we didn't and I take responsibility for that okay sorry this is just about speed limits by the state police are here but in driving on Vermont's interstate people are going very fast and they go through what seems to be a speed trap at 78 79 80 miles an hour and the police don't chase whatever they do so it used to be 75 was kind of a limit before they got involved speeding tickets but now it seems to be somewhat higher and sometimes it's a little scary when they go by particularly when it's raining at speeds that just aren't safe I'll let currently answer this one but from my standpoint again this is about resources and we have to prioritize our resources we can't get to every single we can't we can't pull every single speeder over I understand that and and take up resources that we should be spending in other areas investigating some of the deaths and some of the things they're horrific things that are happening throughout Vermont so we have to we have to make a choice I understand but 10 years ago I went by as trooper median at 78 I'd be pulled over yeah now I can go by 78 and nothing happens yeah well again again I would say that 10 20 years ago things were a little bit different in Vermont we didn't have the level of crime that we're seeing today we don't see the the place that's already there and we I know but they have to they have to take the opportunity to pull somebody over when there is there are more horrific things happening and people are driving faster you know I I get that well first of all for the record the speed limit 65 on the interstate so there's no magic speed that you get to go before you're stopped the governor's right this is a resource management issue for us traffic safety is a priority one of our top priorities in the state police and reducing traffic crash fatalities is a priority for the state police but given the the fact that we have a 15% vacancy rate right now we have 51 sworn positions that are not filled we have had to reallocate resources uniform resources to assist with these homicides and there's just not enough of us out there to enforce the speed all the time I can tell you that speeds have increased over the last decade cars are faster they're they're built better the roadways are designed and built better so you're seeing higher speeds generally across the country this is not a verman issues it's a nationwide problem and so if if you are enforcing speed rules again the speed limit is 65 there are graced periods troopers have the ability to to make their own judgment about what speed is unsafe we target because of our resource our our limited resources we're targeting the most aggressive and dangerous drivers on the road so that means we're targeting people who are weaving in and out of traffic that are operating dangerously that are using their cell phone while they're driving fast that are impaired those are our priority our priorities and so when you have speeds of 90 to 100 miles an hour routinely we're going to target those vehicles before we're targeting 78 or 80 because they are more dangerous and they're putting other people's lives at risk on the interstate okay thank you thank you thank you thanks thanks thank you I've seen in downtown Burlington there are still some state troopers there are there are a regular thing now it's it's been in in effect for a few months throughout the summer and it's still in effect it's a it's a volunteer program that the city has asked for state police assistance to help bolster their dwindled department as well and we've been doing it since the spring it is it's all volunteers so we don't mandate that our people go there the city of Burlington pays for the overtime so it is not it's not a burden on the state but we still do have from time to time trooper sign up for that detail and assist the Burlington police department in the city okay thank you got a few on the phones we'll start with Tim McQuiston from our business magazine Hi Governor, that news about the twin state clean energy link does this sound like there's been so many proposals on bringing more power from Canada does this sound like that they're more optimistic that this one will happen it certainly seems as though this could happen but I'm not sure it's going to happen in the time frame that they're envisioning but we'll see I'm never surprised by the pushback in terms of anything to do with utilities going through any state at this point in time we've seen it in Maine New Hampshire Vermont so I will see what happens but I'm hopeful because we need to get as much of this renewable energy from Canada because they have the resources and they have they have the renewable energy that is available at this point in time to help satisfy our needs here in New England Does the fact that the DOE is going to guarantee some purchase and that they're going to vary the lines in Vermont does that help the cause in your view and in what way Tim you mean well as far as I know the regulatory issues the pushback that you mentioned and the fact that if the DOE is committing some money to it then other investments could more easily happen Well we certainly hope so again I am hopeful that the TDI line will be considered as well because that would be that would be more beneficial financially beneficial to Vermont and that's all permitted ready to go so we hope that they will consider that one as well That was not going to be my follow-up if you've heard anything more from the TDI since last that goes last February that you mentioned this I have not heard anything of any substance since then Okay, all right thank you Governor I mean I have sent a letter asking for the federal government to support that so that's been done but I haven't heard what the odds are of us of that moving forward but I'm still hopeful Tom Davis, Compass Vermont Thank you Jason I'd like to circle back on the speeding issue I don't think anybody in Vermont would disagree with the problem as identified by your Governor and also by the State Police We understand there's a reduction in the number of people that we want to fill jobs for the State Police We also understand people like to drive fast Anybody who's driven through Emporia, Virginia knows that as soon as you hit that line on I-Nate 95 you'll probably see six or seven local police officers there who are monitoring the speed and there's one place in the United States they don't speed it's Emporia, Virginia Has there been any discussion or is there the ability of understanding that a lot of local municipal police forces aren't exactly fully stocked either but to allow them to at least help police the sections of the highway that fall within their geographic boundaries that's one question and then the second one is what about if cars go faster why don't the punitive measures increase to the point where there's more deterrents and what has to happen for that to take place Couple things I'll let Colonel Burringham confirm this I believe that local law enforcement can they can be in that section like on 89 town of Berlin can be there watching the speed limits and pulling people over as can any other I think Washington County sheriffs could as well and that goes for any of these communities along the corridor so I think they have that ability now but I would say as you mentioned they are not exactly Burlington was just mentioned as well they're down on the number of officers on the ground and I think most law enforcement are in the same boat as I said previously every single sector in Vermont is impacted whether we're talking about the trades whether it's carpenters or electricians or plumbers or law enforcement or educators or nurses healthcare all across the board everyone is impacted so I believe that local communities have a void as well to fill in terms of the progression of fine I believe it does progress in terms of the higher the speed the more punitive that is so any law enforcement officer in the state of Vermont can patrol and stop anyone for speeding on any roadway the interstate is not exclusive to the state police but the law enforcement resources to the governor's point are stretched in in all departments not just the state police local sheriff so they don't have the resources either to patrol the interstate it is primarily our responsibility given the nature of the fact that it goes through you know multiple towns and towns are answering calls for service and they don't necessarily want their local police of managing the interstate they'd rather have them answering calls for service in their communities where their taxpayers are paying for them to operate fines are incrementally higher as the speeds go up and if you reach a certain speed you can actually be arrested in charge with a crime so there are there are significant penalties for for driving it's dangerously and then there are other crimes careless and negligent operation if you're if you're all over the road or putting people's lives in danger so not only is there a ticket but it can become a criminal offense at some point thank you for that it seems that first of all there's some revenue generation from the tickets that might help you disable these and I think for bonkers would continue to argue that if people aren't disincentivized enough to slow down at the current punitive measures that those punitive measures have to be increased to make it just not worth their while something that we see a lot of barriers one more question Governor you had mentioned and I know we've got 20 underplays but do you think it will be reasonably soon we'll see Dr. Levine at one of your press conferences yeah yeah we'll be bringing him on sometime along we have a few things we want to talk about in the meantime obviously first and foremost is some of the housing and and heat heating needs we want to make sure we're we're working on that and getting through this emergency but we'll have him on shortly Tom getting back to your other maybe Colonel Birmingham has the answer to this one but the the fines associated with with a speeding penalty doesn't that go into the general fund or is that so any any speeding ticket that is written on a state highway or the interstate goes into the state general fund if it is written under a certain code on a local or municipal speed zone then it will go into the into the municipal budget so any local police other than who is writing a traffic ticket on the interstate will go to the to the general fund for the state not the local municipality okay I appreciate clarification no other questions thank you nice to follow yep it seemed that you said in all of that that the problem of plumbers and nurses and doctors and teachers and educators and policemen is related to to the cost of life here well no I mean that's not the only focus groups to find out why people leave it's not just that they leave it's just we're not we're not having as many kids I mean we see it in our schools something I talked about a lot seven years ago when I was running for governor that we have fewer kids in our schools so we're having fewer kids I mean think about well thank you for that but you know when you look back at the number of kids who were we had over 100,000 kids in our K through 12 back about 2025 yeah but so I mean that's real though I mean this was 30,000 less today so that tells you something it's not just about the number of people here it's just we're not having the size of families and so forth which means we need more families moving in which means we need more housing as a result affordable affordable housing all housing actually about like it's about that would be unique I know there's a lot of concern kind of post you know federal windfall about like funding because it went up by a ton during the pandemic and then it dropped off obviously costs have increased and I was just wondering last year when we actually received a little bit more than this year I think for like I mean was it oversubscribed right do we have more people who want like funding that then are able to get it I think it back to you yeah I think it's good news if we didn't hear that there was more need than there was the amount of money necessary for that but I I didn't hear that we were we were lacking in resources but we'll we'll get back to you on that all right thank you thank you oh okay so my last question is kind of circling back a little bit to crime talking about where we were to begin with so Vermont and a lot of its municipalities I guess you could argue of some of the looser laws when it comes to states and Vermont's kind of taken the perspective you know rehabilitate these people will give them second third chances do you think whether it's administration or maybe the legislature needs to look maybe crack and down more because a lot of these people I do end up getting arrested become suspects are repeat offenders that were given those multiple chances and then their crimes kind of just continue to escalate yeah I think there needs to be a conversation with the legislature about repeat offenders and and I think people have to be held accountable in some way I believe in second third fourth I guess decisions as a path forward but at the same time I believe the repeat offenders that we're seeing need to be held accountable some of our youth need to be held accountable so that we don't create another generation of those who are going to be part in the system so to speak so this needs to be a balance but but I think we're out of balance a bit there Governor could you explain why we don't need to have the the tags and the license plates I understand the law was passed as part of the T-Bell I guess but what is the thinking about it why we don't need those I think it was it was all resources I think this is a combination of of our department and the legislature working together on this to try and reduce some costs knowing that with the inspection process that you have to have a valid registration in order to to get through the inspection process so that in effect if you have a if you have a inspection sticker then you you're registered so you don't have to look for the for the sticker on the on the plate itself so you have the number there so may not be as instantaneous but but eventually there's that way to to oversee it thank you all very much