Bill would give ANR rulemaking authority for a fuel-supplier greenhouse gas registry; ANR seeks $500,000 to build portal and staff

The Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on April 3 heard a presentation on H.740, a bill to expand the Agency of Natural Resources' authority to create a comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting program that would cover fuel suppliers and require more granular data on fossil-fuel sales by sector and by the smallest practical geographic unit.

Legislative Council staff and House sponsor Representative (Chair) James described the bill as an implementation step recommended by the Vermont Climate Action Plan. Ellen Shikowski explained the statutory change: the Secretary of Natural Resources "may adopt rules to create a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions reporting program that covers all sources of emissions including fuel suppliers" and that the rules "shall, at a minimum, include the types and volumes of fossil fuels sold by sector ... and by zip code, municipality, or the smallest geographic level practicable."

Why lawmakers are considering it: Chair James said the state needs more granular, locally actionable data to target weatherization, electrification and other programs that reduce emissions. "If we had had the data we need in recent years, we might have avoided a lot of the acrimony that has accompanied some of our conversations around climate policy," she said. The House asked for an appropriation to build a database and to hire staff; the agency asked for $800,000 originally and the sponsor said the current ask is $500,000 to stand up a portal and two environmental-analyst positions.

Data access and confidentiality concerns: Committee members asked whether zip-code-level reporting is practical and about confidentiality of fuel dealer sales. Witnesses said retail fuel dealers already report sales for tax purposes but those tax returns are not generally available to ANR for policy use; the bill will require a new reporting path and ANR expects to design the portal and data protections during rulemaking. The House added contingency language so that rule adoption and database creation are required only if funds are appropriated; the underlying statutory authority to adopt rules remains in the bill.

Next steps: Committee members requested ANR Secretary testimony to explain technical needs and the fiscal note. Chair James and Legislative Council said the work will proceed through rulemaking if funding is provided; without an appropriation the bill still creates the authority but the implementation timeline would be extended.