Between January, 2009 and adjournment, 2010, 1092 bills were introduced in the Vermont Legislature.  Their status is as follows:

As of this writing, approximately 58 bills still await action by the Governor.  The cordial ending to the 2010 legislative session saw the big bills pass by high margins and administrative support.  Although the remaining bills are expected to be enacted into law within the coming weeks, two still remain elusive.  These are S.88, the Health Care Reform bill and H.485, the Current Use bill.

Although there is widespread support for the “Blueprint for Health,” two sticking points remain for the Governor in S.88.  The first is the requirement that pharmaceuticals register where free prescription samples are dispersed.  The second is the funding for the health care option study.

Many folks still think the pharmaceutical reporting will mean doctors can no longer receive free samples or if they do, they will be required to break confidentiality by reporting patient names.  This is not correct.  The burden here is on the pharmaceutical companies, not doctors, includes no patient names and is merely an extension of the new federal legislation.

The second bone of contention is the health care option study.  This section of the bill authorizes Vermont’s Health Care Reform Commission to hire one or more consultants to produce at least three different system designs for delivering health care.  One must be single payer; one a public option; and a third is left to the commission to determine. The Governor has expressed concern about spending money on a study when health care has been studied before.  What distinguishes this study is the degree of design detail and it takes into account the new federal reforms.

Let’s look now at Current Use.   Since 1978, the Use Appraisal Value or “Current Use” program has allowed farm and forest lands in active production to be valued and taxed based on productive value rather than market value.  The law recognizes that if we tax 50 acres of land used for growing vegetables at the same rate we tax 50 acres of land slated for development, all farmers would likely throw in the towel.

There are currently close to 16,000 parcels totaling 2.2 million acres or one-third of Vermont lands enrolled in the program.  It has become ever more popular over the years particularly as farmers and foresters have struggled to stay in business.  Current Use accounted for approximately $44 million in savings to property owners in 2008 and $49 million in 2009.  Our tourism industry derives great economic benefit from our farms, forests and scenic vistas, which more than makes up for this difference. Each year, the state sends approximately $11 million dollars to the municipalities to help offset some of these reduced revenues.

In an effort to address a nearly $160 million dollar General Fund deficit, legislative leaders put all government taxing and spending on the table including Current Use.  Following two years of study, members found that some changes could be made that would protect the original purpose of the program while reducing some of this year’s budget pressures.  A goal to find $1.6 in savings was put into action.

Three aspects of this bill have proven problematic to the Governor.  First, the bill assesses a one-time fee of $128 on all property owners in the program.  Second, it eliminates a tax break which will now require a buyer to pay the full 1.25% Property Transfer Tax instead of the reduced 0.5%.  Third, it brings back the pre-1993 legislation to restore higher penalties for those who decide to take their land out of Current Use and sell it for development.

None of these should be a deal breaker; in fact, it is my hope that this will strengthen a program that has received increasing public criticism.  Town officials have reported that speculators have received huge tax breaks on land ultimately intended for development.  This was never the intention of the program.  Farmers will still be able to remove parts of their land for development, however this will not be as lucrative.  While open land is easily developed, I have yet to see developed land return to open land.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

The bill has received support from a variety of organizations including the Vermont League of Cities and Towns; the Vermont Land Trust, the Vermont Assessors and Listers Association.

As I write this on Sunday evening, we are still moving toward adjournment now expected to be Wednesday evening. The pace seems to be on both ends of the spectrum: long periods of waiting for bills to come over from the Senate followed by a rapid-fire, full-on response when they do.

There are still major bills being reviewed and the pressure on members to feel informed before casting a vote is palpable. Although we have seen and voted on all of these bills before, each has undergone some degree of modification in either the House or the Senate. Some of these have gone to special “Committees of Conference” where three members of the House and three members of the Senate hash out the differences before bringing them back to the full legislature for a vote.

The 2011 budget and the Miscellaneous Tax Bill take center stage this week and must be completed before the session can end. Accompanying these bills are the budget companion bill known as Challenges for Change and the Capital Bill. The Challenges bill was designed to find $38 million in cuts to the General Fund through government efficiencies without reducing services. The Capital Bill directs funds to a variety of infrastructure projects around the state. Expect also to see changes to the Current Use program and health care reform among others.

Here are a few other bills recently passed and headed to the governor for signature:

§ H.470 restructures judiciary. It brings all five types of courts: superior, family, district, environmental and probate under the state Supreme Court predicted to improve efficiency and accessibility while saving $1 million in costs.

§ H.759 sets executive fees. Expect to see some new fees, such as licensing of salvage yards and fee increases, many of which haven’t increased in years.

§ H.781 supports renewable energy projects. It makes the process for permitting renewable energy projects more predictable and efficient; provides incentives for solar; gives price stability for Cow Power programs and helps our larger employers such as IBM meet efficiency standards. This bill also defines Hydro-Quebec as a renewable energy source which has met with some heat from the environmental community.

§ H.614 regulates composting facilities. It helps define which facilities will be considered part of farming and regulated by agriculture, and which are businesses regulated by Act 250.

§ S.182 fixes the unemployment insurance deficit. It is designed to bring the bankrupt fund back to a sustainable level in 5 years. After delicate negotiations, both businesses and workers had to give on this, but all felt that it was better than the current situation.

§ H.488 bans the use of felt-soled waders by anglers in our waterways. Implicated in the spread of invasive species, this bill follows the Alaska ban. Rubber-soled alternatives are available and some stores are already offering trade-in incentives.

§ H.540 gives legal protection to bicyclists and other “vulnerable users” of the road. It represents an important step in recognizing that Vermont roads are a shared public resource and not just built and maintained for automobiles.

§ S.262 mandates health insurance for young children with autism. It provides for some early intervention services for children with autism between the ages of 18 months and 6 years and calls for a study to see if insurance mandates should apply to older children. Research indicates that these early services are related to reduced costs to schools.

§ S.222 sets up a program for state recognition of Native Americans. This will ultimately allow our Vermont Abenaki bands to receive the recognition they need to legally sell their crafts as authentic.

§ S.247 bans the manufacture, sale or distribution of infant formula and baby food containing bisphenol A or BPA. BPA is a synthetic estrogen used in hard plastics and has been linked to cancer, recurrent miscarriage, early onset puberty, reduced sperm count, delayed development, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

By the time you read this, I do hope that the session will have adjourned.