Tough finances expected to dominate session

MONTPELIER, Vt.—The re-licensing of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant and a looming debate over whether Vermont should legalize gay marriage were expected to be the dominant issues of the Legislature's upoming session.

But the economy appears to have pushed them from center stage.

"I think these are extraordinary circumstances. This is a kind of economic and fiscal crisis that we haven't confronted in some time," said Gov. Jim Douglas.

It's a crisis that already has affected a wide range of state programs, as a panel of lawmakers called for nearly $20 million in program cuts two weeks ago. It could lead to the wholesale restructuring of parts of state government.

And it could prompt lawmakers to upend their usual January-to-May session schedule, perhaps putting their deliberations on hold while they await news of an economic stimulus package from Washington.

As Wednesday's start to the 2009-2010 session nears, recent statements by the Republican governor and the Democrat expected to be elected speaker of the House seem closely aligned.

Both Douglas and Rep. Shap Smith, D-Morristown, say the time for small, across-the-board cuts in which agencies and departments across state government take equal pain has passed.

"In August, we did more or less across-the-board reductions," Douglas said, referring to an earlier round of cuts. "As the economy worsens, as our fiscal situation deteriorates further, I think it's fair to not just nickel-and-dime everything, but to make some fundamental choices about what's most important. So that's what we'll be doing in the coming couple of months and that's what will be reflected in my budget recommendations."

Here's how Smith put it in a recent interview: "We understand that we're going to have to make some very difficult decisions and we should not be making these decisions just sort of in an across-the-board way. We need to be looking at the programs that we're providing and prioritizing them as they fit in to what Vermonters need."

The Legislature's Joint Fiscal Committee last month cut into a projected $66 million budget hole for the current fiscal year, trimming programs by nearly $20 million. More pain is in the forecast, as economists say Vermont could face a revenue shortfall of $200 million or more in fiscal 2010, which starts July 1.

But state leaders are hoping for help from Washington, where President-elect Barack Obama's transition team and congressional leaders have been talking about a large spending package designed to jump-start the national economy.

Money is expected to come to states to meet several of the priorities of both Douglas and lawmakers: fixing worn-out roads and bridges, expanding access to high-speed Internet and cellular phone service, investing in renewable energy and shoring up state Medicaid health insurance programs.

With federal money on the plus side and revenue forecast downgrades expected this month and especially in April on the downside, uncertainty about the state's fiscal status abounds. State Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin recently suggested putting the session on hold for a few weeks until the fiscal picture becomes clearer.

Another option could be to work on issues that have less to do with money -- and there are plenty of those, should lawmakers decide to address them this year.

A sampling:

-- Vermont Yankee: The nuclear plant's owner, Entergy Nuclear, is pushing for a yes decision from the Legislature on whether the plant should be allowed to operate after 2012, when its current 40-year license expires. Vermont is the only state in the country in which lawmakers have explicitly given themselves veto power over a nuclear plant's relicensing.

Shumlin said lawmakers will need answers to three key questions before making that decision. What kind of a deal will Entergy give Vermont's utilities on wholesale rates? How is the plant's high-level radioactive waste going to be handled? And how can it guarantee there will be enough money to dismantle the reactor when it's time for decommissioning?

-- Sex crimes: The abduction, rape and killing of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett of Braintree last June brought this issue front-and-center. The Senate Judiciary Committee has held an extensive series of hearings and come up with nearly three dozen recommendations expected to take bill form early in the session. Among them: a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for a new crime of aggravated sexual assault on a victim under 16.

-- Gay marriage: Vermont was the first state to offer legal recognition to same-sex couples when it passed its civil unions law in 2000. Now, gay rights advocates are pushing for the next step and a special legislative commission last spring issued a report that -- without making a formal endorsement of the idea -- was generally favorable.

Whether legislative leaders will put gay marriage at the center of their agenda this year "really hasn't been determined," Shumlin said.

"Our first job is to focus on job creation, deficit reduction and the biggest fiscal crisis in Vermont history. We're not going to make a plan for other issues until we have a road map for economic recovery."