By Representative Heidi Scheuermann

Last week was a busy and long one in the Vermont House of Representatives, with three of the most critical and controversial bills coming to the floor for debate and passage: the Miscellaneous Tax Bill, the Single-Payer Health Care Bill, and the Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Bill.

These bills will now move to the Vermont Senate for further refining.

The Miscellaneous Tax Bill was first on the agenda on Tuesday. It is the bill that increases state revenues in order to meet the needs of the Appropriations bill, and it had many provisions with which I had concerns.

First and foremost among these concerns were provisions involving education funding and property taxes. Because of a reduction in the transfer of funds from the General Fund to the Education Fund, the statewide property tax is being increased by 1 cent on both residential and non-residential properties.

Additionally, as I have indicated in the past, earlier this year, the General Assembly and Governor Shumlin eliminated the Blue Ribbon Tax Commission's duty to work this year on property taxes and education funding and propose recommendations for change at the end of 2011. This was extremely discouraging to me, and many others, as I was looking forward to a detailed proposal(s) from the BRTC to evaluate and debate next year. It was the first in a long line of studies that was actually required to bring reform proposals to the legislature.

In its stead, the Miscellaneous Tax Bill included, simply, another study of education funding. We have had study after study of Act 60/68 over the last decade and none have resulted in anything meaningful. In fact, members of the study committees cannot even agree that there are problems with the current system. In the absence of both 1) the clear understanding that the system is utterly too complex, unfair, and unsustainable, and must be reformed; and 2) the requirement that reform proposals be brought to the legislature, this is just another attempt to kick the can down the road ... yet again.

Finally, there were a number of health care provider tax increases included in the Miscellaneous Tax Bill, including a Health Care Claims Assessment increase of $10.72 million. Many of our Vermont employers, including IBM, expressed significant concern with this proposal, as the costs would fall disproportionately upon those that make the most generous contributions to employee health care, thereby punishing those companies that are doing the right thing.

Second on the agenda this week was the Single-Payer Health Care Bill, championed by Governor Shumlin and the democratic leaders of the legislature.

Despite significant concerns expressed by Vermonters across this state, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill Thursday.

With nothing included in the bill that answers the critical questions of what the benefit package would look like and how and by whom the system would be paid for, the angst among employers and employees all over Vermont was palpable, yet in the end, ignored. I clearly understand, and believe strongly in the need for health care reform. Costs of care and insurance have skyrocketed and there seems to be no end in sight. This legislation, however, is not ready for primetime.

The final significant bill to come before the House this week was the Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Bill.

As is evident, this is a very difficult budget year, and the Appropriations Committee has worked very hard to develop a balanced budget. It is a long, arduous process, and the members of the Committee have done yeoman's work.

That said, in the end I voted against the bill for a number of reasons, the most significant of which is its reliance on the $24 million in increased health care provider taxes included in the Miscellaneous Tax Bill passed earlier in the week.

I continue to be very concerned about the Vermont General Assembly, year after year, building budgets on tax increase after tax increase. Vermonters cannot afford anymore - and make no mistake, these provider taxes will be borne by all health care consumers and those in Vermont who are privately insured.

As always, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns, and I will do my best to keep the people of Stowe and Lamoille County informed. I can be reached at 253-2275 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .