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All of Milton and Georgia’s reps look forward to busy schedules in their respective committees.

Johnson’s Appropriations Committee already voted out a tax abatement bill last week, which holds towns harmless for paying education taxes for homes that lost value or use in the spring or Irene flooding.

Depending on how many Vermonters take advantage, the state could cover $500,000 to $4 million in taxes, Johnson said.

Unrelated to flooding, Johnson said her committee hopes to make budgeting more transparent by providing user-friendly documents that show how programs are funded instead of burying the cost in a department budget.

“The legislature and the public can have a much better way of seeing what Vermont is paying for,” she said.

Krebs’ committee, Fish, Wildlife, and Water Resources, will be busy due to Irene, he said. Members will consider a bill to create a “fluvial hazard erosion zone” that would direct the Agency of Natural Resources to study rivers and streams and will result in new zoning regulations for towns to adopt for incentives.

Krebs also looks forward to working on legislation to implement a study aimed at reducing phosphorus in Lake Champlain.

Rep. Gary Gilbert (D-Fairfax), who represents Georgia, sits on the Education Committee. He said Shumlin’s opening address gave a small clue as to what his committee could tackle this year: The governor mentioned investing in dual enrollment, or high school students getting college credit.

Gilbert noted the legislature passed a “secondary credit” bill last year that allows high schools to give students credit for taking accredited college courses. If denied, the high school must provide a reason. Gilbert wanted to make it mandatory for high schools to accept the credit, he said.

Gilbert and his committee convened after Shumlin’s address to discuss what the governor’s reference to dual enrollment could mean.

“We will not know until we hear the budget address,” Gilbert said. “We’re off and running, but we’re not going anywhere on that particular issue.”

Gilbert also expects to look into school district consolidation. He’s in favor of merging “backroom functions” like accounting and not making drastic moves unless there’s an educational advantage, he said.

“To consolidate schools only to save dollar amounts I don’t think is the way to go,” he said.

Fellow Georgia rep Branagan expects to take on some education-related issues in the Ways and Means Committee this year. She noted the report from California-based consultant Lawrence O. Picus and Associates, which studied the school funding system. One conclusion was that despite Vermont being the third highest spender per pupil nationally, students’ test scores don’t rank as well as other New England states.

“There is no reason Vermont children can’t score higher, and that should be our focus,” Branagan said.

Branagan’s committee will also look at income tax reform to possibly change Vermont’s system from using taxable income to adjusted gross income. Branagan thinks by increasing the tax base, the lower tax rate would make Vermont more attractive to business.

For Hubert, his work began way before the session did. All summer, he sat on a committee tasked with reviewing the 200-plus open records exemptions. The committee already reviewed one controversial – and vague – rule that could make certain information on tax bills confidential.

Before, some town clerks released records showing property tax adjustments that can be used to calculate a person’s income. A new law would hold clerks harmless for handing out the un-redacted tax bills.

Hubert also logged many hours this summer working on the state’s redistricting effort, done after every Census to ensure residents have fair representation in the legislature.

A legislative apportionment board recommended more single-member seats – including splitting Milton into three  districts, pinning incumbents Hubert and Turner against one another. Georgia and Fairfax would become their own districts.

Milton’s Board of Civil Authority recommended the status quo, except shifting 400 or so residents to the West Milton side, whose voters are lumped with Grand Isle.

Hubert, who attended a training on redistricting in Washington, D.C., was pleased with the outcome. He said the charge was the committee’s single most important one to date and was like “a major puzzle, and you’re doing it with only one eye open.”

The new maps will be presented at the end of the month before being sent back to the towns for a final look-see.

Lawmakers also look forward to tackling touchy issues like where to locate workers from the flood-damaged Waterbury state office complex and Vermont State Hospital and standbys like healthcare and energy.

Krebs hopes the state hospital decision is a careful one.

“My hope is that it’s client-driven, the decision, as opposed to if we do it here, we’re going to save this kind of money,” Krebs said. “It’s a vulnerable population, and we have to take care of them.”

Hubert looks forward to getting answers about Vermont’s single-payer healthcare system. The legislature passed the bill last session, but the governor hasn’t laid out how the state will pay for it.

“I don’t buy anything unless I know the cost,” Hubert said, explaining why he voted against it last session.

Turner, facing a Democratic supermajority, hopes to affect change by presenting his caucus’ ideas upfront and in committees. He wants to work on healthcare and energy and present them in the context of how they affect taxpayers’ pockets. His goal is to keep Vermont affordable.

“I’m confident that we’re going to get through it as a state,” Turner said. “Everybody’s going to be working together for the most part.”

Johnson and Branagan agreed that Irene set an important tone: Hard work is coming, but with hard work, much can be accomplished.

“The state of Vermont is very strong,” Branagan said. “It can’t help but make you optimistic.”

Johnson added, “There is opportunity in the devastation Irene caused. Now we have to do something.”