A classic argument in science asks, “How does the bee know how far it has traveled from the hive?” As a former beekeeper, I have some thoughts on that.

Let’s say the hive is the Vermont Statehouse -- that legislators are the bees -- and feedback from everyday Vermonters is the nectar. I would tell the bee, “It’s only July. Don’t even think about turning around till after the first hard frost!”

In the weeks since the legislature adjourned, Vermonters have shared their thoughts with me, and they have also asked for my thoughts about the 2005 session. My first response: “It lasted too long!”

Vermont government’s greatest asset, I think, has always been the diversity of people who serve as representatives and senators. If a mom from Brattleboro is motivated to represent her community from January through April -- juggling family, work and her legislative responsibilities -- she will find a way to serve. But when the length of the session is open-ended -- when it runs past April, through May and into mid-June, as it did this year -- fewer Vermonters are willing or able to make that commitment to serve, and our state is poorer for it.

Looking back on the 2005 session, I would say it was long on talk, and short on discipline. Governing well requires consensus-building and listening skills. The Governor said he wanted to find common ground with house and senate leaders, and his actions proved it. I am not convinced that senate and house leaders actually wanted to find common ground with the Governor and his team.

There is some good news, though. In my opinion, Vermonters won some and lost some, while some proposals are still in play.

The big issue of the year, health care reform, was the biggest disappointment of the year. The legislature passed a plan that would have taxed the uninsured. As he promised, the Governor vetoed it.

We did pass a balanced budget, and temporarily covered an $80 million deficit in the Medicaid fund. But the “fix” relied on surplus funds, so the same crisis will reappear next year. The budget also included a last-minute provision to use your property taxes to fund public preschools -- an idea that was slipped by many legislators who intend to revisit the issue in January.

A new agriculture water quality bill will help farmers prevent water pollution from manure pits. Transportation and capital construction bills will pour needed millions into road and other infrastructure statewide. A renewable energy bill offers incentives for developing new energy sources and conservation. And Vermont Yankee won permission to store spent nuclear fuel in safe, insulated casks -- but not without paying the state $2.5 million a year for development of alternative energy sources. Our low-income elders will be held harmless for prescription drug benefit losses when the new Medicare program takes effect in January.

New laws will do more to protect you from stalkers, expand the DNA database, and help reduce the pressures on our prisons. But the civil commitments bill, which would extend protection of the public from the most violent and unreformed prisoners, is still under study in the House. The Baby Safe Haven bill, which I testified for in committee, passed the Senate but is under study in the House. We passed a new advanced directives bill, to make end-of-life care decisions clearer. A bill that would legalize assisted suicide, which I joined the Vermont Center for Independent Living in opposing, is expected to still be an issue in 2006.

In my third year as your lieutenant governor, I finally had my first opportunity to break a tie-vote in the Senate-- and it was a “no-brainer” for me. A bill to reduce mercury in our environment -- a good thing -- contained a certain provision that was not a good thing. It put 180 jobs at risk in Bennington’s Energizer battery plant -- its purpose, to “send a message”. I was so pleased to cast the deciding vote to defeat that bill, and save those jobs. That’s the message working men and women need to hear. When the bill came back without that provision, it passed both houses, and our environment and our jobs are both winners.

Outside of the Statehouse, we continued to strengthen our kinship with Quebec, and we made progress on our sales of Vermont cows to Cuba. The Homeland Security Advisory Council, which I chair, continues its important work. And in March, Governor Douglas asked me to chair his new Commission on Healthy Aging, which we will be launching very soon. In June, Vermont’s Maple Sugar makers rallied to donate and ship some 500 gallons of Vermont Grade A Medium Amber maple syrup for troops taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom throughout Iraq and Kuwait. As a sugar maker myself, I was proud to help. The thank-you e-mails we’ve received have really touched our hearts.

I did hear an interesting suggestion recently from a Vermonter who said, “Brian, every fourth session, you ought to have a garage sale in Montpelier, and get rid of all the old, unneeded laws.”

I think the person had a great idea. While you and I are looking for simplicity in our complicated lives, sometimes Montpelier only makes things worse. Do you have a suggestion to uncomplicate our lives? In the world of hives and honeybees, that’s what I call nectar, and I would love to hear from you.