Act No. 113 (S.237). Executive branch; genuine progress indicator

An act relating to the genuine progress indicator

This act establishes the genuine progress indicator (the "GPI"). Sec. 1 of the act sets forth the definition and purpose of the GPI, as well as the legislature's intent in the use of the GPI. The GPI is defined as an estimate of the net contributions of economic activity to the well-being and long-term prosperity of our state's citizens, calculated through adjustments to gross state product that account for positive and negative economic, environmental, and social attributes of economic development. The stated purpose of the GPI is to measure Vermont's economic, environmental, and societal well-being as a supplement to the measurement derived from the gross state product and other existing statistical measurements. The legislature's intent in using the GPI once it is established and tested is to assist state government in decision-making by providing an additional basis for budgetary decisions, including outcomes-based budgeting; to measure progress in the application of policy and programs; and to serve as a tool to identify public policy priorities, including other measures such as human rights.

Sec. 2 of the act sets forth the logistics of establishing and maintaining the GPI. Pursuant to this section, the secretary of administration will negotiate and enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics of the University of Vermont for the establishment, testing, maintenance, and updating of the GPI. This section also requires that once established, the GPI and its underlying datasets shall be posted on the state of Vermont website. Furthermore, the section also requires the secretary of administration to cooperate in providing data as necessary in order to update and maintain the GPI.

Moreover, this act, in Sec. 3, requires the secretary of administration, by January 15, 2013 and once every other year thereafter, to submit to the house committees on government operations and on commerce and economic development and the senate committees on government operations and on economic development, housing and general affairs a progress report regarding the maintenance, including the cost of maintenance, and the usefulness of the GPI.

Effective Date: May 8, 2012