Highlights from the 2012 Vermont legislative session

Working landscape: $1.175 million is set aside for projects designed to spur forest and farm businesses and allow Vermont to preserve its landscape. The program will be staffed by two new state positions and overseen by a newly created board. H.496 .

Cloud computing: Lawmakers suspended the sales tax on prewritten computer software accessed remotely from Dec. 31, 2006 through July 1, 2013 and agreed past taxes could be refunded. A committee will report to the Legislature in January about how the sales tax should be applied to the evolving innovation world, including to cloud computing. H. 782

Tanning beds: Tanning businesses are forbidden from offering tanning services to anyone in accordance with 18. Gov. Peter Shumlin let the bill become law without his signature. H.157.

Health insurance: The Department of Financial Regulation will set up an Internet-based marketplace for health insurance that will be open to individuals and businesses with fewer than 50 employees in 2014. The health care exchange was mandated by federal health care reform legislation. H. 559

Sales tax allocation: The Education Fund will receive 35 percent of sales tax revenue instead of 33.3 percent. The remaining sales tax revenue goes to the General Fund. H.782