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Multiple bills aimed at modernizing Vermont’s signature land-use law have circulated around the Statehouse this year, drawing intense debate. Now, those bills have become one.

“There are many irons in the fire,� said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth in an interview Tuesday.

The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness are now one entity: the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont (HHAV).

As Vermont faces an acute housing shortage, lawmakers and members of Gov. Phil Scott’s administration are eyeing a host of measures to clear the path for more residential development. Among the tools they’re considering: reforming how neighbors can challenge a project.

The bill tackles everything from permit reform to tax policy to funding for housing programs. Primarily, though, it takes aim at Act 250, Vermont’s half-century-old land-use law.

The vision outlined in the report, which has support from both environmental and housing groups, could set the terms for debate over Vermont’s signature land-use law heading into the 2024 legislative session.

A draft report, released on Nov. 14, suggests delegating Act 250 review to municipalities with local rules “that are functionally equivalent� to state criteria.

House and Senate negotiators will have to land on a compromise by Monday at the latest if Democrats want to pass their signature child care legislation before the planned May 12 adjournment date.

A disagreement over the extent to which Act 250 has impeded the construction of affordable housing in Vermont has fueled an intensifying debate in Montpelier over proposed overhauls to a landmark statute that has governed development in the state for more than 50 years.

S. 100 tries to quicken the pace of housing development by rolling back some state and local permitting requirements.