Windows to a dozen dramas opened before the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Committee on Thursday morning as members considered reports on lottery proposals, mental health needs, housing programs, hospital billing, domestic violence victim services and more.
Keno
The discussion about whether to bring Keno to Vermont is not really about Keno, according to Vermont Lottery Commission executive director Greg Smith. It’s about raising money to fund education, he says.
Smith said the commission believes it has the authority to introduce the game without legislative consent. But, he would prefer to have a nod of approval, because he wouldn’t want to begin the process of bringing it to the state, only to be ordered to stop midstream.
That came as a relief so some committee members, including Sen. Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, who considers the game a “character-changing” proposal. Rep. Janet Ancel, D-Calais, was peeved that the proposal to add the game to the lottery’s repertoire did not come through the House Ways & Means Committee, which handles revenue matters.
More and more state lotteries are offering the game of chance, according to Smith’s report to the fiscal committee. Kentucky became the 15th state last week, and neighboring New Hampshire is considering joining the trend, he said.
State hospital staffing, capacity
The new state psychiatric hospital planned to open in 2014 in Berlin will have 25 beds, if the Legislature’s mental health committee’s and the state’s Department of Mental Health have anything to say about it.
But when it will open is another matter. Sen. Sally Fox, D-Chittenden, and Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, expressed concern that a “soft” opening in June 2014 without full capacity would put undue strain on the rest of the state’s mental health system.
Mental Health Commissioner Paul Dupre said a realistic target for opening would be September 2014. He said his department would run as fast as it could to establish 25 beds by then or sooner, but he said the staffing and licensing process, plus setting up operational aspects such as electronic medical records systems and pharmacy coordination, might not happen as quickly as anyone would like.
The permanent beds cannot come online soon enough for Fox and Lyons, who expressed concern about the level of clinical treatment available for patients in the interim.
Dupre acknowledged the pressures the delay puts on emergency rooms and the corrections system, but he said those problems are being dealt with safely. He’s more concerned with getting the new hospital off to a solid, rather than a quick start.
Vermont has been without a state psychiatric hospital since Tropical Storm Irene ruined the previous facility in Waterbury in 2011.
Housing programs
At least $34 million is budgeted for housing programs in the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30. About 12 percent of that is federal funding, and still more federal funds help to keep other housing and homeless programs open. But federal cuts are squeezing the roster of services the Agency of Human Services can offer.
In his report to the Joint Fiscal Committee, housing director Angus Chaney said he does not want to target future funding toward particular populations or regions in “silos.” Integration and coordination of services can be better achieved, in his view, if programs are seen as part of a holistic strategic plan.
Chaney said he’d rather reward programs that can demonstrate effectiveness. That sentiment was well received by Rep. Martha Heath, D-Westford. Heath also chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, which is looking to base its budget decisions less on tradition and more on “performance-based” standards.
Mapping services
As the Legislature struggles to divvy up limited funds to growing needs among state agencies and the prospect of a $72 million budget shortfall, one nonprofit is asking to be brought into the state government fold.
The Vermont Center for Geographic Information is supported in part by a portion of the property transfer tax, as well as grants and fees for projects and services it provides.
State agencies are among VCGI’s clients, and executive director David Brotzman said agencies would like to work with his office more. They’d find it easier if the data-driven mapping office were a part of state government, he said. He’s suggesting merging VCGI with the state’s Department of Information and Innovation — a move that he says would create more efficiencies and save money.
Committee members questioned whether projected savings would be as high as Brotzman suggested. They also worried about an implicit commitment to permanent employment of VCGI’s six staff members, even if the office’s project portfolio shrinks.
A federally funded broadband mapping project grant is scheduled to close in September 2014. The looming budget deficit is part of what prompted Brotzman and his board to consider merging with DII.
Green Mountain Care Board
The Green Mountain Care Board’s responsibilities have grown since its inception in 2011, according to board chair Al Gobeille. But its most “profound” work has yet to begin.
To help cover the cost of its regulatory work, GMCB bills the entities — namely hospitals and insurance carriers. The Joint Fiscal Committee wants to get to the bottom of just what it’s billing for, and how much. But details were not forthcoming Thursday morning, much to the dismay of several members, who reminded Gobeille they had asked for the information back in September.
The bill-back discussion didn’t leave much room for future funding issues, which Gobeille previewed in his presentation. He said more resources will be needed for the board’s next mission: evaluating proposed financing for a single-payer health care system.
Domestic violence victim services
What started as a request to approve $300,000 in federal funding for a court program turned into a wide-ranging discussion of inconsistency in the state’s judiciary.
Court Administrator Patricia Gabel said her office had been granted federal funds to offer special court services to victims of domestic violence in Windham County. The money, which would be spread over two years, covered some staff positions and a lot of evaluation work.
Gabel said a Bennington-based domestic violence program had “become unsuccessful” when the state’s attorney pulled out.
The court has since evaluated how to plan for more sustained success, she said. The idea behind the grant is to use a special docket program as a learning opportunity to inform the roll-out of similar programs elsewhere in the state.
Rep. Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said that too often the state never gets around to disseminating such pilot programs around the the state. She said there should be more consistency in the state’s judicial system.
The committee’s full agenda and meeting documents can be found here.
Correction: This article was updated at 9:34 a.m. on November 22 to reflect that the Agency of Human Services budget for all housing programs is approximately $34, 12 percent of which is comprised of federal dollars.
