The Vermont House gave final approval to the $12.63 million Budget Adjustment Act on Friday.
The additional spending in the current budget year (FY 2014) brings the General Fund budget up to $1.37 billion.
The bill, H.655, is a snapshot of “ups” and “downs,” or unanticipated savings and expenditures, six months into the new year. It passed on a vote of 110-33.
The budget adjustment includes $2.85 million to cover an ongoing budget deficit at Vermont Veterans Home; $3.22 million in emergency housing; a $7.17 million increase in the Medicaid caseload; $1.55 million for prison detainees; and a $570,000 increase in spending for the Brattleboro Retreat.
Some of the ups include an additional $1 million in unexpected surplus monies that will be set aside in a rainy day fund, according to Rep. Martha Heath, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, bringing the fund total to $9.5 million.
“This bill makes important adjustments to the 2013 budget with the health and wellbeing of Vermonters in mind. In the wake of Entergy’s decision to close Vermont Yankee, it invests $500,000 for economic development in Windham County,” House Speaker Shap Smith said in a statement. “For Vermonters working to recover from opiate addiction, it invests in methadone treatment and adds to existing funds for Vermont’s 11 Recovery Centers. In the wake of a harsh winter, it invests additional monies in winter and spring road maintenance, and sets spendable reserves at $9.5 M to help with future shortfalls.”
The Senate is expected to take up budget adjustment next week. The House Appropriations Committee has already begun deliberations on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s recommended $5.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2015.
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 3:01 p.m. Jan. 24.
