[C]losing next year’s budget gap will top the agenda this week as lawmakers hear from dozens of advocates from programs targeted by the governor’s proposed budget cuts.
By Wednesday this week, the House Appropriations Committee will have heard from more than 60 advocates and state officials about the proposed cuts, including the stewards of dozens of social safety net programs. Cuts include a reduction of state funding for LIHEAP, the state’s low-income heating assistance program, as well as other programs within the Agency of Humans Services.
The cuts come when the gap between state revenues and proposed expenditures is widening. Latest estimates peg the budget shortfall at $113 million, which could be as high as $130 million pending the uncertain approval of the governor’s payroll tax proposal.
The House Appropriations Committee is pushing to vote a bill out of committee before the March 20 crossover deadline for money bills. In three weeks, all other bills must be voted out of committee in order to cross chambers without special approval.
An effort to restore Vermont’s water quality got a boost last week when the House Fish and Wildlife Committee passed the state’s premier water quality legislation with at least tepid support from advocates and the regulated community.
The House Agriculture Committee takes up the bill this week, and will likely tweak or eliminate a proposed $15 increase to the existing 25-cent per ton fee on fertilizer. The fee and other revenue generating sources raise roughly $13 million for water quality restoration efforts. Among the new revenues is a 2-cent increase to the gasoline tax that will likely be discussed in House Transportation Committee on Thursday. The money committees have yet to take up the bill.
Gov. Peter Shumlin will sign a bill to require convicted sex offenders to report to the state registry before they are released from prison. Bill H.16 is an effort to address inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the Sex Offender Registry. Another bill, S.13, proposes several other changes to the registry, including clarification about the process to be removed from the registry. Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote the bill out of committee on Tuesday.
The House and Senate Education Committees will hold a joint meeting on education issues with Amy Fowler, deputy secretary for educator quality for the Agency of Education, after caucus on Tuesday. The committees will hold a follow-up meeting on teaching innovation with the Vermont National Education Association on Wednesday.
