[L]awmakers on the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a budget on Monday that closes the biggest gap in spending and revenue the state has seen in years.
Over the course of more than two months, the committee scrounged together cuts, one-time money and revenue to patch a $113 million gap. The Appropriations total budget, including education and federal funds, rings in at $5.55 billion, $74 million less than Gov. Peter Shumlin recommended.
An emotional Rep. Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, the chair of the committee, thanked her colleagues after the vote for “making sure that this is a budget that represents the needs and interests of the other members of the House.”
The committee even has a little bit of money to spare for unanticipated needs. “We’ve got $113 if they need it,” Rep. Matt Trieber, D-Bellows Falls, joked earlier in the day.
The unanimous vote came on the heels of a Republican press conference in which the House minority leader said the GOP caucus would not vote for the budget because it includes revenue increases. Rep. Don Turner, minority leader, told reporters that the Republicans want a level-funded budget.
“You may have noticed, four Republicans voted for this,” Rep. Bob Helm, R-Fair Haven, said after the vote.
“I’m just so proud of this committee, the way we put politics aside,” Rep. Chuck Pearce, R-Richford, told his colleagues after the vote.
The unanimous vote came after weeks of scrambling to address an unusual challenge — filling a $18.6 million hole left by a January revenue downgrade on top of the original $94 million gap Gov. Peter Shumlin’s budget closed. The bill, which did not yet have a number as of Monday evening, will likely reach the floor of the House on Thursday.
The General Fund budget is slightly higher than the governor’s recommendation because lawmakers faced a gap that grew by nearly $20 million a week after Shumlin delivered his budget address. The House budget is $1.475 billion and a 4.8 percent increase over last year; Shumlin’s is $1.467 billion, and a 4.3 percent increase.
The proposal reduces spending by $53 million, uses $24 million in one-time funds and generates $35 million in new revenues.
The committee first reached a balanced budget late Friday. Monday, after taking appropriations off the so-called “wish list” of items they did not want to have to cut, the committee was left with an extra $113.
Under the House Appropriations bill, the total amount of state spending, which does not include the education fund or any Medicaid spending, is $2.36 billion — $41.5 million less than in the governor’s recommended budget.
Filling the gap
Many of the governor’s controversial cuts were retained in the Appropriations budget, including the elimination of the state’s $6 million contribution to low-income home energy assistance (LIHEAP). People with developmental disabilities will see a total reduction of $1.9 million ($800,000 in state funds, $1.1 million) in services.
The committee supported the governor’s proposal to find $10.8 million in labor force savings. Johnson said $5.8 million will come out of reductions in force or pay cuts for state workers. The remaining $5 million will come from managing personnel costs, including contracts with private companies.
The budget also includes $1.7 million in revenue from renting prison beds to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Working with the policy committees, legislators made changes to some of Shumlin’s more controversial cuts, including maintaining some funding for Vermont Interactive Television (VIT) and providing temporary funding for state dispatch services, known aspublic service answering points, or PSAPs.
The committee proposes to close the Windsor prison farm in 2017. Rep. Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, outlined a plan to close the Southeast State Correctional Facility without increasing the number of Vermont prisoners sent out of state.
The House budget restores $1.7 million to the Community High School of Vermont , and reduces the budget for the corrections-based education system by $500,000.
Some $24 million in one-time money will go toward the gap. Johnson said the committee tried to reduce base budget spending and reduce reliance on one-time funds.
The budget puts $1 million in one-time funds toward the governor’s $5 million recommendation to support the veterans’ home. The committee included language in the bill that limits the use of one-time funds for the home to this year. The governor had originally sought to use proceeds from a new electronic lottery game to fund the home. The plan gained no traction in the house.
The remaining hole in the budget was patched with $35 million in taxes through a cap on itemized deductions and the elimination of a state tax deduction. The miscellaneous tax bill will be taken up on the House floor Wednesday.
